Letters From Dark Water (and my feelings)
The dogs live.
That’s one of the most important things I have to tell you about LETTERS FROM DARK WATER, the last installment from Love Has Claws. Mal Jones (hermit; redhead; grumpy) has two dogs, and he speaks with them more than he does anyone else in Lastings… until he meets Reeve (mer; bookworm; romantic). But, Lastings being Lastings, things don’t go smoothly – you know, people get eaten, that kind of thing – and I want you to know going in that the dogs live.
Other salient information: Letters From Dark Water is a standalone book, as with the other installments in this series. You don’t need to read the other parts, but you’ll get a fuller picture of the town of Lastings when the series is read together. The book comes out April 30, 2020 and is c.48k. Publishing at around the same time (fingers crossed!) will be a print anthology of the whole Love Has Claws series – nearly 120k! How did we get here.
I’m (insert British understatement) pretty excited for this one, folks.
Love Has Claws started as an experiment. I had stopped enjoying what I was producing and LHC’s purpose was to explore my aims for this whole writing malarkey. Turned out I’m mostly here for cryptids getting their HEAs. To be honest, I didn’t think anyone would actually read the books(!), much less enjoy them like you have, enough to return to Lastings with me over and again. That means more than I can say without undercutting the sentiment with some quip. Just please know I am grateful.
To everyone who’s visited Lastings, and who may in future: thank you.
LETTERS FROM DARK WATER
Releasing April 30, 2020
Amazon: CA | COM | UK – Kobo – Apple Books
books2read.com/darkwater
Mal Jones has lost all his family to the sea. He is the only Jones remaining in Lastings, a small coastal town scarred with more secrets than salt. A self-declared hermit, Mal lives on the edge of Lastings with his dogs, his history, and his determination to be left alone.
So the letters from a mysterious admirer come as something of a surprise. As does the monstrous oyster shell unearthed from the foundations of the town’s old port, the discovery of which initiates a chain of events that threaten Lastings and everyone in it.
Reeve—letter writer, avid reader, and one of the merfolk—left the darkwater for Lastings at the sea’s behest, and stayed to learn what it is to be a lander. But when ocean creatures begin stalking on land, and seem to be targeting Mal in particular, Reeve is reminded that the only safety is the kind taken at the point of a claw.
When the sea goes walking, no one is left untouched. Together, Mal and Reeve must work to save Lastings—and each other.
PS. The dogs live.
Content warnings: bloody violence; gore; consumption of human flesh; death, including that of a child (the latterly mentioned very briefly, off-screen); child neglect; vomiting; allusions to alcohol dependency.
PS. If you’re wondering where I might be going next… Join my mailing list, and you’ll be first to know!