Launch day is always an exciting one. This one is particularly thrilling.
I have a confession: I’ve always wanted to publish Marie Vibbert. I’m not exactly sure when I first became aware of her work. Maybe it was a science fiction story in one of the big magazines, like Single Malt Spacecraft or the heart-rending Things From Our Kitchen Junk Drawer That Could Save This Spaceship. Or maybe it was one of her anti-Tuesday tirades she gifts us every week on Twitter.
However we met, I’ve always been impressed. There’s something…classic about her style. Her stories would be as at home in the pages of a 60s/70s New Wave science fiction magazine as they are in the most cutting edge venues.
She made the jump to novels with her hit, Galactic Hellcats (unofficial subtitle: “Lesbian Bikers in Space”), and I saw my chance. Casually, I asked if she had any other novels she was thinking of submitting to publishers. Marie gave me a few options, all of which sounded good, but the one that intrigued me the most was “an excuse to write in first-person omniscient”. And so, the draft of The Gods Awoke hit my desk.
It captivated me from the beginning: the mystery of Senne’s origin; the all-too-human struggles of Hitra, priest of Revestre; the depredations of her indentured servant, Illoe; and the beautiful, deeply drawn world they inhabited. It was the kind of story I’d always wanted to see, and written so compellingly that I occasionally felt twinges of envy along with the joy.
And now, at last, we get to share this amazing tale with you! How to classify it? Is it science fiction? Is it fantasy? Feminist fiction? Political thriller? Social satire?
I’m going to stop trying. It’s good. That’s enough. Enjoy!
(and thank you, Marie, for letting me midwife your second book baby 🙂 )
Physical & Digital Editions available now:
Or get it at your favorite local bookshop!
Journey Press 