I am thrilled to share the beautiful cover of Flower and Thorn – my second YA fantasy novel! It will be released on 17 October 2023 from Wednesday Books. This is also a medieval Indian fantasy, like my previous book Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove, but is set in a different world. It is the most ‘historical’ book I’ve written. It is set in the Gujarat Sultanate in the early sixteenth century, at the time of the Portuguese invasion. It was the beginning of European colonization of the subcontinent, and the time period was fascinating for me to research.

And the story? It’s about a young flower hunter called Irinya who must retrieve a priceless magical flower before it falls into enemy hands. No prizes for guessing who the ‘enemy’ is in this context, hah. As for her co leads, there is the cute boy she grew up with, the attractive emissary from the court of the Sultanate, and the handsome, dangerous wazir himself. Oh, and one very special camel. There is magic, war, intrigue, betrayal and – yes, I can never resist it – romance.

Does that pique your interest? You can preorder! Preorder links for the book are here. And you can add it to goodreads here.

Isn’t the cover gorgeous? My gratitude to jacket designer Olga Grlic for the lovely design! Cover illustrations credit: Oxanaso/Shutterstock.

My thanks, as always, to my wonderful editor Mara Delgado Sánchez and my agent Mary C. Moore for believing in my work. Thanks also to beta reader Keyen Bowes, who read the worst possible version of this book and helped me make it better. ❤