If you’ve read Seanan McGuire’s Every Heart a Doorway, we know you must have a favorite character: maybe Nancy, the girl who longs to return to the quiet underworld she lost? Kade, unfairly robbed of the honor bestowed on him by a Goblin King? Or maybe it’s Jack and Jill, the twins who returned from a place that seems to have left them deeply…twisted.
Next June, readers will finally get to walk through the doorway that transported Jack and Jill to a world of vicious vampires and mad scientists in Down Among the Sticks and Bones, a new Wayward Children novella set before the events of Every Heart a Doorway.
If you haven’t read Every Heart a Doorway, don’t worry: this tale stands alone. You don’t need any special knowledge to enter the dark otherworld of Jack and Jill (though we would advise watching your back). If you’re already an Every Heart a Doorway fan, you can look forward to seeing more of the worlds Sumi, Kade, Lundy, and Eleanor West herself visited later in the series.
Down Among the Sticks and Bones will be published in partnership with Tor Books, bringing it to a bookstore near you, and will be available in hardcover June 2017. Like all Tor.com Publishing titles, it will be available globally in ebook and print formats. The hardcover edition will feature three illustrations by Rovina Cai, and we’re excited to unveil one of them here! Rovina previously illustrated scenes from Every Heart a Doorway, and we’re happy to have her on board again.
From the catalog copy:
Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.
This is the story of what happened first…
Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline.
Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you’ve got.
They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted.
They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you for a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.
Pre-order Down Among the Sticks and Bones at the links below, or from your favorite ebook retailer.