Kelly River

The next novel in the Book of Roses series is out now! Click here to select a purchase link from your retailer of choice.

Following on from Lavender’s Wolf, Calia’s Needle continues the Book of Roses saga while also standing alone as a self-contained story. Whether you’ve read previous books in the series or you’re getting into it for the first time, happy reading!

The Farren Vale, the greatest tapestry ever woven, is being remade. Fresh from a humble apprenticeship, Calia is overwhelmed when the queen selects her to work as a weaver on the project. Yet as opportunity beckons her into the world of courtly life, she crosses paths with Anastasia Fiala, the ruthless and manipulative artist in charge of the tapestry.

Competing for the queen’s favour, a bitter rivalry flares between the two women that threatens to undermine both the Farren Vale and the royal household beyond. With her friends caught in the crossfire and Anastasia’s overbearing mother vying for influence, Calia must find a way to reconcile her talents with the unforgiving reality of life as a royal artisan–or face heartbreaking consequences.

Can the goodness of Calia’s spirit win out over the hard hearts around her, or is she destined to join them in their merciless game?

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In other news, progress on future books in the series is going well! In between an absolute mountain of editing work this year, I’ve also had time to write the next novel in the series, Mender of Monsters, which is now finished pending publication on January 5th. This will be the final book in my spate of shorter standalone novels before I move on to my next big project.

I’ll be spending the rest of 2024 and probably the first half of 2025 working on the first volume of The Song of Silver, which I expect to release at some point midway through next year. It’s shaping up to be another large project similar to the Book of Roses trilogy in scope, following multiple viewpoint characters over the course of years. I currently have loose plans for two volumes, but it’ll likely end up being three.

There’s a lot more I’d love to share, but there’ll be plenty of time for that in the months to come. For now, enjoy Calia’s Needle!