The first editorial review of Ardent Wings on Jealous Skies is in. The Independent Book Review sent me a pre-pub copy of their review, and it’s GLOWING. Here are some choice pull quotes:

“This is a politically intriguing and morally challenging story, a coming-of-age, a reckoning with colonialism and corruption—and it’s rooted in authentic sibling energy… Author Z. Bennett Lorimer’s glittering high-fantasy world mirrors ours with remarkable emotional impact. I frequently paused in awe of the author’s vivid descriptions… Z. Bennett Lorimer has a gift for not only imagining spectacular, staggering drama, but writing these moments with searing emotion… I’ll be thinking about every possible angle—knowing that author Z. Bennett Lorimer will certainly continue to shock both his characters and his readers in unimaginable ways—while I wait for the urgently needed, well-earned sequel.”

The entire review will be published some time later this month on IBR. If you want to read the full text early, it’s up on the HTP blog.

If you’ve read either the extended sample or the full ARC of Ardent WIngs on Jealous Skies, there’s no better time to add us on Goodreads. Unlike vendor websites, Goodreads opens up reviews before publication, and the ratings that accumulate there become one of the most important indicators of a new novel’s success. We welcome all honest reviews, but even if you’re not quite ready to put your thoughts down in paragraphs, you can still enter a star-rating that reflects your reading experience.

Come on. You know you want to rate and review us. I’ll even make you a button:

Not to be outdone, our January release, Seven Days of Mercy for the Apostatic Priest, is also available on Goodreads. I doubt many advance readers and reviewers have had a chance to get too deep into the ARC or the extended preview, but that shouldn’t stop any of you from adding the book to your shelf 🙂

Progress report

Seven Days of Mercy is off to the printer and officially out of my hands. The ARC will be available on NetGalley starting October 10, which gives us a nice 3-month runway for reviewers and bookbuyers to settle in with the book before the January 13 release date. 

In the writing world, I’m officially locked in on the first draft of The Divine Heretic Book 2: What Lies Between. It’s still my goal to get this manuscript to the series editor early next year in service of the planned August release date. Series artist Aicel Escalada already has the RFP and is now working on the cover design, so we should be well ahead of schedule on the art. I don’t foresee my frontburner projects changing much over the next few months. Here’s what I’ll be working on:

• The Divine Heretic Book 2: What Lies Between (Still in first draft)
• The Compact Cycle Book 1: The Politics of Fear (Incorporating some editorial feedback into a polish draft)
• Tales of Ciel Book 4: Cut Him into Stars (Still in first draft)

That should keep me plenty busy into the cold months. Once What Lies Between is with the editor and The Politics of Fear is proofread and off to the printer, I can start digging into The Compact Cycle Book 2: The Kakistocracy of Flagging Need.

By necessity, I’ve become adept at multitasking (parenthood will do that to you), but writing books in The Compact Cycle requires some real focus and deep work. Our flagship space opera is an order of magnitude more complex than the other High Trestle Press series, with each manuscript coming in upwards of 200,000 words. I’ve got multiple storylines to juggle and dozens of POVs, but that’s what it takes to launch a proper space opera. Beta readers really love this one, so I hope you will too.