The news is out: we’re headed back to the Lunarpunk future, as well as its past–aka our present! My Nebula & BSFA Award finalist (and British Fantasy Award longlisted) book, THE INN AT THE AMETHYST LANTERN, gets a sequel AND a prequel!
I just signed the contracts for a two-book deal, with the direct sequel, THE SECRET OF THE SAPPHIRE SENTINEL arriving Autumn 2025 and the prequel, THE DAWN OF DUSK AND TWILIGHT, arriving Autumn 2026, via Android Press.
Here is the official Publishers Marketplace deal report!
THE SECRET OF THE SAPPHIRE SENTINEL immediately follows LANTERN.
The Pitch for THE SECRET OF THE SAPPHIRE SENTINEL
(Mild Spoilers for THE INN AT THE AMETHYST LANTERN)
Summer is over in Glimmerbight, and the shadows of new threats emerge in this Night Living future. Gen Lightworth finds herself at the forefront of a new crisis. Gen and Dhatura share the responsibility of restoring the Inn at the Amethyst Lantern, while Mira’s budding reporting skills help to uncover its secrets. She searches for the publisher of the Biolumen Pen as they go along; and she just may have found it.
Nyota and Amber work with Andraste to train as her apprentices, and to find protections for Glimmerbight against escaped monsters. Jas realizes the importance of the powerful Source within the Amethyst Lantern and researches Bendin’s old logs to try to learn how to restore it to full power. He is not the only one who seeks this information. One of the evil Skaarden’s lackeys survived…and she is perhaps even more formidable and sinister. She seeks the power of the lantern’s Source to gain control of the land.
Lyn, Phan, and Anisette use the ancient Inn as a base of operations to find land, sea, and air protections…including the help of certain animals…to aid in the defense of Glimmerbight, whose adult leaders are in denial of potential invasion. They discover a new chemist has taken over the apothecary that Doc Bozzard abandoned. She is young and mysterious, and the Fireflies need her help…if they can trust her.
Meanwhile, school is starting. Along with the requisite drama, some of the teachers may not be who they seem. Gen must disobey her parents and step up to being a leader again, while wrestling with her feelings and trust for someone who comes back into her life at a pivotal moment. While at school, Gen uncovers a secret: there were multiple old light stations from ancient times.
One of them, the hidden Sapphire Sentinel, could provide the power necessary to reboot the Source and protect Glimmerbight. But not if the villains get there first. The Sapphire Sentinel itself carries its own unique and powerful secrets that could change the future.
The Pitch for THE DAWN OF DUSK AND TWILIGHT
(Mild Spoilers for THE INN AT THE AMETHYST LANTERN)
Meanwhile, THE DAWN OF DUSK AND TWILIGHT is a prequel starting in OUR present, spanning centuries, with the adults facing the end of the world, their many dramas (think Fleetwood Mac), and how they built hope from despair, for the future.
Andraste, Bendin, Doc Bozzard, and yes, the infamous Skaarden make appearances here. As told in THE INN AT THE AMETHYST LANTERN, Night Living came about after a series of calamities over centuries, not just climate disaster. Many stories can and will take place during that time gap.
You’ll learn how this group and their friends and associates (and competitors!) ebbed, flowed, fought, and loved from The Golden Hour (just before everything ends as we know it) to The Dawn of Dusk eras, and into the twilight and full Night Living.
This is a most bittersweet novel, and the adults who shaped Gen Lightworth and the Fireflies’ futures have their own histories worth learning. How did they each use their unique strengths and weaknesses to build the Lunarpunk utopia of LANTERN…or threaten its future? I can’t wait to share the stories with you.
I’m thrilled to return to this lovely Night Living future I’ve made, with Gen and friends, and also to tell the story of how the ancient characters in the first book helped to build something hopeful at the end of the world. Thank you to Android Press for believing in my writing and this universe I’ve built!
In light,
Jendia