With 2025 winding down and being quite an epic year, I am now pivoting to an eventful year with my 2026 books.
Like 2025, I have four books out in 2026. In 2026, I make the full jump to traditional publishing, and have three other books out via small press. I dance across genres: epic fantasy, horror, and science fiction. I have two young adult books, my first middle grade book, and an adult book. Releases are in April, August, and October. Let’s get into each book.
The Vale of Seven Dragons – April 7, 2026
My 2026 books kick off with my fantasy debut: The Vale of Seven Dragons, out April 7 via Sley House Publishing (who published Atacama).
This is the tale of a rebellious princess and a loyalist prince, seven lost dragons, and the beginning of the end of their world as they know it. The book also begins a planned trilogy, to be followed in 2027 with Coursers of Wings and Flame and in 2028 for the finale, The Vale of Fire Wrought. Read all about The Vale of Seven Dragons HERE. Global preorders begin soon.
Book signing info forthcoming.
Dungeon Crawl at the Haunted Mall – April 21, 2026
My Choose Your Own Adventure® book, Dungeon Crawl at the Haunted Mall, marks my middle grade debut and my jump into traditional publishing. The book publishes April 21.
Delve into the gnarly guts of a long-dead mall in this gloriously weird and whacked-out romp, where friendship, 80s music, and food court slushies are your weapons of choice against spandexed supernatural creeps.
Choose Your Own Adventure® books–the 4th bestselling children’s series of all time–are back and as much fun as you remember. Kids and adults agree, these are the books that get 9- to 12-year-olds reading.
Read more about Dungeon Crawl at the Haunted Mall on the Penguin Random House website HERE. Book tour information can be found linked next to my name.
Godfestation – August 11, 2026
On August 11, my first novella, Godfestation releases. This is an intimate, Appalachian weird horror tale filled with fantastical and chilling elements. Sley House Publishing is releasing this novella.
In Godfestation, Ivy “Fern” Fernberg encounters monstrous beings and strange people following the death of her father. Fern initially brushes them off as hallucinations from complicated grief. Then she realizes that she is not the only one experiencing these visions, and her father could somehow be involved. This is a strange journey of grief, horror, and wonder set in Southern Appalachia.
Preorders are available from most sellers, many of which can be found on my book’s page HERE. Book signings forthcoming.
The Dawn of Dusk and Twilight (The Amethyst Lantern Series Book 3) – October 20, 2026
The Dawn of Dusk and Twilight by me, writing as J. Dianne Dotson, is the prequel to the Nebula and BSFA Award finalist The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern and its sequel, The Secret of the Sapphire Sentinel. This is the third book of a trilogy.
The Dawn of Dusk and Twilight is a prequel starting in our present, spanning centuries, with the characters facing the end of the world, their many dramas, and how they built hope from despair, for the future. Preorders and book signings forthcoming.
And there you have it: my four standalone books for 2026! I may be in some anthologies, but these are the only individual releases. I’m very excited for what will be a full year, and I’m honored to have these books out in the world. I hope you love them!
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