Some Incredibly Exciting News!

My book, The Viper and the Urchin is finished! It is now a Thing That Exists, and that Thing (or rather the ebook copy for now) is available for pre-order on Amazon at the very bargain pre-launch price of $0.99. It will be properly out in the world late July. To say that I’m excited is an understatement of epic proportion, and likewise about being nervous.

D’you want to see the cover? Here it is in all its full-sized glory:
What do you think, do you like it? It’s by Ravven, and I’m so pleased with it! And not just because of my very childish excitement at seeing my name on the cover.

The story’s steampunk but set in a world of my creation — the tropical city of Damsport. There’s a bit of mystery and humour thrown in there for good measure too. Here’s the blurb:

The Viper and The Urchin

Being Damsport’s most elegant assassin is hard work. There’s tailoring to consider, devilish poisons to concoct, secret identities to maintain… But most importantly, Longinus has to keep his fear of blood hidden or his reputation will be ruined. So, when a scrawny urchin girl threatens to expose his phobia unless he teaches her swordsmanship, he has no choice but to comply.

It doesn’t take long for Rory to realise that her new trainer has more eccentricities than she has fleas. But she’ll put up with anything, no matter how frustrating, to become a swordswoman like her childhood hero.

What she’s not prepared for is a copycat assassin who seeks to replace Longinus, and who hires Rory’s old partner in crime to do away with her, as well. Rory and Longinus must set their differences aside and try to work together if they’re to stop the copycat. But darker forces than they realise are at play, and with time running out, the unlikely duo find themselves the last line of defence against a powerful enemy who seeks to bring Damsport to its knees.

All very exciting stuff!

I actually wanted to ask you all for some help at this point. One of the most important things for a new book is word of mouth and early reviews. With that in mind I’m looking to give away a number of free advance copies of the ebook in exchange for an honest review. If you like the look and sound of the book, or if you’re feeling generous and want to help me out, I’d really love to send you a free copy. Just let me know in the comments or at cfjeanjean@gmail.com

You can also read the first chapter here if you want to get a better feel for the story first.

Or, if you’d rather wait for it to come out next month, here are the links where you can find it:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

I have to admit writing this post really wasn’t easy – it’s an uncomfortable thing to put yourself out there and ask for help so publicly. I fretted and fussed over writing it, and then I remembered a piece of advice Carrie mentioned a while back: “you have to put on your big girl pants and get it done” (or something along those lines – I’m paraphrasing here.) So I put on the big girl pants and wrote the post. If you must know, my big girl pants aren’t that comfortable, but I’m slowly getting used to them…