We are thrilled to be revealing the cover for E.J. Schwartz’s debut novel Before We Were Blue, which publishes on September 14th 2021 from Flux Books!
Before We Were Blue is available to pre-order on Amazon, Book Depository, Bookshop, and Indiebound. Flux Books and North Star Editions currently have 30% off fall release preorders using code FALL21 and free shipping when you spend over $30.
Get healthy on their own—or stay sick together? At Recovery and Relief, a treatment center for girls with eating disorders, the first thing Shoshana Winnick does is attach herself to vibrant but troubled Rowan Parish. Shoshana—a cheerleader on a hit reality TV show—was admitted for starving herself to ensure her growth spurt didn’t ruin her infamous tumbling skills. Rowan, on the other hand, has known anorexia her entire life, thanks to her mother’s “chew and spit” guidance. Through the drudgery and drama of treatment life, Shoshana and Rowan develop a fierce intimacy—and for Rowan, a budding infatuation, that neither girl expects.
As “Gray Girls,” patients in the center’s Gray plan, Shoshana and Rowan are constantly under the nurses’ watchful eyes. They dream of being Blue, when they will enjoy more freedom and the knowledge that their days at the center are numbered. But going home means separating and returning to all the challenges they left behind. The closer Shoshana and Rowan become, the more they cling to each other—and their destructive patterns. Ultimately, the girls will have to choose: their recovery or their relationship.
E.J. Schwartz says, “The cover of BEFORE WE WERE BLUE jets me to outer space. With just a glance, I can spot my two main characters, Shoshana and Rowan, by the difference in their shoe styles. Neither of their feet are planted on the ground, though. Instead, they’re suspended, drawn close by a force that looks like a tornado or a monsoon or, really, any earthly, destructive event. That’s why this cover speaks to my novel; it shows how sometimes a person can come along and then all bets are off. Love can be equal parts insatiable and irrational. I love these girls with my whole heart and I hope you’ll care for them as much as I do. Lucky, aren’t I, that my favorite color is blue!”
Author Bio
E.J. Schwartz is a recent graduate from the MFA program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Barrelhouse, and Necessary Fiction, among others. She was born and raised in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. Before We Were Blue is her first novel.
You can find E.J. on Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and her website.
