Hi, Alex! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hi Nerds! I live in East London. I used to be a music journalist and then moved into music management which stressed me out immensely and made me realise I am not, nor ever will be, a hard-nosed wheeler dealer. Instead, I am a yoga practising, church bell ringing, walking in the bluebell woods absolute sap of a human being. I am obsessed with literature and language and were it not for the need to earn a living, I could lounge around reading and eating chocolate all day every day. I love animals – all creatures especially the furry ones – and the Greek Islands. And I swear. I know it’s not big or clever and I try to re-train myself to use alternative words but the swearing feels so good. I may be a hopeless case.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

It all came from my mum. She loved to read. We had very little money but we had library cards and we were always in the library borrowing and returning books. She bought me a story book called “366 Bedtime Stories.” I read something from it every night until I knew all the stories by heart. I thought I’d better have a go at it myself. My first significant opus was a book of short stories called “The Goldfish by Alexandra Banayoda Kadis Aged 9 ½.” I used my mum’s old style type writer and the entire book ran to about six pages most of which were drawings of goldfish. This was soon followed by “The Alligator Collection” which was a book of terrible poetry. Cringingly embarrassing these “works” may have been, but they opened up my universe. I was in awe of the fact that you could make up so many different scenarios. From a blank page. It seemed like magic to me.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: A beautifully illustrated and abridged edition of Jules Verne’s Journey to The Centre of The Earth.
• The one that made you want to become an author: The Catcher in The Rye J.D Salinger
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee

Your debut novel, Big Nobody, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Funny, heartbreaking, layered, shocking, life-affirming.

What can readers expect?

Readers can expect the unexpected. Big Nobody is a little tricky to categorise which is exactly how I wanted it to be. I wanted it to challenge the reader whilst entertaining them and making them laugh. The book is written from the adult perspective of Constance Costa, looking back on the tragic and tragically comic events that shaped her unconventional life. We first meet her when she is a teenager, full of teenage angst and bluster and on the verge of discovering love and sex. And murder. I hope the reader will feel involved, drawn into her story.

Where did the inspiration for Big Nobody come from?

I had read Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, which is about a young boy who is abused and carries the mark of that abuse so that it affects his life negatively. It’s a sad book with very little light. And it also addressed subject matter which was relevant to my life, but not my experience or how I was affected. And I started to think about the what ifs. What if a character who had been through difficult circumstances refused to become a victim. What if that character challenged her oppressors. What if, through imagination and music and friendship, that character could create a new life, one that could be hopeful and fulfilling.  What if the book juxtaposed the very dark with the very funny. What if it the character emerged not damaged, but changed. I wanted to write a book that understood and would give hope.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I loved writing Constance, the main character. I wanted her to be larger than life and to stay with the reader after they’d finished the book, someone you could laugh and cry with, someone who was prepared to do the job of revenge that, perhaps, we’ve all been a bit too scared (or too sane) to do in our own lives at some point. But I also loved writing her Greek auntie, Roulla, who has her own struggles as a woman trying to manage her life within the confines of a draconian patriarchy. She’s multi-layered and also a bit ridiculous and sad. I wanted her to be someone you’d laugh at (not with) but someone you would admire all the same.

My favourite scene to write was the Greek wedding scene. Greek weddings are hilarious anyway. They’re a grab-all-you-can food and drink fest; barely contained chaos.  I wanted to juxtapose a teenage love affair blooming freely against the backdrop of a shotgun wedding. As well as getting all the colour and movement and music of the wedding, I wanted to convey its dark underbelly. It was important to set this up right as this is the night that Constance first feels like an adult and it’s also the night her innocence is destroyed.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

Yes! My biggest challenge was that I was writing an adult book with very adult themes but it began with the reflections of a teenager. It took me a long time to work out how to ensure the opening chapters didn’t read like teen fiction while still capturing the personality and language of a teenager. In the end I got round it by thinking about that amazing film, Stand By Me, with River Phoenix. The adult narrator sets the scene with a voice over and then cuts to the teenagers larking about, or in my case, raging in her bedroom. I wrote a prologue in an adult tone which, I hope helps set that up.

This is your debut published novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?

Well it was exceptionally difficult in that it took me 60 years to get the courage to write it! But once it was written, it was a good experience for me. I found an agent pretty quickly. Getting a deal in the USA happened quickly. There was talk of getting a bid going but I just wanted to work with Sara Birmingham at Random House as soon as I spoke with her. Same with my UK editor, Amy Batley. The fact is, I thought the book was good and that it would get published, but I didn’t think for a second it would happen so quickly. I was also terrified that would not happen at all and throughout the entire business I was pinching myself to make sure it was real and quaking in my boots for fear it would all disappear. I was very lucky that my book landed with the right people.

What’s next for you?

I have two books I want to write. The first is a book which draws from my years of experience in the music world. I’m in the process of creating a character who I hope will win all the hearts he manages to lose, before his story ends. And the next book will be trickier. It’s a bit of an epic which will involve some actual research and travel but which will still revolve around characters who do extraordinary things and take big risks. For me it is always character over plot. I forget plots over time, but always remember a great character.

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?

Just started So Old So Young by Grant Ginder – one chapter in and I’m hopelessly hooked already. I also want to read The Given World by Melissa Harrison – she writes about nature and its relationship with humans so beautifully she makes me want to cry. And I’m taking Wimmy Road Boyz by Sufiyaan Salam on holiday with me next week.

You can find Alex on Instagram, Facebook, and Substack.

Will you be picking up Big Nobody? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Alex Kadis, Author of ‘Big Nobody’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi, Rosemary! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hello! I’m a writer from Dublin and The Hotel Guest is my third novel. Before I wrote novels, I qualified as a solicitor in Ireland and England and worked in research and policy in the NGO sector. You’ll find these influences in my books, where I also like to blend suspense and mystery with explorations of psychology and power—plus characters doing things they shouldn’t!

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I was a big reader as a child to the point that I’d run out of books on trips and holidays. On one of these occasions, my mother suggested I try writing my own stories instead and I loved it. My primary school encouraged me to enter a ‘write-a-book’ competition, which let me imagine myself as a writer. For a lot of writers, a love of books begins in childhood and I feel very strongly about encouraging children towards reading and writing.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe’, CS Lewis.
• The one that made you want to become an author: ‘Little Women’, Louisa May Alcott. (I desperately wanted to be Jo March!)
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: ‘When We Cease to Understand the World’, Benjamín Labatut.

Your latest novel, The Hotel Guest, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Don’t trust the wait staff!

What can readers expect?

It’s a slow burn psychological suspense following a waitress named Kit at a luxury hotel in the French Alps. She falls in with a group of philosophy researchers, who call themselves the Olympians. Over the course of the summer, their experiment with philosophical freedom turns dangerous, dragging Kit into a secret that comes back to haunt her ten years later…

Where did the inspiration for The Hotel Guest come from?

The setting is a big part of this book because I first had the idea for the central character of Kit when I was on holidays in the French Alps. I was people-watching on a hotel terrace and eavesdropping on a guest who was being really rude to one of the staff. The waitress stayed so calm and professional throughout but, as she turned from the table, the mask slipped and I caught a glimpse of how she was really feeling. That split second shift from calm to anger is what hooked me to the idea of a waitress who is not what she seems.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I really enjoyed capturing the mood and atmosphere on the lake and loved spending time in the Olympians’s world. I wrote the book during the long dark months of Irish winter, pretending I was experiencing a heatwave in France, which is one way to cope with the weather!

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

The trickiest part was making the philosophy researchers sound credible and authentic without boring readers. Existentialism is quite a jumpscare when you’re reading a suspense novel, but I promise there’s very, very little philosophy—just the tiniest bit!

What’s next for you?

I’m working on my next novel, which has been a lot of fun because I haven’t plotted it out or used an outline. I have a premise and a group of characters but everything else is developing organically on the page. It means writing the story feels like I’m in on the mystery. 

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?

I can’t wait to get my hands on “Said the Dead” by Doireann Ní Ghríofa, a truly brilliant Irish writer and poet. I’m also keen to read Maggie O’Farrell’s “Land” and Emily St John Mandel’s “Exit Party”.

Will you be picking up The Hotel Guest? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Rosemary Hennigan, Author of ‘The Hotel Guest’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from The Girl Upstairs by Jessica R. Patch, which releases on April 28th 2026.

She bought this house to save her marriage. Unearthing its secrets might just claim her life.

Gwen McDaniel’s life is broken. But she knows the perfect place to fix it. Cold Harbor, Maine, an idyllic small town with views of Acadia National Park, is where she used to vacation with her parents as a child. Here, she and Steven can start over, renovating their cliff-side fixer-upper while patching up their marriage. Soon, everything will be better.

Except from the moment they arrive, Gwen sees and hears things, and it’s more than just the drafts and shadows that are part of any old house. Steven downplays her fears, warning her not to fixate on problems as she has in the past. But Gwen spent years as a homicide detective, and her instincts don’t lie. Something happened here. Proof comes when she rips up the attic’s carpet to discover a chilling message carved into the wood underneath.

As Gwen delves into the history of the house and the Cold Harbor community, she begins to piece the fragments together. And gradually, a terrifying picture emerges: A missing girl. A house of horrors. And a dark, decades-old nightmare that is more haunting than Gwen ever imagined…

Chapter 1

She can breathe easy since she feels no consequences.

I, on the other hand, feel suffocated every day.

“What are you thinking?” Steven slips his hand in mine as the U-Haul trailer bounces behind us. He rubs my wedding ring with his thumb. We’ve been married almost eleven years. I was thirty and thought we would have forever, grow old together. Now I’m not so sure that’s going to happen.

I cast a glance at him; the crinkles around his eyes have deepened in the past year, but his hair is still full, dark and wavy with only a few traces of silver. The right lens of his glasses is smudged, but I don’t comment; however, it’s going to bug me now. Steven rattles my hand in his. “Deep thoughts, huh?”

Yes. But if I tell him she’s on my mind, the atmosphere in the SUV will plummet by twenty degrees, and the rest of our night will go to pot. He’s made it clear I am no longer to discuss her, mention her or look her up online. It’s over. We’re moving, and that means forward living and thinking, which doesn’t include her. She’s in the rearview mirror—back in Baltimore.

Cold Harbor, Maine, is the place where we’ll settle and plant new roots. Kick off the Labor Day weekend by laboring to move in. I squeeze his hand and smile. “I’m thinking I’m ready for this new chapter in our lives, and we should hurry inside the house, make it our own. Settle in.”

We bought the most perfect home on the cliffs overlooking Cold Harbor. I knew we had to snap it up, and it was a steal. We put down an offer sight unseen—minus the photos—and then Steven flew out a few days later to do the walk-through while I stayed home and packed and finalized the sale of our Baltimore home. It sold for a mint and fast.

Gotta love the seller’s market.

Moving here and fixing up this house will be the perfect way to start over, keep my mind off her and begin a new chapter. Find myself—as Steven puts it.

Find myself? As if I’m lost.

The past few weeks have been a whir of busyness. But he’s acted excited, and I do mean acted. Steven says leaving his prestigious career at Johns Hopkins could be for the best, and he looks forward to working in a small-town clinic. But I don’t buy it. Probably because he’s not selling it well.

I’m not happy about why we’re leaving, and I’m not selling it either.

As the green sign signals we’re approaching Cold Harbor, my heart beats faster, and my stomach twists and turns like a rickety wooden roller coaster.

He brings my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. “I’m happy to see you happy.”

Okay, maybe I’m selling it better than I thought.

“This will be good for you, Gwen. A chance to throw yourself into something productive.” A slight scowl creases his brow. “Something healthy.”

Bristling, I let his passive-aggressive remark go unanswered. I’m sick of my emotional and mental health being tossed in my face like a cold wet rag. Steven is a primary care physician. An excellent doctor. Recognized for his clinical work as a 2020 inductee into the Johns Hopkins Community Physicians Academy of Clinical Excellence. Which makes him a terrible patient himself and a know-it-all concerning my mental health, which is not his specialty. Internal medicine is what he’s good at.

“Yeah,” I murmur. “It really is gorgeous here. Much prettier than the photos or what I remember as a child.”

“I told you,” he says.

We’re surrounded by forest, and the leaves haven’t quite changed color. That will come later this month and peak mid-October. Fall is my favorite. I love the blending colors of terracotta, crimson, gold and chocolate. Love the colder nights and crisp mornings.

“Yep, you did, and you’re right.” Steven is always right, even when he’s wrong.

“I thought we might have a picnic dinner tonight out by the cliffs, overlooking the water. Might even kindle that firepit that’s out there. Just the two of us.” He kisses my hand again. I shift and look at the car seat.

“And Baby Tara, of course.” She’s in her seat, eyes closed and a pacifier in her mouth. She’s precious with soft caps of brunette hair, like Steven, and deep blue eyes, almost brown. Steven and I both have brown eyes.

Now it’s Steven’s turn to stiffen. “Of course.” He clears his throat. “Can you call Teresa and let her know we’re five minutes out? She’s going to bring the keys by.” Cold Harbor is Gilmore Girls–ish, which means no one lives that far away. Steven says Teresa as if he’s known her his entire life. She’s twenty-four and single with everything in the upright position and gorgeous walnut hair. Total opposite of me.

“Sure.” I dial, and her perky voice pierces my ear.

“Oh, awesome! I’m already here, actually, excited to hand over the keys to you. This is my second house I’ve sold since becoming a real estate agent. I think I already told you that, though.”

Four times, but who’s counting? “You did. Congrats. See you in a few.”

After ending the call, I take in the blue skies and gorgeous scenery as the road winds upward. Our house is nestled in a cluster of woods and overlooks the harbor. We’re secluded, and to be honest, after city living, I’m here for it. As a former homicide detective with the Baltimore PD, I’m peopled out. Criminals and good humans, though I’ve rarely found a human good. We all harbor secrets, cover up sins with lies and learn how to deceive others and ourselves. I’m cynical, but that’s par for the course when you see what I do—did—every day.

The narrow road winds through a tunnel of trees, their branches arching overhead like a canopy, filtering the afternoon light into dappled gold. Our driveway veers off halfway down, a gravel path that crunches beneath the tires and leads to our new house—secluded, quiet and wrapped in green. Before this, we lived in a cramped row house in Baltimore, hemmed in on both sides by nosy neighbors. Their dogs barked like alarms at all hours, and their kids shrieked in the street until dusk. I hated both—but for different reasons. The dogs were relentless, the kids unpredictable. Noise without pause, chaos without end.

We approach the large, ancient home, and my belly hitches. I rub it and frown at the unsettling feeling. As a child, I loved our vacations in Acadia National Park. Me, Mom, Dad all camping, hiking, playing in the water and roasting hot dogs. Maybe that’s why I chose here to live. I want that again. Good times. Making fond memories. Losing Dad six years ago to cancer was hard, and Mom passing from an aneurism a year ago even tougher. She would have loved visiting here, moving in with us even. We now have the room. Many rooms, and I hope to fill them all.

We park but don’t exit. Instead we take it all in silently.

The house looms over the harbor, its whitewashed exterior faded. It perches on the bluff like something forgotten, left to rot against the salt and wind. The porch wraps around the front, its boards warped and buckling. I can tell they’ll protest beneath my feet when I approach. Two barrels of dead flowers flank the doors.

The windows are the worst—too many, too large. They stare blankly, smeared with age and dust, clouded, like the house has been watching for so long it’s gone blind.

According to Teresa, the house caught fire in 1980, but it was contained to the main floor’s primary room and the bathroom beside it. Tragic accident around Christmastime.

The roof curls at the edges, blackened with damp, and the chimney stands like a broken spine, bricks crumbling away one by one.

Behind it, the forest presses in. The trees of Acadia stand silent, the pines too still, the birches stripped bare like reaching bones.

Something about the house is jarring. Not just old or neglected. Plenty of houses wear their history in their walls, in their beams, in the way the air inside feels heavy with time, but this one feels like the years left behind something that never quite settled.

We finally step out of the vehicle. I stand a few feet from the porch steps. The wind shifts, cold and sudden, and I swear the house exhales. Like it’s been holding its breath.

Like it’s been expecting me.

Teresa leans on her black Volkswagen Tiguan and chats away, but the icy pull of the house has made me miss whatever she said. The pictures couldn’t have been photoshopped, could they? Are homes like people? Some photogenic, others not so much.

Teresa’s grinning now, but I can’t focus. My lungs seize as my insides flush like I have the flu. I might be sick.

Sweat breaks out like an underground fountain springing up across my body, and I rest my hand on the SUV to steady myself. Panic attack. Why now? Why in front of Steven and Teresa?

Steven strides to her, ignoring me, thankfully.

His hand is already outstretched in greeting, greedy to claim hers. Slow down, tiger. She isn’t going anywhere. I might not be either. My legs are frozen in place.

Teresa continues discussing the house’s potential with him, but her words are garbled due to the blood whooshing in my ears.

Finally, he turns back to me. “Gwen, you okay, hon?”

“Yeah.”

Teresa clutches her chest. “I hope it’s not the history of the house making you uncomfortable. I told your husband it was a long time ago, but no one likes to hear a child was murdered in the home they’re buying.”

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Hi Kamilah, thank you for joining us today. Please could you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your book An Arcane Inheritance?

Thank you for having me! My name is Kamilah Cole, and I’m a Jamaican-born and American-raised author of fantasy novels for teens and Adults. My debut duology, the Divine Traitors, is a “Jamaican Joan of Arc with dragons”, featuring books So Let Them Burn and This Ends in Embers. I wrote a sapphic short story for the USA Today bestselling anthology, The Secret Romantic’s Book of Magic. An Arcane Inheritance is my Adult debut, a standalone dark academia fantasy with romance, horror, mystery, and thriller elements.

An Arcane Inheritance follows 21-year-old Ellory Morgan, who starts at a fictional ivy league university in Hartford, CT, as a late freshman. She begins to question her reality when she finds a tattoo on the back of her neck that she does not remember getting, written in her own hand, that says REMEMBER. From there, she has to team up with the school’s surly golden boy to figure out what happened to her lost memories and who stands to benefit from keeping her in ignorance.

What conscious changes did you make writing within the adult space as opposed to the YA one and how did you find that switch?

The main difference for me between writing YA and writing Adult is in the emotional beats. The way that I would respond to a situation at twenty-one is wildly different from how I would respond to that same situation at seventeen. Teenagers have their emotions far closer to the surface; they’re more active before thinking of the consequences. Adults tend to think more than they act, because the consequences of impulsive actions—say, punching someone in the face—are more serious (i.e. losing your job, getting arrested jail for assault). It was a fun challenge!

What is one message or lingering thought that you’d like readers to take away from this book?

You don’t have to wait for anyone to empower you to go after what you want. The power you need is inside of you—and they are terrified that you’re going to figure that out.

What do you think keeps drawing readers and writers back to Dark Academia?

I think what’s fascinating about academia—and what fascinates me about the genre—is that no two people had the same experience. It’s so colored by where you came from, what you’re studying, how much money you have, who your friends are, etc. Despite being a supposed equalizer, education in practice is very inequitable. There are “good schools” and “bad schools”, students who do poorly academically but have connections or athletic skill that make them more desirable, and many people exit college with massive debt and no job to show for it. That is fertile ground for new stories because no two will ever truly be alike.

It’s also a good way to tell a thrilling adventure with a contained cast and a single location—the school. Though no two stories are the same, you can become familiar enough with the tropes of dark academia to make the genre as comforting as romance’s guaranteed HEA or horror’s guaranteed scares. I think there’s a comfort in that which attracts both writers and readers.

How do you think your writing style and routine has evolved over your journey as a writer?

I love working on my writing on a craft level: reading new books across multiple genres, studying prose that I like to figure out why I like it, buying new writing guides, etc. So I think, or rather I hope, that every new book elevates my writing style in some way, because I like to challenge myself. An Arcane Inheritance was my first standalone. Wicked Endeavors is my first romantasy. This Ends in Embers was my first time writing a sequel, and So Let Them Burn was my first time writing a book inspired by my culture. I want to look back at my body of work and say that I truly pushed myself—again, hopefully to new heights, but that’s up to the readers!

In what ways does working in publishing affect you as a writer?

There is so much about publishing that is opaque to new writers. Timelines, what is and isn’t possible, who does what—all those things I’m blessed to know because I work in publishing and I try to share that knowledge with debuts when I can. I know that people on both sides, in and out of publishing, are doing their best in an industry that’s working them to the bone, and I guess I just try to be kind.

What songs or music would serve as your ideal soundtrack for An Arcane Inheritance?

Oh, each of my books has its own playlist that I put up on Spotify. For the curious, you can find them here. An Arcane Inheritance was largely written to “Losing Your Memory” by Ryan Star, “MY POWER” by Beyoncé, and “It Will Come Back” by Hozier, among others.

What books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?

Deadly Ever After by Brittany Johnson, The Lord of the Wood by EM Anderson, On Sunday She Picked Flowers by Yah-Yah Scholfield, My Keen Knife by Ana Davis, and Witch Queen Rising by Savannah Stephens are top of mind for me. I’m excited to finish Aicha by Soraya Bouazzaoui, The Drakon King by Terry J. Benton-Walker, Death Card by Jasmine Smith, The Court of Venus by Bel Banta, and The Darkness Bites Back by Laura R. Samotin and Ben Alderson.

If possible, please can you share a little about what you are currently working on or any upcoming projects you have?

I just turned in the first draft of my Adult vampire fantasy, They Call Her Death, which I pitch as Vampire Princess Diaries. It’s about a woman who attends her father’s funeral only to discover that he was the king of the hidden vampire world and he’s named her his heir. Next up, I’m working on the sequel to Wicked Endeavors, my YA romantasy set in a Spanish Renaissance inspired world about a powerless girl who cons her way into the annual social season of the elite witches that colonized her country only to find her revenge complicated by her revenge by two very different boys. The first book comes out this September.

Finally if you could only use five words to describe An Arcane Inheritance, what would they be? 

You’ll never guess the ending.

An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole, Sourcebooks, $39.99, 25 February 2026, available in print and audio.

Will you be picking up An Arcane Inheritance? Have you already? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Kamilah Cole, Author of ‘An Arcane Inheritance’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from A Thousand Cuts by Gregory Poirier, which releases on April 28th 2026.

Seven years after a CIA mission in Laos went sideways, Max lives in the gray spaces between criminals and justice, recovering stolen goods for villains who don’t ask questions. But when he’s lured to Bangkok under false pretenses, his past catches up with him.

The setup: an old flame, Kelly Riggs, now married to his CIA rival.

The job: steal $130 million in dictator-owned gold before a coup ignites.

The problem : everyone plans a double-cross—and Max is the mark. Then there’s Giuliana Abara, Max’s sharp-tongued “companion,” an undercover FBI agent with secrets of her own, who further proves that trust kills and redemption demands blood in this high-octane debut thriller—spanning the streets of Bangkok to the Laotian rainforest— by screenwriter Gregory Poirier.

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Hi, John! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

I’ve spent a significant part of my life in places where people don’t feel safe.

I once worked as a foreign correspondent in a country suffering from a genocidal civil war. As the situation deteriorated, I was threatened with execution and had daily encounters with death. You don’t come out of that unchanged. Even now, I sit with my back to the wall in restaurants.

I wrote THE TRAVELER during a personal breakdown. I didn’t use my real name because the person I had been couldn’t have written that book.

I’ve always been drawn to George Orwell—not just his work, but his decision to become someone else in order to say what needed to be said.

There was also a contradiction I couldn’t ignore. I was writing about the collapse of privacy in the modern world. Going on television and talking about my personal life would have undermined everything I believed.

The name John Twelve Hawks came from a moment that felt like a signal. I walked into a forest at dawn and found a nest of red-tailed hawks. A dozen rose into the air and circled me—one so close it brushed my head. That stayed with me.

I’ve remained anonymous for more than twenty years. When THE GOLDEN CITY was published, I asked readers to sign books with my name. Around the world, people held “I Am John Twelve Hawks” events.

Ten years ago, I nearly died of sepsis. Since then, I don’t take a single day for granted.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

Books weren’t a hobby—they were survival.

My father was killed when I was 12. By 16, I was on my own. Reading fiction gave me knowledge, meaning, and a way forward.

After college, I worked for a private investigator in New York City, searching for missing kids in Times Square.

One night, we went to the morgue looking for a runaway. Bodies on the floor. A skull being cut open. I tried to turn what I’d seen into a magazine article. It failed.

The next day, I wrote it as fiction.

That’s when I understood something simple: fiction can tell the truth in ways journalism can’t.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you remember reading: A Flash comic—pure momentum, pure energy.
• The one that made you want to become an author: THE STRANGER, by Albert Camus.
• The one you can’t stop thinking about: Cormac McCarthy’s THE ROAD.

Your latest novel, Certainty, is out April 28! If you could describe it in five words, what would they be?

A child: killed or killer?

What can readers expect?

A fast-moving story that shows how AI is going to change our lives.

Where did the inspiration for Certainty come from?

Reality is already doing the work for us.

The Chicago Police Department developed a “Two Degrees of Association” program to predict who was likely to kill or be killed within a particular precinct. That idea stayed with me.

Then I pushed it one step further: what happens when the system points to a child?

And once the system makes that judgment—who’s willing to question it?

Were there any moments or characters you especially enjoyed writing?

Kate and Zeno. She’s a ten-year-old girl, and Zeno is her AI companion. At first, it’s functional. Then it becomes emotional.

That’s the line we’re crossing now—not in fiction, but in real life.

If a machine can respond like it cares, does the distinction still matter?

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

Every writer faces the same question: is this worth it?

On my wall is a drawing of Philip K. Dick. It’s a reminder of how this can end—brilliant work, difficult life.

You accept the risk and keep going.

Beckett said it best: “I can’t go on, I’ll go on.”

What’s next for you?

A film adaptation of SPARK, written with Nicholas Kazan and produced by Charles Roven (Oppenheimer).

And a three-book graphic novel that expands into new territory.

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?

THE MASTER AND MARGARITA by Bulgakov.

Will you be picking up Certainty? Tell us in the comments below!

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About Mrs. Benedict Arnold: A riveting reimagining of the young woman who almost ended the American Revolution. Out April 28th 2026.

Tatiana de Rosnay’s SARAH’S KEY takes the story of a ten year old French girl, and the American journalist excavating her case, to dramatize the unthinkably massive betrayal of 76000 Jewish men, women and children by French citizens and authorities in 1942.

With a plot like clockwork and clear, vivid prose, de Rosnay makes history indelible. Through spare details and deep feeling she conjures the bond between siblings, the casual cruelty of a concierge, and Parisians who profited from properties vacated by the round-up, and the Vichy-pleasing French police who exceeded even Nazi expectations. With a seamless dual timeline, the book’s momentum doesn’t let up.

Though de Rosnay’s focus is the cost of hate, more than its agents, she includes the chilling detail of Le Juif et La France, an anti-semitic propaganda exhibition in Paris staged in the run up to the round-up, and sends the reader to Chirac’s 1995 speech marking the anniversary of July 16 with its enjoinder to vigilance. Watch for cynical politics, the propagation of fear and exclusion, remember, horror is not impossible and refuse to be “passive onlookers, or accomplices, to the unacceptable”.

A novel that illuminates and disseminates history as well as fiction can.

Alison Weir’s INNOCENT TRAITOR contains a betrayal a page, culminating in the execution of Lady Jane Grey for treason. This was the first work of fiction from the popular historian, and her deep research is beautifully distilled through a fantastic constellation of characters. 

Weir leaves the gate and keeps the pace with such assurance, we are delighted by the storytelling even as we are outraged by accelerating events.  The poisoning of a King, switching of a body, heresies, rape, endless scheming and the unnecessary death of a sixteen year old girl at the will of her cousin.

I’ve heard fun snark about the Tudors and their dominance of the English heritage industry, but their dramatic stories first excited my interest in history, and definitely made me susceptible to heroines at the center of wildly consequential events getting to exercise some agency…

“Let us being with two girls at a dance” O’Farrell’s command is enthralling from the start. Maggie O’Farrell’s fourth novel, THE VANISHING ACT OF ESME LENNOX is a masterpiece of gothic wrongdoing told in cool, elegant prose. The intimate, ruthless, unthinkably vast wrong done by a sister is set against the wider history of women betrayed by their parents – imprisoned in institutions for life for a moment of adolescent disobedience, sexual activity, or not fitting in.  

Though the novel is infested with betrayal, rape, hypocrisy, infidelity, theft, and terrible derelictions of trust, there are plenty of moments of wry comedy and no hint of over-kill. The novel’s ultimate betrayal, that perfectly patient revenge, is stunning.

A LIFE OF JESUS by Shusaku Endo was a revelation to me. The great Japanese novelist conjures the historical figure with a simplicity that feels preternaturally vivid. The story is rooted in a landscape described with incredible sensory immediacy – the desert, Judean villages, town of Nazareth, Galilea and Garden of Gethsemane are so real you’ll feel you’ve visited. 

Endo comments on his story in progress – without cost to suspense – with lightly worn scholarship and conversational analysis. He doesn’t shrink from miracles or contradictions – and riffs pleasantly, convincingly, on the resurrection itself.  

Endo makes the betrayal of Jesus, by his adversaries, the Sanhedrin, Pilate, soldiers, former supporters and the mob, unbearably affecting, along with the appalling fate of so many apostles. The extent of persecution is so clearly rendered it excites a child’s sense of outrage. Who on earth would have the nerve? 

After conjuring arguably the most famous betrayal ever, that of Judas, by Jesus, and its terrible consequence, Endo extends impressive narrative compassion. “What Jesus suffered today, was for Judas to suffer forever.” And yet, “by means of his death, Jesus poured out his love even on the man who betrayed him.”

Mark Twain considered JOAN OF ARC the best of all his books (as well as the one he liked the most) but that is not the consensus, and it’s not so known as the rest.   Twain spent twelve years preparing and two years writing the book, while “the others needed no preparation and got none”. His immersion in the archives and the time he spent researching in France, retrieving the young woman from the myth, and giving her voice and life, is rewarded all the way. 

The  ridiculous narrator gives a convincingly intimate picture of Joan and her phenomenal encounters and adventures, but Twain’s inimitable playfulness, the irony and absurdity, don’t make her betrayal by the King, Cauchon, all those ministers and religious figures, the same country she’d saved, less devastating.

Read it to think about true love of country; competing claims for loyalty; hypocrisy and heresy; the terrible penalty there once was for cross dressing – and to remember Joan is still the youngest person to lead an entire army of any sex. 

“She was the Genius of Patriotism,” Twain said. “And easily and by far and away the most extraordinary person the human race has ever produced.”

The post Five Books About Historic Betrayals appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi, Anna! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hi! I’m an Aussie author who lives on Wurrundjeri land outside Melbourne with my husband and kids. The two items I’ve bought an embarrassing number of times before getting it right are strollers and guinea pig cages. You have an 80% chance of finding my nose in a book at any given time.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

It’s hard to think back far enough to distinguish “first”, but I can still recite whole sentences of stories I was writing at 8 years old. The tenor of my writing hasn’t changed all that much, to be honest. It seems I love an overwrought weirdo whatever age I am.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: Probably a Faraway Tree book!
• The one that made you want to become an author: This one’s hard, because I’ve wanted to be an author since I was a kid. But when I think about deciding to write romance, I think of Julia Quinn. Let’s say The Secret Diary of Miss Miranda Cheever.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: In Memoriam by Alice Winn. !!!!!

Your latest novel, The Duke, is out April 28^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Hot lady duke in love.

What can readers expect?

The Duke will give you the best parts of an old-school historical – emotional intensity, high stakes, political machinations, an ocean’s worth of longing – with a queer twist: the icy, impenetrable duke is a woman. The audiobook version captures all these things perfectly, for those of your readers who like to listen!

Where did the inspiration for The Duke come from?

I was being plagued by a powerful, self-assured female character. I couldn’t quite get her right. I thought she was the daughter of a duke, but the whole thing clicked when I realised she herself was the duke.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

The duke’s love interest, a French courtesan called Celine, was an absolute delight. I wrote three very different versions of this book before I got it right, and in every single one Celine poured onto the page. She’s at the lowest point in her life, where any wrong move will end in destitution then death, but she never gives up. I was moved by her burning desire to live.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

I had to wade through some internalised homophobia and misogyny in order to reach the unapologetic final version of my duke. But I have wonderfully patient, kind and smart friends who shepherded me through without making me feel any worse about it than I needed to, while helping to make the book a hundred times better.

What’s next for you?

The Marquess of Royston appears in The Duke in all her scandalous imperfection. She’s a mess. She’s unhappy. She’s the reason mamas lock their daughters up at night. She is fighting me every step of the way, but she’s the most fun I’ve ever had on page. Her book The Rake is next.

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?

When I hear about a book I want to read I add it to my library holds and then forget about it until it pops up in my notifications like a present. The two books I’m most excited about are Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell and Hold Me Like A Grudge by Celine Ong.

For any book news and updates you can sign up to my newsletter here.

Will you be picking up The Duke? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Anna Cowan, Author of ‘The Duke’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Girl Reflected in Knife by Anica Mrose Rissi, which is out now.

Destiny can’t count on anyone but herself. Her mother has struggled with addiction for all of Destiny’s life, moving them from town to town, bad boyfriend to bad boyfriend—including a particularly dark period in Texas, where Destiny ended up in a psychiatric hospital. But Destiny’s mother is newly sober and stable. And Destiny is falling in love.

Destiny never believed in happily ever after, but that doesn’t stop her confidence from fraying when the first guy she ever trusted casually shatters her heart. Spiraling hard, she tells a tiny, desperate lie to buy herself a moment of hope. But as the lie grows and the pressures tangle, she gets lost in her own deception, and the line between truth and fantasy starts to blur.

With time untethered and her perception in knots, Destiny must find a way to reclaim her story and weave a new ending—before its beginnings unravel.

“Be careful of the story you tell yourself. It might become the one you believe.”

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The post Read An Excerpt From ‘Girl Reflected in Knife’ by Anica Mrose Rissi appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

About The Sea Spinner: Blazing with reawakened magic, a young woman challenges the tides of fate in this highly anticipated sequel to the #1 Sunday Times bestseller The Wind Weaver. Out April 28th 2026.

Whenever the real world feels inescapably heavy, I like to slip into a fictional one instead. Is there any greater escape than an all-consuming fantasy novel? Or, better yet, a series? Some of my personal favorites draw influence from the myths and legends of old, where fae are more monster than man, stakes are deadly high, and tragedy is tightly interwoven with even the sweetest victory…

Here are six fantasy series recommendations (some contemporary, some classic) that incorporate Irish, Welsh, or Norse mythology.

Daughter of the Forest (The Sevenwaters Series, #1) by Juliet Marillier

Marillier weaves a spellbinding tale of sacrifice and sorcery in this retelling of the Celtic legend of “The Six Swans” where a young woman risks everything to save her brothers from a deadly enchantment. With lush writing and wholly immersive worldbuilding, this classic fantasy seamlessly blends history and mythology. Read it as a standalone or continue on with the other books in the Sevenwaters saga, which follows future generations of the same family through various perils and passions.

Darkfever (The Fever Series, #1) by Karen Marie Moning

Celtic legend collides with the contemporary world in The Fever Series, which follows plucky heroine Mackayla Lane through fae-infested streets of modern Dublin in a quest to track down her sister’s killer. The series draws heavily from Irish mythology throughout all five books (and their later spin-offs), and never shies away from dark subject matter. The monsters are genuinely horrifying, the romance is torturously slow burn, and, the heroine’s steady character development shines through even the grimmest plot twists.

Broken Souls and Bones (Stonegate, #1) by LJ Andrews

The first in a duology, this Norse-inspired fantasy immediately draws you into an intricately penned world full of pulse-pounding danger and devilish plots. It also features one of the most interesting magic systems I’ve come across lately, where practitioners employ different “crafts” of blood, bone, soul, and melding. Andrews’ characters are carefully penned throughout, facing both internal and external struggles as the story progresses. But beware the cliffhanger! You’ll want to dive straight into book two. (Which, luckily, is already available.)

The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1) by Holly Black

In this first installment of a young adult trilogy, Black tosses her human heroine into the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Infused equally with family drama and fae politics, heartwarming scenes and heart-wrenching twists, it’s difficult to put this book down once you start reading. The lore is rich, the pacing well-penned. The tension never lets up (and I’m not just talking about the delicious enemies-to-lovers dynamic). Don’t let the “young adult” classification scare you off. There’s plenty for grown-ups to enjoy here, too.

A Fate Inked in Blood (Saga of the Unfated Series, #1) by Danielle L. Jensen

This Norse-inspired duology starter serves up an equal portion of romance and fantasy, perfectly balancing sizzling chemistry with magic and action. Between the atmospheric setting and strong cast of side characters, you’ll feel you’re right alongside shield-maiden heroine Freya as she battles to control both her destiny and her goddess-granted powers.

The Wren in the Holly Library (The Oak and Holly Cycle, #1) by K.A. Linde

According to the author’s note at the start of the book, this unique contemporary spin on Celtic mythology was inspired by Linde’s own trip to Ireland, and a particularly formative visit to the library at Trinity College. Here, a post-apocalyptic New York City serves as a playground for fae, druids, monsters, nymphs, vampires, werewolves, and more mythological creatures. Linde’s skillful worldbuilding really shines through, beautifully layered without ever feeling bogged down. (Trolls in the subway? That’s pure fantasy fun!)

PS: My own fantasy trilogy begins with The Wind Weaver, a tale inspired by the Welsh goddess Rhiannon. (And the Fleetwood Mac song of the same name.) The rich folklore found in the Mabinogion collection of Welsh stories helped me immensely in shaping the world of Anwyvn and its fraught political structures. Page one drops you into a huge, war-ravaged realm where the fae have been hunted down and possessing magic is punishable by death… 

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