We’re thrilled to be revealing the cover for Lindsay S. Zrull’s Goth Girl, Queen of the Universe, along with an excerpt from the first chapter! Releasing on July 19th 2022, gothic fashionista Jess is on a mission to reunite with her estranged biological mother—but is she willing to risk her new friends, cosplay championship, and even her future to do so?
Intrigued? Well read on to learn more and pre-order Goth Girl, Queen of the Universe at Flux Books and North Star Editions where you can use the code FALL2022 for 30% off fall preorders until November 8, 2022.
But first, here’s what Lindsay had to say about her cover!
“For the cover of GOTH GIRL, QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE, we gave the artist a unique challenge: combine the protagonist’s goth aesthetic with space and cosplay imagery. We ended up with something beautiful and fun without ignoring the more serious emotions also present in this story about building your own family in the most unlikely of places. What I love most about this cover is the protagonist’s confident grin as she sits perched in a crescent moon, sewing all of the book’s elements together with thorns.”
Bounced between foster homes since the age of seven, Jessica knows better than to set down roots. Most of the kids at her new Michigan high school think she’s a witch anyway (because, you know, goth). The only one who gives her the time of day is geeky Oscar, who wants to recruit her fashion skills for his amateur cosplay group. But Jess is fine showing off her looks to her Insta fans—until a woman claiming to be her biological mother barges into her DMs.
Jess was claimed by the state when her bio mom’s mental illness made her unstable. While their relationship is far from traditional, blood ties are hard to break. There’s only one problem: Jess can’t reunite with her mom in New York City without a bunch of paperwork and she worries her social worker will never approve the trip. That’s when she remembers Oscar’s cosplay group, who are aiming for that big convention in New York.
So, Jess joins Oscar’s team—with every intention of using them to get to her mom. But her plan gets complicated when she discovers that, actually, cosplay is pretty great, and so is having friends. And Oscar, who Jess thought was just a shy nerd, can be as gallant and charming as the heroes he pretends to be. As the big convention draws near, Jess will have to decide whether or not chasing a dream of “family” is worth risking the family she’s built for herself.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lindsay S. Zrull is a former foster teen. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science and earned a second Master’s degree in Creative Writing from Harvard Extension. She currently works as Curator of Astronomical Photographs for the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. You can follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.
Looking forward to reading your book Lindsay!