word on the street (from my editor 😄) that The Poet Empress is on sale for $2.99 this week!

Well, I have just finished reading a masterpiece. The Poet Empress, by Shen Tao @dragons.bsky.social, is absolutely breathtaking. And also the kind of book that makes one think: "I'll never, ever be able to write like this, but I can't wait for tomorrow morning to try anyway." Magnificent!

"It is not a weakness to be seen." Just finished @dragons.bsky.social's THE POET EMPRESS and man, I am not okay. This book was so addictive, so gorgeously written, and so utterly heartbreaking, I have no words. If you liked Apothecary Diaries (+ wished it were darker), you need to read this now.

Life's been busy, but I'm finally back with my next "Is it Cozy" post. This time, I consider The Poet Empress by @dragons.bsky.social

Only a few days left to apply! Scholarships galore!!

Today JC Kang reviews Shen Tao's (@dragons.bsky.social) debut, The Poet Empress! - JI 🐉 "We sometimes read a book that makes us question whether or not we have any business writing...for me, most recently with Shen Tao’s debut, The Poet Empress." fantasy-faction.com/2026/the-poe... #booksky 💙📚🪐

THE POET EMPRESS by @dragons.bsky.social is a stunner of a debut. I know it's only March, but it's one of the best books to come out this year, from the nuanced characterization to the moving prose to the way the Rashomon effect is used throughout the plot. I'm gonna preorder the paperback.

Wow, 10k Poet Empress sold!! Thank you very much for your support, to all my brilliant readers!!!! #booksky

Tales from the Cryptids just went live on Backerkit! Back this anthology edited by @brigittewinter.bsky.social with work from @lackingceremony.bsky.social, @sharangbiswas.bsky.social, @shing.bsky.social, @aeosworth.bsky.social, @dragons.bsky.social, and more! www.backerkit.com/c/projects/s...

Honored to be picked by a most excellent book club- Go get your Aardvark books now! - Goose approved :)

My debut is officially out today!!! (I can’t believe I get to say that) Thank you to my publishing team, my writing friends, and all the wonderful ARC readers!! Thank you for taking a chance on a debut author!! #booksky

My debut is coming out TOMORROW!!! :) #booksky

Thank you so much @seattletimes.com and Jordan Snowden for featuring my debut! The article was so well-written! www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...

Thank you so much for having me! I really enjoyed our chat on Long Story Short!

Look at all the beautiful books! I can't believe I get to be part of this debut class.

IT'S OUR YEAR, GEESE!!! Look at all these incredible first quarter books...including @sadieturner.bsky.social's TIDESPEAKER, which pubs TODAY!

2026 is our debut year!! Here are some of the SFF authors I have the honor of debuting with early this year. I am really excited about these books so please check them out when you have the chance! #booksky

Delightful cryptids!!

Do other writers have a different font for each book they write? My current WIP is an Arial book :p

THE POET EMPRESS by shen tao @dragons.bsky.social releases 1/20/26 from bramble @torbooks.bsky.social @macmillanlib.bsky.social #debut #fantasy #epic #love #death #poem #BookSky get your @libraryreads.bsky.social votes in by 12/1!

SPARRING PARTNERS is available for request on Netgalley! We so appreciate your early reviews as they help drive sales 😁 🫶🏼 Happy reading! #2026Debuts #RomanceBooks #BookSky #Netgalley

SO excited about a second starred review for The Poet Empress! A world of thank yous to Library Journal 🥰

On a planet damaged by rushed terraforming, a bodyguard-turned-reluctant rebel joins the last dregs of her parents’ failed uprising... THE KING MUST DIE is out today! If you love stories about found families, revolutions, and second chances, this book’s for you.

I'm so happy to say that The Poet Empress got a starred review from @publisherswkly.bsky.social !

Just 3 days before THE KING MUST DIE comes out! I'm thrilled to share these very kind words from @hanalee.bsky.social, author of the Magebike Courier duology! Preorder TKMD: www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ki... ...then grab a free digital poster by Eepz: www.simonandschuster.com/p/the-king-m...

They are giving away 50 copies of my debut, The Poet Empress, on goodreads! I hope you'll enter 🥰 #booksky #ThePoetEmpress

The comps! The magic! The social commentary! ❤️

A literary NeuroScifi that dives into memory, consciousness and control. #DVpit #SF #LF #A #IMM #OWN

Straith has a disarmingly charming narrative voice that takes you somewhere unexpected every time. 💙

I had the privilege of reading excerpts of this novel as part of the Clarion Novel Workshop. Uniquely voiced and so vibrant! Agent friends, I hope you’ll check this one out!

this sounds amazing as hell (complimentary)

Utterly in love with this pitch!

Loving this setting AND the music magic!

ARCANE x #A SPICE ROAD An artist & an admiral conduct an impossible tea magic heist. Now they're being hunted by a sisterhood of deadly alchemists. 🗝unreliable narrator 🫀intergenerational muli-POV 🩸elements of horror 🫖creative power unlocked with tea magic 🗡colonial rage #DVpit #F #POC #OWN #WOC

In the Tongue of Unbanished Ghosts: 🏜️ A desert full of war 🔪 A mother whose secrets lead to her murder 🩶 A clueless, clumsy widower who forges watches with soul 🩵 A war criminal who is, unfortunately, very attractive 🏍️ And there was only one dirt bike #dvpit #f #a

JinYu Zhao is trying to save enough $ to restore her sister's illusion magic, while disguised, providing abortions. She won't be distracted by her sister mooning over her classmate crashing at their pharmacy #dvpit #a #f #own #poc #asian #nd #r friends to lovers, he falls first

A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC x HOUSE M.D. 🏥 Blood magic, medical degree required 🎓 Graduate? In *this* economy? ✊ Best friend is a secret rebel 💰 Capitalist conspiracies 🗡️ That lesbian tried to stab me, and I think I liked it #DVpit #F #A #LGBTQ

Is lobotomizing a machine that has gained consciousness just routine procedure or equal to murder? Severance X Exhalation X Ishiguro #DVpit #SF #LF #A #IMM #OWN 💙📚🪐

@alecjmarsh.bsky.social you had me at glittering heist (the best kind). Attention editors and agents scrolling #dvpit don’t miss this!

I have had the distinct honor of reading this book in various draft forms and it. is. so. good. Nettle has gotten herself into a hot mess, but this book is a thrill ride. @ash-howell.com is a writer to watch (or, you know, rep! get on it agents!)

Listen Val didn’t get a story into Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy for nothing. Plus a dragon named Seafoam

A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC x HOUSE M.D. Days before graduation, blood-magic medical student Nettle accidentally girlbosses herself into the middle of a murderous conspiracy. Her best friend has been hiding his radical political activism. And worst of all, she’s *really* broke. #DVpit #F #A #LGBTQ

Scotland, 1925: A gentleman thief, a lonely demon hunter and a married sorceress embark on a glittering heist to destroy the English occult. Forbidden passions and their own ambition threatens to destroy them before the English get the chance. Bi rep, ace rep, mf, mmf, mm #dvpit #a #f #queer

Two desperate women fleeing imprisonment. Two draconic artifacts bonded to them. A group of thieves who'll help them escape. A powerful noble who'll do anything to get them back. A secret that could ruin them. A bond that could save them. In a city where the sun never rises. #DVPit #F #A #LGBT #Q

A Song to Drown Rivers x How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days in LADY HAN'S MANUAL FOR MATRIMONIAL MAYHEM, in which the mischievous bride fights for divorce with chaos: 😈 unlikeable heroine ⚔️ enemies-to-lovers 💑 marriage of convenience 👑 political intrigue #dvpit#A #F #R #RomCom #Asian #POC

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING x GHOSTS When an inquisitive 25yo secretary inherits an abandoned detective agency, she partners with the private investigator’s ghost to find her neighbor’s killer in a case that mirrors the PI’s own unsolved murder 60 years earlier. #DVpit #A #Mys #PR #Latine #WOC

ANIMAL FARM x THE GOOD PLACE When grief-ridden sub-editor Archa discovers that the Afterlife’s soul-sucking CEOs have set their sights on her beloved grandfather’s soul, she must decide: Damn her soul or save his. #DVpit #F #A #POC

A neuroscientist gets recruited to lead a team responsible for finding and “killing” emerging consciousness in supercomputers. A technical challenge that quickly spirals into a deep ethical conflict. Severance X Annihilation X Ishiguro #DVpit #SF #LF #A #IMM #OWN 💙📚🪐

it's a GOODREADS GIVEAWAY! 🔥 enter before October 10th to win! @erewhonbooks.bsky.social and @kensingtonbooks.bsky.social are giving away 100 ARCs of The Iron Garden Sutra 🤯 www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho... *US entrants only