Strange Beasts Book Launch

ENGAGE BEAST MODE! After four years of monthly book club recommendations, Kathyrn Budig's Inky Phoenix is publishing its own book. Join us at Sightsee, Wed. Oct. 30, 6 pm, for the release party for Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris, the first title from Inky Phoenix Press. 

Susan will be in conversation with author Kate Fagan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of What Made Maddie Run and the upcoming The Three Lives of Cate Kay, among others.

Tickets are free, with the option to pre-order a signed copy of Strange Beasts (Inky Phoenix Press, an imprint of Bindery Books, pb., 352 pp, $18.95) from Blue Bicycle Books.

Wine and spooky barista beverages available. Costumes are highly encouraged — prizes for the Strangest Beast.

Can't make it? Order a signed copy here!

About Strange Beasts:

In this fresh yet familiar gothic tale–part historical fantasy, part puzzlebox mystery–the worlds of Dracula and Sherlock Holmes collide in a thrilling exploration of feminine power.

At the dawn of the twentieth century in Paris, Samantha Harker, daughter of Dracula’s killer, works as a researcher for the Royal Society for the Study for Abnormal Phenomena. But no one realizes how abnormal she is. Sam is a channel into the minds of monsters: a power that could help her solve the gruesome deaths plaguing turn-of-the-century Paris–or have her thrown into the asylum.

Sam finds herself assigned to a case with Dr. Helena Moriarty, daughter of the criminal mastermind and famed nemesis of Sherlock Holmes–a notorious detective that no one wants to work with on account of her previous partners’ mysterious murders. As the investigation sweeps them into a race to find and stop “the beast” from its killing rampage, ranging from the elite clubs of Paris to the dark underbelly of the catacombs, Hel and Sam are pitted against men, monsters, and even each other. But beneath their tenuous trust, an unmistakable attraction brews. Is trusting Hel the key to solving the murder, or is Sam yet another pawn in Hel’s game?

About the author:

Susan J. Morris is a fantasy author and editor, best known for a writing advice column featured on Amazon’s Omnivoracious blog and her work editing Forgotten Realms novels. Susan delights in running workshops for Clarion West and in moderating panels for writing symposiums. She lives in Sammamish, Washington with her partner, two cats, and entirely too many plants. When not writing, reading, or wading through said plants, Susan indulges in playing video games such as Hades, Oxenfree, and Baldur’s Gate 3, training in Pilates (which is better for her shoulders than jujutsu was), and experimenting with new plant-based food recipes.

About the tastemaker:

Kathryn Budig is an internationally celebrated yoga teacher, author, and founder of the online community Haus of Phoenix and The Inky Phoenix book club, with nearly half a million followers on Instagram and Facebook. She’s known for curating magical realism, historical fiction, and dark fantasy with a focus on LGBTQ+ and BIPOC themes and authors. In 2023, she founded Inky Phoenix Press in partnership with Bindery Books, where she has a thriving membership community. Budig is the co-host of the Webby Award-nominated podcast Free Cookies, was the yoga editor to Women’s Health magazine for five years, and author of both The Women’s Health Big Book of Yoga, and the bestselling Aim True. She lives in Charleston with her wife, Kate Fagan, and their dog, Ragnar.