Pre-Order + Advanced Reader Copies: Firstborn of the Sun by Marvellous Michael Anson

A HEART-POUNDING YORUBA INSPIRED FANTASY NOVEL SET IN AN EPIC WORLD OF COURTLY INTRIGUE AND FORBIDDEN POWER . . .

In Oru L'ore has a secret. She is the only one without agbára – the ability to harness power from the sun. On pain of death must conceal it from everyone. Including her best friend, Alawani.

But when the gods declare Alawani an Àlùfáà – a great honour where he will serve the gods and the Kingdom – he must be stripped of his power in a brutal trial likely to kill him. Unwilling to bear his death, L'ore vows to rescue him.

When she desperately attempts to channel agbára an icy shadow magic instead pours from her hands; a power she learns originated from a forbidden, secret land beyond the six rings of Oru.

One which she and Alawani must now seek sanctuary and discover a secret that could bring the Kingdom to its knees . . .

GENRE: Epic Fantasy Romance

LINKS: Penguin | Amazon | Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Marve has been writing for over a decade and has self-published a thriller, HIS DARK REFLECTION, to critical acclaim.

She was shortlisted for the Future Worlds Prize in 2023, winning mentorship from a top UK editor. Her debut fantasy novel, FIRSTBORN OF THE SUN, is the first in a trilogy being published by Penguin Michael Joseph in October 2025. This novel was also shortlisted for the 2022 Jericho Writers Friday Night Live Competition and the 2022 Kit De Waal Bursary, was longlisted for the 2023 REVPIT competition, and won the 2023 Jericho Writers’ Self Edit Course Bursary.

In addition, Marve is a filmmaker who wrote and produced an award-winning short film in 2016 and is a recipient of the 2017 AFRIFF Film School Scholarship Program. She is a member of the Society of Authors, the World Science Fiction Society and the British Fantasy Society. She is a mentor for Black Girl Writers.

When she's not weaving fantastical tales, you can find her exploring life as a serial hobbyist, delving into everything from obsessing over myths and histories, collecting books and passionately assembling her own personal library to indulging in an unapologetic obsession with all things Christmas.

She is represented by Ciara Finan and Flo Sandelson at Curtis Brown Literary Agency (UK) and United Talent Agency (USA).

She can be found online @justmarvewrites and justmarve.org.

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Advanced reader copies will be available at MCM Comicon on Saturday October 26th, 2024 at Excel London, and at YALC on Saturday November 16th - Sunday November 17th, 2024 at Olympia London. Marve will be there to sign them in person, so don't miss it!

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Hi! I'm Marie, a Filipino SFFH author and book reviewer currently based in the UK. I’m the co-author of The Prophecies of Ragnarok, a Norse myth new adult urban fantasy trilogy, and I also have several short stories published in anthologies and literary journals.

You can find more info about me and my books, and also subscribe to my newsletter for more content, here. And if you like what I do, please also consider supporting me on Ko-fi! 🩷 https://ko-fi.com/mariesinadjan

If you fancy a short read, I have a cozy reimagining of the Norse myths about Hel, but it's just under 70 pages and can be read in one sitting. ✨ Plus there's a swag kit coming soon! Includes a "membership card," a bookmark, a sticker, an origami dog, and an exclusive 500-word story 🫶🏼

All things end, and all must die.

But death is not always the end.

When Geiravor Lokisdottir was stripped of her name and cast out of Asgard, torn from her family and the life she had known, she thought she’d lost it all. But in the shadows of Niflheim she discovers the path to her destiny, and what it truly means to be queen.

This is a prequel short story to THE PROPHECIES OF RAGNAROK trilogy by Meri Benson and Marie Sinadjan, and a retelling of the myths involving Hel, the Norse goddess of death and the queen of the underworld.