A New Pen Name–And A New Book
Well, since everyone’s talking about this already, I may as well come clean. I have a new pen name, Kris DeLake, and the first book is out in March. This is romance and space opera combined. I like to say that the spaceships go “whoosh!” as they travel through space, which is why I didn’t want this under the Rusch name. And the stories are too violent (and too sexy) for the Grayson name. So here’s the cover. You can preorder from Amazon or Barnes & Noble–or get it in B&N’s brick-and-mortar stores when the book comes out. I just found out that B&N took a huge first order, which is great. I’m sure your local independent bookstore will have it as well
The reviews so far have been tremendous. Publisher’s Weekly says:
DeLake (Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s newest pseudonym) takes readers on a fast ride with this passionate futuristic tale, the first in a series. Idiosyncratic entrepreneur Rikki Bastogne and straitlaced Mikael “Misha” Yurinovich Orlinski are both assassins in a distant future where killing for cause is often legal. Responsible practitioners join the highly regulated Assassins Guild, which Misha venerates and Rikki despises. Misha hires Rikki to do a job in the hopes of recruiting the indie killer, and when they meet while Rikki is disposing of the target’s body, their chemistry is immediate and explosive. At first Rikki is unaware of Misha’s true identity, and when she learns it, she is shaken to the core: for years, Rikki has believed that Misha helped his mother kill Rikki’s father in cold blood. How he proves her wrong—and how the two eventually learn to work together to combat a threat which could destroy them both—makes for a compelling, hot, and believable tale.
And RT Book Reviews gave it 4.5 stars, with this review:
Set in a universe where murder can be legal, this is an exciting adventure with a hot romance between two fascinating characters. Their profession and the fact that no apologies are made for it make for an intriguing story. One hopes there will be a second story featuring the heroine’s friend.
And yes, there will be a second story featuring the heroine’s friend. My editor at Sourcebooks and I are just trying to figure out the title.
I will be doing a signing for this book, Boneyards, and Anniversary Day at North by Northwest Books in Lincoln City, Oregon, on March 3rd. So if you’re in the neighborhood, drop on by.
18 responses to “A New Pen Name–And A New Book”
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@Krista, maybe keep an eye on the Sourcebooks website? (Here’s the link to the book.) They often sell EPUBs, though there isn’t one there yet for this book.
@Kris, Amazon doesn’t sell EPUB format. 🙂
Oh, thanks, Carradee. I missed that part of Krista’s question. I was out of town yesterday and answering quickly without reading much.
I like the cover. By the Publisher’s Weekly review, I’ll almost certainly like the book. (I like the complicated names. Memorable!)
Thanks, everyone. I hope you will all like it. 🙂
Great cover! Congrats and good luck! 🙂
*jaw-drops*
1. That’s on my will-buy list, a list that includes the most recent original titles from my all-time favorite author whose books always feature a unique name and an unusual situation or plot idea I’ve already dabbled with elsewhere before discovering her book.
2. I mention that because your premise—of the highly-regulated assassins guild, and a far-future universe where killing is often legal—matches something I’ve been dabbling with but not yet developed.
3. I now refuse to be intimidated that you’ve jumped on the idea I had and will leave it in my to-write pile. 🙂
…Those cover models look familiar to me, though I can’t figure out who they’re reminding me of. Hrm.
Congrats, Kris! I cant’t wait to get my copy! I’m spreading the word.
Hugs!
I LOVE books where the space ships go “whoosh” as they travel through space!
Kris, will there be an epub version available somewhere for us non-Americans? B&N won’t take my money because I pay with a Canadian credit card 🙁
I hope so, Krista. I’m not the publisher on this. Sourcebooks is. Have you tried Amazon?
Space ships that go whoosh….
HAAHAHA… this is gonna be cool.
*eyes the cover and makes notes*
Yay! My kind of book 🙂
Congratulations! This looks fantastic. I’ve always loved a Russian hottie. Best of luck with it. And Book #2!
This looks like a hot and awesome new series! They rocked the cover for you too, imo. Go Kris! 😉
Thanks, Annie and Anthea. Anthea, wait until you see the spine. They did cool things with that too. It’s a gorgeous cover, maybe one of the best I’ve ever had. So I’m happy. 🙂
Way to nail all my reader cookies. Pre-ordered! Looks awesome, Kris. 🙂
Wow, this one has ka-ching (cash register noise) written all over it, maybe even the alarm bells & whistles of a giant slot payout.
Congratulations, it *feels* beautiful.
Oh, and a book signing “tour” also. 😉
LOL, Steve. I always thought of this idea as vaguely risky, so that’s good to hear. 🙂