Tordotcom Publishing is delighted to announce the acquisition of two dragon-slaying books by the award-winning British author and podcaster, Charlotte Bond.
The Fireborne Blade is the first of these, and tells the story of Maddlieh:
Maddileh is a knight. There aren’t many women in her line of work, and it often feels like the sneering and contempt from her peers is harder to stomach than the actual dragon slaying! But she’s a knight, and made of sterner stuff.
A minor infraction forces her to redeem her honor in the most dramatic way possible, and accompanied by her new squire, the oddly-impudent Petros, Maddileh must find and retrieve the fabled Fireborne Blade, or die trying.
From author Charlotte Bond:
I’ll be honest—when I started out, the only thing in my head was wanting to write a story about dragons and dragon hunters. But as with all imaginary worlds, once you start to fill them with people and creatures, you have to start thinking about intricacies and interactions. I began to wonder how a brotherhood of knights would feel about a female member in their ranks. And while I had fun creating magical orbs, helpful potions, enchanted armour, and indestructible swords, I also addressed how women might access magic that was designed for men and derived from a male god. I wanted to explore two types of discrimination—one more subtle than the other.
But in amongst all that serious stuff, I also had dragons to bring to life. I had a blast dreaming up each and every one of them, ensuring every dragon was unique in how it looked and how it defended itself. Killing a dragon that can explode or send flesh-eating slugs after you is no easy business, and while it’s a job for heroes, it’s also one undertaken by villains and idiots too.
I was utterly thrilled when Tordotcom accepted this book for publication. With a background in horror, I was slightly worried that all the guts and glory of my dragon-hunting novella would struggle to find a home in either fantasy or horror. Given the impressive publications Tordotcom already has out there, I feel mightily humbled to have my book numbered among them. I am beyond thrilled that they are going to be bringing my dragons to life
From editor Lee Harris:
I’d been wanting to work with Charlotte for years, but the right projects stubbornly refused to present themselves. That all changed when Charlotte sent me The Fireborne Blade. I love dragon stories, and this one features so many dragons and so much (attempted) dragon-slaying, and stars the coolest dragon-slaying knight I’ve read in ages, that I instantly fell in love with it, and you will, too. Maddileh is a fabulous addition to literature’s dragon-slaying population, but just wait until you meet the White Lady!
The Fireborne Blade hits bookstores in Summer 2024, followed by book 2 the following season!
Charlotte is an author, freelance editor, and podcaster. Under her own name she has written within the genres of horror and dark fantasy, but she’s also worked as a ghostwriter. She edits books for individuals and publishers, and has also contributed numerous non-fiction articles to various websites. She is a co-host of the award-winning podcast, “Breaking the Glass Slipper”. Her micro collection The Watcher in the Woods won the British Fantasy Award for Best Collection in 2021. She is represented by Alex Cochran.
The deal for World English rights was brokered between Tordotcom Publishing’s Executive Editor Lee Harris with agent Alexander Cochran at C&W.
