Laure Eve's Blog

Oh hi!

This has hit trade publishing news, so now I can be excited in people's faces about it.

And I'm really, embarrassingly excited. I love this world so much. It's the most fun I've ever had, and the biggest world I've yet tried to build.

Here's a summary of the story:

Imagine Camelot, but in Gotham City: a city where electricity is money, power is the only game worth playing and violence the most fervently worshipped religion.

Magic is illegal but everywhere, especially in the underground bars and back alleys. In this dark, chaotic, alluring place, dreams can come true, if you want them hard enough – and if you are prepared to do some very, very bad things to get them.

Here knights are the celebrities of the day, riding on motorbikes instead of horses and competing in televised fights for fame and money.

Here, a young, magic-touched bastard astonishes everyone by becoming king – albeit reluctantly – and the world will never be the same again.

Some more info:

- Blackheart Knights is two books.

- book 1 comes out in May 2021.

- this is adult fantasy. I've always considered myself on the cusp of young adult and adult, but this is not a cusp book. There are some graphic scenes of both sex and violence. It is adult.

- no pre-order links yet, as it's still early days, but I'll put them up as soon as I have them!

HELLO, CHECK OUT THAT COVER. The incredible illustration is by artist Federico Musetti.

Extremely lucky to have three fabulous authors who are way more popular than me say nice things about Knights:

"King Arthur as you've never seen him before. Eve doesn't just capture lightning, but commands it, in a riveting tragedy of blood and desire. A masterwork of urban fantasy - and the coolest thing you'll read this year."

― Samantha Shannon, author of The Bone Season and The Priory of the Orange Tree

"The screaming neon of Bladerunner meets the medieval steel of Arthurian legend in a world that's dizzying in scope and imagination. The boldest, smartest, most adventurous fantasy I've read in ages - and it's really f**ing fun."

― Krystal Sutherland, author of Our Chemical Hearts

"Arthurian legend meets urban fantasy in a brilliant, bloody wild ride."

― Jay Kristoff, New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author

And here's your full 'what the hell is it actually about':

Imagine Camelot but in Gotham: a city where knights are the celebrities of the day, riding on motorbikes instead of horses and competing in televised fights for fame and money.

Imagine a city where a young, magic-touched bastard astonishes everyone by becoming king - albeit with extreme reluctance - and a girl with a secret past trains to become a knight for the sole purpose of vengeance.

Imagine a city where magic is illegal but everywhere, in its underground bars, its back-alley soothsayers - and in the people who have to hide what they are for fear of being tattooed and persecuted.

Imagine a city where electricity is money, power the only game worth playing, and violence the most fervently worshipped religion.

Welcome to a dark, chaotic, alluring place with a tumultuous history, where dreams come true if you want them hard enough - and are prepared to do some very, very bad things to get them . . .

PRE-ORDER LINKS:

Amazon

Waterstones

ISBN: 9781529411911

RELEASE DATE: May 13th 2021

If you're wondering why I, a fantasy fiction writer, have put this kind of post on my website -

The short version: to me, it currently feels as though the turbulent times we're going through requires visible action.

The longer version: I see the strangely pervasive thought that artists shouldn't display their political opinions crop up a lot. [Musicians and actors seem to get this far more than writers, admittedly.] I don't talk about everything to do with my life, either with the people I know offline and the people I don't know online. What I do choose to talk about is, of course, telling.

I am - shock - a person, a jumbled, complicated and ever-changing creature with varied passions, preoccupations, biases and opinions. Artists make work about the world as filtered through their own individual lens. Therefore everything I create is a reflection of my experience, so much of which is related to living in the society I belong to. Expecting an artist of any kind not to discuss their societal and political views feels kind of like expecting me to try consciously breathing through only one lung. It's baffling. These are not separate things. I am an artist because I am a person. I am a person because I am an artist.

We talk a lot. But we don't do a lot, not because we're all callous arseholes, but because we feel like nothing we do on an individual level makes much difference. I'd love us to get to a state where that last bit is no longer our default thought. It might not happen in my lifetime, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try to contribute to its eventual manifestation.

-------------------

June 10th 2020: What a difference a week makes. I'm now focusing on the longer-term action section for myself. For me, successful lasting change seems to happen largely through these two ways: education, both in schools and outside, and reforming our democratic systems to re-empower individual voters, so this is where my energy is currently going.

June 2nd 2020: Considered, effective strategy over the most useful ways to dismantle the systems that perpetuate the grim levels of inequality in our society is necessary but can come later. To me, this is now a crisis management situation.

I've been looking for practical advice on how I can contribute to fighting the clear escalating fascist response to the Black Lives Matter protests in America and here's what I've found so far:

[I am not in America, I am in the UK. It's messily written but it's research and it's now.]

ACTION I CAN TAKE RIGHT NOW

DONATING help the front line of on-the-ground organisations and protesters.

- donate to the ,National bail fund network, with an emergency rapid response fund and funds separated out by state if I want to get more specific.

- split money between 39 different community bail funds.

- donate to The Movement for Black Lives Fund - benefits hundreds of organisations that implement 'black-led rapid response efforts and long-term strategy, policy and infrastructure investments in the movement ecosystem.'

- donate to CPJ, the committee to protect journalists.

PROTESTING visible white support seems vital right now, as is creating a non-violent threat to authorities that doesn't go away and needs to be faced.

-> if you're high risk from COVID-19, or you live with someone who is, for christ's sake don't go. Amplify documentation of protests from sources you trust, or donate instead.

- Wear a mask. Take hand gel if you have it. Take water and snacks. Charge your phone to document the things you see. Go with a friend, never alone. Let someone else in your life know where you're going and update them during. Leave if you feel unsafe.

I plan to self-isolate for several days after any major protest I attend, because I'm lucky enough to be able to do so without major issues.

- Online protesting - this one is hard for me. I've kept discussions of my political life off social media for a long time. I tend to find online conversations around important issues shrill and reactionary, and opinions rather like the proverbial assholes.

But visible support of any kind feels increasingly necessary. So I'll concentrate on boosting other people. I'll research before I boost anything at all. Amplify sources I trust talking in the way that I find most useful. That's it.

----------------------------------------

LONGER-TERM ACTION I CAN TAKE

SUPPORT DIRECT ACTION CAMPAIGNS/ORGANISATIONS (UK specific):

- Citizens UK - practical community organisation to effect social change with local chapters.

- Stand Up To Racism - with a list of local organisations.

- Unite Against Fascism

- Operation Black Vote - who work on the political education, participation and representation of BAME UK communities.

DIRECT LOBBYING

- Support campaigns for voting reform ('first pass the post' is a hideously flawed system that means voting democracy in the UK and the USA is largely bullshit, no wonder we think voting does nothing).

- Find out how my local MP votes on different issues here.

- Extremely easy facilitator to send them a message here.

EDUCATION SUPPORT/REFORMS

- push for more diverse resources in schools. Here are thorough, impressive education packs and toolkits from the UK's largest anti-racism educational charity.

- push for campaigns to reform of the way British history is taught in schools - from personal experience and general evidence there's a whole lot of glossing over going on. Links tbc.

- push to equip the next generations with practical knowledge of the systems we are all expected to function within, and a sense of the contributions we can make to society. Basically, mandatory education and active experience of community work, citizenship, and personal finance. Links tbc.

I'm still researching and figuring longer term actions out for myself. Gonna keep updating.

Fair warning: it'll involve me trying to learn about systems change and attempting to distil for myself the most effective ways of back-end influence and citizen lobbying. Lol.

---------------------------------------

EDUCATING MYSELF

Reading I am finding useful, a continuously updated list:

- this extremely well-informed and pragmatic book on how to effect social change.

- a good breakdown of types of voting systems (although I could do without the starring system).

- a possible solution to changing police violence in a capitalist society.

Oh hi!This has hit trade publishing news, so now I can be excited in people's faces about it.And I'm really, embarrassingly excited. I love this world so much. It's the most fun I've ever had, and the biggest world I've yet tried to build.Here's a summary of the story:Imagine Camelot, but in Gotham City: a city where electricity is money, power is the only game worth playing and violence the most fervently worshipped religion.Magic is illegal but everywhere, especially in the underground bars and back alleys. In this dark, chaotic, alluring place, dreams can come true, if you want them hard enough – and if you are prepared to do some very, very bad things to get them.Here knights are the celebrities of the day, riding on motorbikes instead of horses and competing in televised fights for fame and money.Here, a young, magic-touched bastard astonishes everyone by becoming king – albeit reluctantly – and the world will never be the same again.Some more info:- Blackheart Knights is two books.- book 1 comes out in May 2021.- this is adult fantasy. I've always considered myself on the cusp of young adult and adult, but this is not a cusp book. There are some graphic scenes of both sex and violence. It is adult.- no pre-order links yet, as it's still early days, but I'll put them up as soon as I have them!

If you're wondering why I, a fantasy fiction writer, have put this kind of post on my website -The short version: to me, it currently feels as though the turbulent times we're going through requires visible action.The longer version: I see the strangely pervasive thought that artists shouldn't display their political opinions crop up a lot. [Musicians and actors seem to get this far more than writers, admittedly.] I don't talk about everything to do with my life, either with the people I know offline and the people I don't know online. What I do choose to talk about is, of course, telling.I am - shock - a person, a jumbled, complicated and ever-changing creature with varied passions, preoccupations, biases and opinions. Artists make work about the world as filtered through their own individual lens. Therefore everything I create is a reflection of my experience, so much of which is related to living in the society I belong to. Expecting an artist of any kind not to discuss their societal and political views feels kind of like expecting me to try consciously breathing through only one lung. It's baffling. These are not separate things. I am an artist because I am a person. I am a person because I am an artist.We talk a lot. But we don't do a lot, not because we're all callous arseholes, but because we feel like nothing we do on an individual level makes much difference. I'd love us to get to a state where that last bit is no longer our default thought. It might not happen in my lifetime, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try to contribute to its eventual manifestation.-------------------June 10th 2020: What a difference a week makes. I'm now focusing on the longer-term action section for myself. For me, successful lasting change seems to happen largely through these two ways: education, both in schools and outside, and reforming our democratic systems to re-empower individual voters, so this is where my energy is currently going.June 2nd 2020: Considered, effective strategy over the most useful ways to dismantle the systems that perpetuate the grim levels of inequality in our society is necessary but can come later. To me, this is now a crisis management situation.I've been looking for practical advice on how I can contribute to fighting the clear escalating fascist response to the Black Lives Matter protests in America and here's what I've found so far:[I am not in America, I am in the UK. It's messily written but it's research and it's now.]ACTION I CAN TAKE RIGHT NOW DONATING help the front line of on-the-ground organisations and protesters.- donate to the National bail fund network, with an emergency rapid response fund and funds separated out by state if I want to get more specific.- split money between39 different community bail funds.- donate toThe Movement for Black Lives Fund- benefits hundreds of organisations that implement 'black-led rapid response efforts and long-term strategy, policy and infrastructure investments in the movement ecosystem.'- donate to CPJ, the committee to protect journalists. PROTESTING visible white support seems vital right now, as is creating a non-violent threat to authorities that doesn't go away and needs to be faced.-> if you're high risk from COVID-19, or you live with someone who is, for christ's sake don't go. Amplify documentation of protests from sources you trust, or donate instead. - Wear a mask. Take hand gel if you have it. Take water and snacks. Charge your phone to document the things you see. Go with a friend, never alone. Let someone else in your life know where you're going and update them during. Leave if you feel unsafe.I plan to self-isolate for several days after any major protest I attend, because I'm lucky enough to be able to do so without major issues.- Online protesting - this one is hard for me. I've kept discussions of my political life off social media for a long time. I tend to find online conversations around important issues shrill and reactionary, and opinions rather like the proverbial assholes.But visible support of any kind feels increasingly necessary. So I'll concentrate on boosting other people. I'll research before I boost anything at all. Amplify sources I trust talking in the way that I find most useful. That's it.----------------------------------------LONGER-TERM ACTION I CAN TAKESUPPORT DIRECT ACTION CAMPAIGNS/ORGANISATIONS (UK specific):- Citizens UK - practical community organisation to effect social change with local chapters.-Stand Up To Racism- with a list of local organisations.-Unite Against Fascism- Operation Black Vote - who work on the political education, participation and representation of BAME UK communities. DIRECT LOBBYING - Support campaigns for voting reform ('first pass the post' is a hideously flawed system that means voting democracy in the UK and the USA is largely bullshit, no wonder we think voting does nothing).- Find out how my local MP votes on different issues here.- Extremely easy facilitator to send them a message here. EDUCATION SUPPORT/REFORMS - push for more diverse resources in schools. Here are thorough, impressive education packs and toolkitsfrom the UK's largest anti-racism educational charity.- push for campaigns to reform of the way British history is taught in schools - from personal experience and general evidence there's a whole lot of glossing over going on. Links tbc.- push to equip the next generations with practical knowledge of the systems we are all expected to function within, and a sense of the contributions we can make to society. Basically, mandatory education and active experience of community work, citizenship, and personal finance. Links tbc.I'm still researching and figuring longer term actions out for myself. Gonna keep updating.Fair warning: it'll involve me trying to learn about systems change and attempting to distil for myself the most effective ways of back-end influence and citizen lobbying. Lol.---------------------------------------EDUCATING MYSELFReading I am finding useful, a continuously updated list:- this extremely well-informed and pragmatic book on how to effect social change.- a good breakdown of types of voting systems (although I could do without the starring system).- a possible solution to changing police violence in a capitalist society.

Nuanced conversation is necessary but can come later. Opinions are like assholes. This is a crisis management situation. I want practical advice on how I can contribute to fighting this rising tide of fascism and I want it right now.I am not in America, I am in the UK. Here's how I'm figuring I can help. It's messily and craply written but it's research and it's now.URGENT ACTION I CAN TAKE DONATING help the front line of on-the-ground organisations and protesters- donate to the National bail fund network, with an emergency rapid response fund and funds separated out by state if I want to get more specific- split money between39 different community bail funds.- donate toThe Movement for Black Lives Fund- hundreds of organisations that actively implement 'black-led rapid response efforts and long-term strategy, policy and infrastructure investments in the movement ecosystem.'- donate to CPJ, the committee to protect journalists- Keep diverse publishers in the UK afloat now- THIS IS TIME SENSITIVE PROTESTING visible support is vital right now, as is creating a non-violent threat to authorities that doesn't go away and needs to be faced- UK protests you can research/attend- NEXT ONE WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE- Wear a mask. Take hand gel if you have it. Take water and snacks. Charge your phone to document the things you see. Go with a friend, never alone. Let someone else in your life know where you're going and update them while you're there. Leave if you feel unsafe.- protest advice and perspectivefrom a very intelligent and capable white woman friend who has been on the front lines of DC protests - but know this is not about throwing yourself in harm's way if you don't want to and don't know how. Right now this is about showing up.- if you're high risk from COVID-19, don't go. Amplify documentation of protests or donate to bail funds instead.--------------------------------LONGER-TERM ACTIONUK specific organisations to research/back/join/plunder for helpful resources:STAND UP TO RACISM- with a list of local organisationsUNITE AGAINST FASCISMI'm still researching and figuring this out for myself. Gonna keep updating.Fair warning: it involves me trying to learn about systems change and attempting to distil for myself the most effective ways of long-term back-end influence. Lol.--------------------------------EDUCATING MYSELFReading I am finding useful, a continuously updated list:-Being a black writer in this shitstorm.-The answer to changing police violence in a capitalist society.-How to change a system.

No big deal, I'm just coming to the US! On tour!All info/ticket links can be found on my events page.FYI I'm very lucky to be doing most of my events with other truly amazing authors:MENLO PARK, CA event with Sabaa TahirIRVING, TX event with Jay KristoffLITTLETON, CO event with Jay KristoffNASHVILLE, TN event with Jeff ZentnerARLINGTON, VA event with Sarah Nicole LemonNEW YORK, NY event with Zoraida CordovaIf you're in the US and you can make one of these stops, please come out to see me! I love, love, love meeting readers, it's one of the absolute highlights of life.

No big deal, I'm just coming to the US! On tour! Oh my god!All info/ticket links can be found on my events page.FYI I'm very lucky to be doing most of my events with other truly amazing authors:MENLO PARK, CA event with Sabaa TahirIRVING, TX event with Jay KristoffLITTLETON, CO event with Jay KristoffNASHVILLE, TN event with Jeff ZentnerARLINGTON, VA event with Sarah Nicole LemonNEW YORK, NY event with Zoraida CordovaIf you're in the US and you can make one of these stops, please come out to see me! I love, love, love meeting readers, it's one of the absolute highlights of life.L x

The UK and US editions of The Curses, together in all their splendour. Both of them are now out in stores, online, everywhere books can be bought.I wish I could say that the process of having a book come out gets less nerve-wracking each time, but it's something you never get used to. Still, whoever does and doesn't like or buy it, I'm incredibly grateful that it exists, and that I have been given the chance to write it and put it out there.Occasionally, something happens to make me step outside of myself - usually it's a stranger asking me what I do for a living - and when I say the words 'I'm a writer' I am forcibly reminded that I, well, really am. Sometimes I even say 'novelist', just for extra surreal kicks.Teenage Laure is freaking out right now.Here's to 2019, and however long this crazy career lasts.If you want yet more me, here's me talking about why I'm drawn to darkness and the inspiration for the magic in the books.

BEHOLD, UK and Australian people - this is what The Curses is going to look like for you!Matte black jacket. Silver foiled writing. Literally nothing else.PURE.And ahead of The Curses release, The Graces is being reissued in a brand new black and gold cover to match.Someone on twitter called them femme fatale covers.I mean, I can't possibly comment. Except I agree.I love them. They are so simple and yet so striking. I hope you like them too.I'm a very lucky gal indeed.** A note on pre-ordering **Pre-ordering upcoming books that you want massively, massively helps those books and authors you love. Sometimes it can make or break them.Publishers look at pre-orders when they have to decide on where their money goes into promoting a book, which in turn helps it to do well, get noticed, and hopefully lead to that author being able to write more books you might love.Pre-orderers are basically the gods of the book world. And frankly, why not be a god?THE UK COVER PRE-ORDER LINKS:Amazon.co.ukWaterstones.comThe Book Depository (free shipping)Wordery (free shipping)THE US COVER PRE-ORDER LINKS:Amazon.comBarnes and NobleWordery (free shipping)