While on book tour for THE HIDDEN QUEEN, I did a panel at Phoenix Fan Fusion with my good friend Sarah Beth Durst, who was touring for her wonderful cozy fantasy novel THE SPELLSHOP.

Sarah’s writing process has always been a mystery of fairies and rainbows to me, but her passion for it is infectious, as well as her argument that we need cozy more than ever in this day and age. I wondered aloud if it was even possible to write a Demon Cycle cozy fantasy. Sarah never missed a beat, telling me and the audience that the whole magic of writing was that anything was possible.

So after the tour but before returning to THE DEMON KING, I took a creative vacation and wrote a quirky little Demon Cycle novella called BUTTER COOKIES AND DEMON CLAWS.

My books have a reputation for horror and heartbreak (sorry not sorry), but in 2025 there’s enough of that IRL. Couldn’t we all use something a little chiller? Lower stakes. Wry humor. Small town mystery. Warm cookies. I wanted to write something that felt more like a xanax than a panic attack. BUTTER COOKIES is a cozy mystery novel with Selia Barren of Tibbet’s Brook as the reluctant detective.

When the richest man in Tibbet’s Brook is found dead of an apparent demon attack, Selia suspects foul play, but how can she look for suspects when everyone in town has a motive?

BUTTER COOKIES will publish this December, a fun little appetizer before the release of THE DEMON KING in early 2026, but pre-orders are available now!

In the US, BUTTER COOKIES will be published by Grim Oak Press in trade hardcover, signed limited edition, and super-mega-double-signed-lettered edition. If you’re a collector, note these editions will match the design of the Grim Oak Demon Cycle special edition hardcovers.

Cover and interior illustrations provided by the lovely Julia Maddalina who did a wonderful job walking the line between cozy and demony. Pre-order while supplies last!

US audio will be with our friends at Recorded Books, with eBooks from JABberwocky Literary.

In the UK, BUTTER COOKIES is also available for pre-order for December release from Harper Voyager UK.

In Poland, BUTTER COOKIES will be available this year as part of an upcoming hardcover collection of Demon Cycle Novellas from Fabryka S?ów. Pre-orders not yet available.

I took another creative vacation after turning in THE DEMON KING last month to write another quirky demon cycle novella in a new genre, but this one was… spicier. After 10 years of teasing readers (and myself) I finally wrote a draft of the Elona Paper erotica novella, telling the absolutely filthy tale of how high and mighty Duchess Leesha of Hollow’s parents really got together. Alas, this one may be a little too naughty and off brand to ever publish.

But who knows? Maybe if there’s enough pre-orders for BUTTER COOKIES, it will show me there’s enough interest in these fun genre-bending Demon Cycle novellas to risk ruining my career for to publish the BDSM one.