Announcing THE WITCH ROADS

I have been sitting on this for quite a while, so I am thrilled that I finally have official publication dates, a cover, and cover copy for The Witch Roads, book one of The Witch Roads duology (book two is already finished and revised and will be published five months after book one).

The Witch Roads is an epic fantasy duology, with brutal palace intrigue, a ravenous fungal ghost-plague, an overland journey with a small group of sometimes bickering characters, mysterious magic, ancient echoes of a long-ago war now intruding on the present, and a central love story, set in a new universe. The Viking-inspired elves don’t appear until book two, though.

I began the first draft of this story in the summer of 2022 at a low point when I thought I couldn’t write any more, that I was done, that I just couldn’t manage creative work. The Witch Roads more or less crashed into my head like a grand piano plummeting out of the sky, and I wrote like a house on fire for six months (to mix my metaphors). Drafting it with no expectation except that of telling the story re-ignited my love of writing. I hope readers will love it the way I do.

Both books of the duology are complete and will be published in 2025 by tordotcom publishing.

The Witch Roads (book one): June 10, 2025.
Book two (title not yet announced): November 2025.

You can pre-order book one, The Witch Roads, right now, in ebook or hardcover. I don’t have any current information about an audiobook, and hope to know more about that asap. I also do not know if there will be a separate UK edition, and again, once I know anything, I will be sure to let you all know immediately.

The cover is by Raja Nandepu; design by Jess Riley.

The current cover copy, which appears on all online venues, will be on the forthcoming galleys:

Status is hereditary, class is bestowed, trust must be earned.
When an arrogant prince (and his equally arrogant entourage) gets stuck in Orledder Halt as part of brutal political intrigue, competent and sunny deputy courier Elen―once a child slave meant to shield noblemen from the poisonous Pall―is assigned to guide him through the hills to reach his destination.
When she warns him not to enter the haunted Spires, the prince doesn’t heed her advice, and the man who emerges from the towers isn’t the same man who entered.
The journey that follows is fraught with danger. Can a group taught to ignore and despise the lower classes survive with a mere deputy courier as their guide?
The Witch Roads is the latest epic novel by fan favorite, Kate Elliott.

I sent Tor a slightly edited version of the copy, which they may or may not adapt or use, but if they do, it would appear on the retail version. I share it with you here, for comparison purposes.

Status is hereditary, class is bestowed, trust must be earned.
When an arrogant prince (and his equally arrogant entourage) gets stuck in Orledder Halt as part of brutal political intrigue, competent and sunny deputy courier Elen―once a child slave meant to shield noblemen from the poisonous Pall―is assigned to guide him through the hills to reach his destination.
When she warns him not to enter the haunted Spires, the prince doesn’t heed her advice. But is the man who emerges from the towers the same man who entered? And if he isn’t—who is he?
On a journey fraught with peril, can a humble deputy courier gain the confidence of a prince’s closest companions? And will Elen and the mysterious stranger learn to trust each other?
The Witch Roads is the latest epic novel by New York Times-bestselling author Kate Elliott.

Again, book two is finished and revised, and on track to be published in November 2025. No announced title, cover, or synopsis yet. To be clear, The Witch Roads is a duology, and book two continues, and completes, the duology. That is, the two books constitute a standalone duology, not a cliffhanger onto a third volume.

As always, preorders are especially helpful for mid-list authors like myself to show the publisher that there is an audience for a work. Strong pre-orders may encourage the publisher to ask for a larger initial print run or to request a second printing soon after release, and that helps the writer so much. Of course, not everyone can manage, or wishes to, pre-order, and that is fine too. As well, I hope the book will be available in public libraries.

As for Sun 3, I have had a great deal of a struggle with Lady Chaos, but I assure you, I have 140,000 words written so far and am working on it. It’s incredibly complex, and slow-going, and the main thing is that, as daunting as the project is, I want to write it as well as I can, rather than as quickly as I can.

***

Finn, at camp, with friends.

As always, I could not do this without you. Thank you.

Kate Elliott