Posts Tagged ‘Wildwood Whispers’

Cover Launch: WILDWOOD WHISPERS by Willa Reece

Discover your next magical read! Willa Reece’s lush debut novel, WILDWOOD WHISPERS, is a beautifully-crafted tale of hope after traumatic loss, folk magic, and the strong, and often healing, bonds between women. Landing at your nearest bookstore in August 2021, check out the gorgeous cover below and make sure to say hi to Willa on Twitter @ReeceWilla.

Cover Design by Lisa Marie Pompilio; Cover photographs by Mike Heath, Arcangel, Getty Images and Shutterstock

A heartwarming novel of hope, fate, and folk magic unfolds when a young woman travels to a sleepy southern town in the Appalachian Mountains to bury her best friend. 

Mel Smith has always known life isn’t easy. After all, she was abandoned as an infant and raised in foster care. But still, when the only bright spot in her life, her best friend Sarah Ross, unexpectedly dies, it’s a heartbreak unlike any other.

A final promise to lay Sarah to rest in the Ross wildwood garden draws Mel to Morgan’s Gap, a small town nestled in the shadows of the Appalachian Mountains. Yet Morgan’s Gap is more than a land of morning mists and deep forest shadows.

There are secrets that call to Mel, in the gaze of the gnarled and knowing woman everyone calls “Granny,” who seems to have expected her; in a salvaged remedy book filled with healing tinctures and salves; in the strange connection she feels to the Ross homestead and the wilderness around it. In fulfilling her promise, Mel might end up finding home—and remain connected to Sarah—in a way she least expected.

The wildwood is whispering. It has secrets to reveal—if you’re willing to listen…

 

 

 

Acquisition Announcement: Introducing WILDWOOD WHISPERS by Willa Reece

Looking for your next magical read? I sure hope so! Redhook, Orbit’s sister imprint, has acquired an utterly captivating novel from author Willa Reece. WILDWOOD WHISPERS invites you into the Appalachian Mountains and once there, an enchanting tale of magic and dark secrets unfolds when a young woman travels to a sleepy Southern town to bury her best friend.

Lush and atmospheric, we can’t wait to share it with you next year. And, I’m really happy to share a short message from Willa on what inspired her to write Wildwood Whispers:

I live at the edge of a sprawling wild wood. What began as fear of the unknown has grown into a fascination with the flora, fauna, and history of the Appalachian region. But nothing fascinates me more than the women who’ve built lives in and around the tangle—learning from their environment and being inspired by the wild to resist the constant taming of the often too-patriarchal society found in the mountains. Their hushed voices have been channeled into the wide variety of arts and crafts and, yes, the kitchen magic I wove into Wildwood Whispers

Hand work is heart work and it is hard work, but it’s also powerful. You can see the power in callused hands weaving baskets and muscled forearms kneading dough, in berry-stained fingernails and needle-pricked fingers. It was easy to imagine a community where that kind of power finds a connection with nature and how that connection is feared by evil men who prefer to divide and conquer. [A wise woman’s wildwood garden is a celebration of empowerment and unity and the hope of finding rejuvenation together. It’s a personal hope of mine, especially now, and I’m thrilled to be able to share it with readers.]

WILDWOOD WHISPERS publishes Summer 2021, and, in the meantime, please join us in welcoming Willa Reece! You can find her at https://www.willareece.com/ and on Twitter at @ReeceWilla.

Orbit US editor Nivia Evans acquired North American rights from Lucienne Diver at The Knight Agency.