Malinda Lo
Blog
Jun 12, 2012
Huntress is now in paperback!
Today is the official publication day for the paperback edition of my novel Huntress, my retelling of a hero’s quest. (SPOILER: There are lesbians.) Woohoo!! Although the paperback cover isn’t too different from the hardcover, it is slightly different, so here it is:
As you can see by that seal in the upper right, the paperback edition of Huntress includes a short story, “The Fox,” which has never before been in print. It was originally published online in Summer 2011 at Subterranean, but I’m really pleased to have it included now with Huntress since it has a sort of epilogue-ish feel.
“The Fox” is about Kaede, the main character of Huntress, two years after the end of the book, and it involves her encounter with a fox spirit. The story actually sprang from a scene that I cut from one of the many drafts of Huntress, and then when Gwenda Bond invited me to write a short story for Subterranean (my first shorty story in 10 years!), I knew immediately that I wanted to adapt that cut scene into a story.
The paperback edition of Huntress also includes a sneak peek at the first pages of my next novel, Adaptation, which comes out September 18th. As you may remember me saying, Adaptation is very different from Ash and Huntress, so if you’re super curious as to what I mean by “different,” check out the paperback and read the preview chapter. I hope you’ll like it!
One of my favorite parts of the Huntress paperback is the newly redesigned spine, which includes the front cover image on the side. I think it looks very cool.
I love that the girl on the cover is so fierce (though in a meditative way!) because that’s absolutely one of the reasons I wrote this book. I’ve read so many fantasy novels in which the main female character is super kick-ass … and then she falls in love with a guy. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! And it’s not like it’s shocking — I mean, most heroines in novels, kick-ass fantasy or not, are straight.
But I really love a kick-ass girl. (In fact here’s a list of my favorites.) And while I’ve truly enjoyed many of these (straight) fantasy novels (and even enjoyed many of the romances — since you don’t have to be straight to enjoy a straight romance), in my heart of hearts I wanted to read an epic fantasy adventure in which a girl kicks ass and falls in love with another girl. That fantasy? That’s Huntress.
If you’re interested in picking up a copy of the paperback, you can get it at Book Passage (my local indie, where you can request a signed copy and I will stop by and sign it for you), IndieBound, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Book Depository.
And … to celebrate the paperback release, I’m giving away three signed paperback copies of Huntress to three lucky winners. One copy will be reserved for an international winner, so yes, this giveaway is open internationally. The deadline is June 30, 2012. Good luck!
All you have to do is enter via the Rafflecopter widget here:
I loved Ash! I wish there were more lesbian books, don’t get me wrong I love the coming of age/coming- out books but more books of other genres with lesbians are sorely needed!
Huntress has been in PB for like a year in the UK
But yay!
Yes, but the UK paperback (from Atom Books) does not include “The Fox,” the illustrated map of the Kingdom or the sneak peak from Adaptation. This paperback is the American edition (from Little, Brown) which does! That’s why I’m also offering to ship internationally, because you can’t get this edition in the UK/Australia.
I know, Ms Lo, just being very very pedantic :p
But if I get chance I *will* pick up this edition. I want to read The Fox
I read Ash is 9 hours. It was so lovely. I can’t wait to get Huntress be it through the giveaway or in stores.
Just bought the paperback! I am so excited to read “The Fox”. I really enjoyed Huntress the first time and I can’t wait to read it again.
Malinda, do you know if the Kindle edition also includes the bonus short story? The cover shown for it includes the little badge in the corner, but I don’t know if that’s just because they duplicated the paperback cover or not. I really prefer to read ebooks, but if the extra story is only in the paperback I might have to buy it!
I love this book so much. I finished reading it months ago and still think about the Kaede and Tasin. Ive had very few books that have moved me this much.
I am now going to buy a few paper backs for my wife. She’s a guidance counselor and has been wanting her girls group to read this. Perfect time to share it with them:)
@ Morgan B, Crystal, and Jc — Thank you so much!
@ Clare K. R. Miller — I don’t know if the ebook has the extras, but I’d guess no, since the ebook was released at the same time as the hardcover. I actually don’t have an ereader so I’ve never seen an electronic version of my own book. (Shocking!)
You don’t actually need an ereader to see the Kindle version, at least. As long as you have an Amazon account, you can download their Kindle software for pretty much any device, from iPad to smartphone, and computers as well. Then you could look at the electronic versions.
Thanks, Malinda. I’d hoped maybe the publisher had given you that information. Well, I’ll wait and see if I win the giveaway, and maybe by then someone will be able to tell me about the Kindle edition!
I liked “Ash” a lot, really a lot, and I’d be so happy if I could read also “The Huntress” and “The Fox”
Also because I’ve hoped, at least for “The Huntress”, an Italian translation (yes, I come from Italy), since “Ash” was published here, too; but I don’t think I’ll see it any soon, unluckily, won’t I?
Crossed fingers!
I loved Ash, it was a great book! I cant wait to read Huntress.
i am so excited! as a teen who struggled with her sexuality a year or so back, “ash” was a great book to read when i needed to calm myself down and still is. it’s wonderful. i can’t wait to get my hands on “huntress.”
I really loved Ash and I can’t wait to read Huntress and all your books, I don’t know what to say^^; I like never see any books with lesbian romance in and I haven’t been so enraptured by a romantic novel before. I literally didn’t put it down till I finished it, it was evening when I started it and morning when I finished it. I wish I’d known about you sooner!
The Kindle version does come with “The Fox” and the sneak peak to Adaptation. I have it.