LJ Cohen

In 4 weeks from tomorrow, LITANY FOR A BROKEN WORLD will be released. It's almost impossible to believe, after the years and words and struggle to write this story. But it's real and here's a photo of the final cover!

Pre-orders for the e-book version are live on all the usual suspects - Amazon, BN, Google Books, Apple Books, Kobo, Smashwords - or you can bookmark this page on my website for all the links. It will be updated when the print book is available.

Sales and buzz in the first few weeks of a new release can be critical to its success. Pre-orders are fabulous, as well as talking up LITANY with readers in your life. A quick and easy way to help (if you are on Goodreads) is to put the book in your "to-read" list.  And then, of course, a brief review in whatever retailer you use to purchase your copy is always greatly appreciated.

As ever, I really appreciate you. The stories a writer writes only come alive in the imagination of the reader. Thank you for your support and encouragement.

If you're going to be at Arisia 2025, please come say hello! When I'm not on panels or participating in "lobby-con" or "bar-con", you can find me at the Broad Universe table in the dealer's room.

I'll also be participating in the Friday Night Readings, the Broad Universe Rapidfire reading, and a panel on Neurodiversity in Sci-Fi and Fantasy.

On one of the days, look for me in my one-of-a-kind Doctor Who themed sweater. It took me nearly 10 months between creating the design, the pattern, and the knitting.

While I primarily read in speculative fiction, I'm not exclusive in any genre. Good story is good story, regardless of where it sits on the library or bookstore shelves.

The other night, I stayed up far too late to finish James McBride's THE HEAVEN & EARTH GROCERY STORE.

How to describe it? Mystery? Historical fiction? Probably? And while it doesn't have the typical signifiers of a genre like like magical realism, it has its lyrical tone. This is flat out a beautifully written book.

The story takes place in a marginalized neighborhood of rural PA populated by African Americans and Jews in the 1920s and 30s. It moves both in time and between finely drawn characters and cast its spell on me.

McBride tells an intimate and compelling story and I highly recommend it.

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Full disclosure: I met Claybourne at a Boston-area con years ago because of the purple great coat he wore. He had just released The Brothers Jetstream and when he described it as part homage to Buckaroo Banzai, well, I had to read it.

I've been a fan ever since.

Reading Breath Warmth & Dream is like being in a dreamscape. Achingly beautiful, the story about a witch and her daughter traveling their world searching for beauty and finding demons captivated me. I'll admit, I'm a sucker for poetic narrative.

I also appreciate that Claybourne writes as though he is allowing us to eavesdrop on a fully realized world - one that we haven't seen a thousand times in fantasy novels -  and it's up to us to immerse ourselves in it.

Beauty. Terror. Love. Magic. Danger. Redemption. It's all there. Highly recommended.