#23 - This Newsletter Has a Picture of Gael In It
AKA "i'm so sick i forgot to schedule this hahahaha oops"
PROLOGUE
Somehow, it’s already March! In a couple of weeks, SO LET THEM BURN will have been out for two months; it’s so wild to me that my debut is still finding its way into readers’ hands and hearts thanks to the efforts of booksellers, librarians, and educators all over the world. It has spent four weeks on the indie bestseller list, it’s appeared in Good Morning America, and it’s come out in English- and French-speaking territories with special editions that I’m still screaming about. Every day, I’m excited and humbled anew by your support and enthusiasm for Faron and Elara’s story, so thank you and thank you and thank you!
In other news, we’re a month out from my birthday AKA my favorite holiday of the year. Before then, I want to give a shout out to Fari, Jamie, and Jane, all of whom have birthdays this month. I’ll also be attending TeenBookCon in Houston later this month, and I’d love to meet you if you’re in the area! And I’ve turned in 2 Let 2 Burn (again) while gearing up to turn in the first draft of The Sinister Elite, so I’m as free as I’m going to get for a while, thank goodness!
My current read is Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli. I’ve been watching pretty much nothing but Family Guy. And I’m telling you in advance that I will be listening to the new Ariana Grande album that comes out on Friday. Now, on to the fun!
CHAPTER 1: IT MUST BE EXHAUSTING ALWAYS ROOTING FOR THE ANTI-VILLAIN
My name is Kamilah Cole, and I love an anti-villain.
According to TV Tropes, an Anti-Villain is “is the opposite of an Anti-Hero — a character with heroic goals, personality traits, and/or virtues who is ultimately the villain. Their desired ends are mostly good, but their means of getting there range from evil to undesirable.” Think Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender—before he joins the Gaang—or Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars or Killmonger from Black Panther. Maybe they’re doing the right thing the wrong way. Maybe they’re the most virtuous person on the bad guy’s side. Maybe they’re doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. Either way, they are, to me, as memorable as the morally gray anti-hero.
SKIP AHEAD IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS FOR SO LET THEM BURN
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In SO LET THEM BURN, I introduce Gael as my take on this trope. His backstory and his actions—hopefully—place him in a category as not quite good and not quite evil. By the end of the book, the question of whether he can be trusted or saved drives one of my main characters down her own morally gray road. That’s all I can say without completely spoiling the book, but Gael is a beloved character of mine, and it’s been fun to see other people who admit that they can’t help but adore him, too.
It’s for those people that I’m posting this art by joleanart in its entirety for the first time in this newsletter. There will be much more of Gael in 2 Let 2 Burn, and I already can’t wait to see what everyone thinks of his arc.
When writing Gael, I drew on characters like Anakin (Star Wars), Corien (Furyborn), and the Darkling (Shadow & Bone)—the kind of people who are driven by virtues like love and loyalty to commit horrific acts even against those who claim to love. The kind of people you can’t help but like and are afraid to trust. The kind of people who make you if question is—or should even be—possible.
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SPOILERS FOR SO LET THEM BURN END HERE; YOU MAY READ ON
Like Anti-Heroes, I think Anti-Villains are fascinating additions to a story, allowing to draw on complicated feelings and themes that wouldn’t be otherwise possible with traditionally heroic or villainous characters. I’ll probably keep working them into my books moving forward, so I hope you hang around long enough to love them as much as I do.
CHAPTER 2: THE REC ROOM
Welcome to the Rec Room, the section of my newsletter that I use to highlight books coming out each month I’m really excited about. For March, we have…
THE LAST BLOODCARVER by Vanessa Le
Nhika is a bloodcarver, a coldhearted, ruthless being who can alter human biology with just a touch. In the industrial city of Theumas, Nhika is seen not as a healer, but a monster that kills for pleasure. And in the city's criminal underbelly, the rarest of monsters are traded for gold. When Nhika is finally caught by the infamous Butchers, she's forced to heal the last witness to a high-profile murder. Her only chance to survive lies in a terrible choice—become the dreaded monster the city fears, or risk jeopardizing the future of her kind.
ICARUS by K. Ancrum
Icarus Gallagher is a thief. He steals priceless art and replaces it with his father's impeccable forgeries. For years, one man—the wealthy Mr. Black—has been their target in revenge for his role in the death of Icarus's mother. Until one night he’s caught not by Mr. Black but by his mysterious son, Helios, now living under house arrest in the Black mansion. Instead of turning Icarus in, Helios bargains for something even more dangerous—a friendship that breaks every single one of Icarus's rules. As reluctance and distrust become closeness and something more, they uncover the gilded cage that has trapped both their families for years.
CHAPTER 3: LOOK AT MY CAT!!!
As you may know, I adopted a shelter cat in December 2021, who I named Sora Mittens. Look at this photogenic baby. She’s a model, you know.
EPILOGUE
Thank you for subscribing and/or for sticking around! I hope you like rambles, shenanigans, and nonsense, because that’s truly all this is. I’m sick, so I kind of rushed finishing this one so I could send it out this late, but hopefully you enjoy it anyway. See you next month!