Solaris unveils exciting debut author

This may not be news to some of you but I'm going with what's in the email press release. Here goes..

  Solaris Books is very proud to announce its latest exciting debut author – Lou Morgan.

The Brighton-based author is a distinctive new voice in Urban Fantasy and her debut novel, Blood and Feathers, will be released in August 2012.

Pitched as ‘Alice in Wonderland goes to hell’, Blood and Feathers is about the search for family set against the backdrop of the continuing war against heaven and hell.

But her angels are hardly ‘angelic’ – funny, wise and sometimes utterly horrifying, Morgan’s characterisation and dialogue sparkle in a novel that is both heart-breaking and thrilling, and introducing an exciting new voice into urban fantasy and a fresh take on the eternal battle between the forces of good and evil.

“It’s always a pleasure to encounter a new author with such a strong and distinctive voice and to now bring Lou to a wider audience is a real privilege,” said Jonathan Oliver, editor-in-chief of Solaris. “Blood & Feathers is a stunning debut that manages to be thrilling and frightening as well as utterly heart-breaking. I’m sure that this is just the start of a glittering career in genre for Lou.”

 "What's the first thing you think of when I say 'angel'?" asked Mallory. Alice shrugged. "I don't know... guns?" Alice isn't having the best of days – late for work, missed her bus, and now she's getting rained on – but it’s about to get worse.

The war between the angels and the Fallen is escalating and innocent civilians are getting caught in the cross-fire. If the balance is to be restored, the angels must act – or risk the Fallen taking control. Forever. That’s where Alice comes in. Hunted by the Fallen and guided by Mallory – a disgraced angel with a drinking problem he doesn’t want to cure – Alice will learn the truth about her own history… and why the angels want to send her to hell.

What do the Fallen want from her? How does Mallory know so much about her past? What is it the angels are hiding – and can she trust either side? Caught between the power plays of the angels and Lucifer himself, it isn't just hell's demons that Alice will have to defeat...

 More about Lou Morgan

Lou Morgan’s first short story was published by the British Fantasy Society in 2008, and her work has since appeared in venues including Hub Magazine and the Pandemonium: Stories of the Apocalypse anthology. Born in Wales, she now lives with her husband and son in Brighton, placing her firmly on the front line in the event of a mutant-squid attack. This is not something she likes to think about. Blood and Feathers is her first novel.

Not only will I be giving 'Blood and Feathers' a go but it's also nice to know that Lou Morgan will be putting herself in the way of mutant squid so I can make my escape. You've got to love that selfless attitude :o)