Howdy, howdy! Today, we’re interrupting our regularly scheduled programming to shamelessly promote my friend/fellow Stonecoast alum, J. R. Dawson! Yesterday (06/13), her book, The First Bright Thing, was released by Tor. I’m super excited for her, so I wanted to let my little part of the world know that this book exists and you should buy it. I’m currently only two chapters in, but I’m loving the atmosphere and characters so far. I’m so proud of you, J. R.! As far as where everyone can get the book, obvious choices include Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but also check out your local bookstores and libraries. You can find J. R.’s website here with access to her social media and information about tour dates, etc. And you can add the book to your GoodReads here. Go! Get the thing!

Blurb:

If you knew how dark tomorrow would be, what would you do with today?

The First Bright Thing by J. R. Dawson is a spellbinding debut for fans of The Night Circus and The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue.

Welcome to the Circus of the Fantasticals.

Ringmaster – Rin, to those who know her best – can jump to different moments in time as easily as her wife, Odette, soars from bar to bar on the trapeze. With the scars of World War I feeling more distant as the years pass, Rin is focusing on the brighter things in life. Like the circus she’s built and the magical misfits and outcasts – known as Sparks – who’ve made it their home. Every night, Rin and the Fantasticals enchant a Big Top packed full with audiences who need to see the impossible.

But while the present is bright, threats come at Rin from the past and the future. The future holds an impending war that the Sparks can see barrelling toward their Big Top and everyone in it. And Rin’s past creeps closer every day, a malevolent shadow Rin can’t fully escape. It takes the form of another Spark circus, with tents as black as midnight and a ringmaster who rules over his troupe with a dangerous power. Rin’s circus has something he wants, and he won’t stop until it’s his.