Publisher: Berkley (PRH)
Genre: Cozy Paranormal Romance
Formats: $17 paperback | $10.99 ebook | $22.50 audiobook
Released: September 12, 2023
Tori Anne Martin lives in New England, where she collects pen names, tattoos, and hoodies in shades of gray and black. Previously, she collected degrees, including a doctorate in psychology, for which she studied interpersonal power, consent, and sexual assault. She much prefers writing romance. Under her two pen names, she has published eight novels to date in dark paranormal romance and contemporary romance. This Spells Disaster is her debut novel as Tori Anne Martin.
In this queer romantic comedy, potion maker and self-proclaimed “messy witch” Morgan Greenwood is sure she was hexed at birth. Not only did she drunkenly offer to fake date the woman of her dreams during the biennial New England Witches’ festival, but Rory Sandler, spellcasting champion and brilliant elemental witch, accepted. It’s like every good luck spell Morgan ever cast came through at once, and it doesn’t take a crystal ball to predict this charade will end with a broken heart. Or is the magic between them real? As Morgan and Rory prepare to fool everyone at the festival, their relationship starts to feel a whole lot less fake—right until Morgan realizes she might have screwed up the common relaxation potion she made for Rory and given her a love potion instead, breaking one of the most sacred Witch Council Laws.
When asked what contributed to the book landing on the USA Today bestseller list, Martin said: “First, the book being championed by booksellers who were excited about it and did their best to feature it in their stores. Second, my publisher being smart about the timing of the release, so that a witchy book came out at the ramp-up for Halloween. As a result, my book got great placement at both indie and chain bookstores.”
To promote the book before launch, the publisher identified bookstores where similar books had sold well and worked with Martin to include a personal note from the author when delivering the advance review copies to booksellers, though Martin said she was not sure how much her letter made a difference. Under different pen names, Martin had previously released books in different formats (mass market paperback and digital-first) and with small presses, so “This Spells Disaster really felt like a debut because the whole process was new,” she said.
Martin’s advice to other authors, “Unless you’re self-publishing, which is a whole different game that I can’t speak to, the only things you can control as an author are your book and how you treat the people you interact with (readers, booksellers, your pub team, etc.). So focus on those things.”
Emily Wenstrom is a freelance writer and platforming expert and writes award-winning speculative fiction for teens and adults as E. J. Wenstrom.
E. J. Wenstrom believes in complicated heroes, horrifying monsters, purple hair dye and standing to the right on escalators so the left side can walk. She writes dark speculative fiction for adults and teens, including her new release, a young adult dystopian novel titled Departures (August 10, 2021). When she isn’t writing fiction, E. J. Wenstrom is a regular contributor to DIY MFA and BookRiot, and co-hosts the Fantasy+Girl Podcast. Learn more at her website.
