Francesca's Words

Hello lovely readers,

I am so excited to finally share Rotting Trees, my new novel.

All the women in Ariel Scarlet’s family die before the age of forty. Family legend blames a cursed Victorian necklace, and Ariel is determined to discover who cursed it and why. Sophey Cartwright works in Bezzina’s Emporium of Magical Artefacts and Antiquities. She can help Ariel find out the truth… but is Ariel ready to face the past and choose her own place in history?

You can find the prologue at the No. 1 Readers’ Club on Patreon right now, and I’ll share a chapter per week from 11th December. I’ve done a detailed FAQ on my blog, which I will add to throughout the project, but here are the essential details:

• It’s a young adult contemporary fantasy, but you by no means need to be a dedicated YA reader to enjoy it. I’ve been describing it as for fans of Good Omens and The Raven Cycle in terms of tone and generalised vibes.
• Eagle eyed readers will recognise Bezzina’s Emporium of Magical Artefacts and Antiquities from various short stories – you don’t need to have read those to enjoy the book!
• There will be a new chapter shared to Patreon each week for around a year, taking us to December 2024 (eek). I’d love to do a Kickstarter for an ebook or print run, but we’ll see how the tide flows.
• You can do a 7 day trial on all tiers of my Patreon, and there will still be all the usual fun goings on such as tarot readings and short stories.

Please ask if you have any questions. Thank you for your ongoing support of my work – I can’t wait for you to get to know Sophey and Ariel. You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr to keep up with updates, or sign up to my monthly-ish newsletter. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Look after yourselves,
Francesca