On March 6, 2023, Candlemark & Gleam will release Jo Graham’s riveting historical fantasy A Blackened Mirror (first in the series Memoirs of the Borgia Sibyl): Giulia Farnese is known to historians as a formidably learned and intelligent advisor to two Renaissance popes. But in Graham’s vision Giulia is also a seer, despite the dangers of such a talent in her era. Transposing the myth of Persephone and Hades onto the opulent Rome of the Borgias, A Blackened Mirror is kin to Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel works and Guy Gavriel Kay’s imaginative transmutations.

A Blackened Mirror boasts a stunning cover by Alexael; received high praise from Publishers Weekly, genre legends Jacqueline Carey, Melissa Scott and Stephanie Burgis, best-selling authors E.K. Johnston and K.V. Johansen, Oxford historian Katharine Fellows and Hugo nominee Paul Weimer; and recently showed up in Sia’s blog as part of the Can’t-Wait weekly meme. The digital version is available for pre-order at Amazon, B&N and Kobo; and if all goes as it should, the paperback pre-order should also go live within a week. Here’s its synopsis to whet appetites:

1489—When Giulia Farnese came to Rome to make an arranged marriage with young noble Orsino Orsini, she dreamed of learning and power in the glittering city of the Renaissance popes. However, her mother-in-law seems frightened, and her husband refuses to consummate the marriage at the direction of the head of his family, Lord Bracciano. But Giulia herself has a secret: she sees visions in mirrors and hears the whispers of spirits, the gifts of an ancient sibyl in an age when magic is heresy punishable by death. Is this ability the reason Bracciano has trapped her in this sham of a marriage?

As she struggles to unearth answers, Giulia finds herself drawn to her mother-in-law’s cousin, Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia. Ruthless, sophisticated, and old enough to be Giulia’s father, Rodrigo is a humanist, a collector of pagan art and heretical writings, and a loving father to his illegitimate children. He is a bright spot in Giulia’s chilly life—but to Bracciano, he’s a political rival to be removed. Bracciano’s dark rites to summon demons may make Giulia the instrument of Rodrigo’s destruction.

Dealing with demons is a mortal sin. Refusing Bracciano would be a fatal mistake. And Giulia’s growing attraction to Rodrigo might be her downfall—or the key to her salvation. To defy the demon’s power and seize control of her life, Giulia will need to cross the line between innocence and dangerous knowledge. And once she’s descended into that underworld, she is not coming back unchanged.

Jo Graham is the author of twenty-seven books and three online games. Best known for her historical fantasy novels Black Ships and Stealing Fire, and her tie-in novels for MGM’s popular Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate: SG-1 series, she has been a Locus Award finalist, an Amazon Top Choice, a Spectrum Award finalist, a Romantic Times Top Pick in historical fiction and a Lambda Literary Award and Rainbow Award nominee for bisexual fiction. With Melissa Scott, she is the author of five books in the Order of the Air series, a historical fantasy series set in the 1920s and 30s. She is also the author of three pagan spirituality books. She lives in North Carolina with her partner and is the mother of two daughters.

Because GoodReads giveaways are no longer free and our coffers are of the usual size for indie micro-presses, we will be doing a direct giveaway for Blackened Mirror. You can enter it by leaving a comment to this post or by sending an email (with subject line “Blackened Mirror Giveaway”) to our website address. Please rest assured that your email will only be visible to the site admin.

The giveaway will run from 00:01 am February 14 to midnight of March 5 EST, and random winners will be picked to receive copies of the novel. For up to 20 requests, there will be one award copy. For up to 50 requests, two copies; and beyond that, three copies. Because the pandemic and the USPS slowdown have caused significant shipping problems, the giveaway will only award digital copies (it will include the PDF that contains all the print flourishes).

We can hardly wait to share this remarkable work and its linked siblings with the world. Until then, keep your mirrors polished, your tarot cards pristine, and visit the title at GR!

Note added on March 5: the giveaway is now closed.  We’ll pick winners and contact them within a week.