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Our Ships Will Never Sink: A List of Tor Staffer’s Ultimate OTPs!

We have a lot of OTPs (One True Pairings) here at Tor, but today, we’re here to talk about our ULTIMATE OTPs. We asked our staff to tell us about their favorite TDA ships and they delivered.

Check them out below!


Poster Placeholder of - 89Samantha Friedlander, Marketing Assistant (she/her)

My favorite TDA OTP would have to be Esther and Cye from Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey. Their chemistry leapt off the page and was one of the many reasons why I loved this novella!

Image Placeholder of - 4Yvonne Ye, Ad/Promo Assistant (she/her)

The Stormlight Archive: I ship Kaladin/therapy, and if you’ve met the man, you’ll understand why

Alternatively! For the Teixcalaan duology by Arkady Martine, I ship Three Seagrass/Mahit Dzmare because I support beleaguered bureaucrat 4 beleagured bureaucrat :))))) If your OTP doesn’t have email work sessions together, do they even love each other?

Placeholder of  -25a cat, Marketing Coordinator (he/him)

My TDA OTP is a match made in magic hell and it’s Talasseres Charossa from The Unspoken Name by A. K. Larkwood and John Gaius from Harrow the Ninth. Tal is a rogue with a thing for garbage wizards and John Gaius, the Emperor Undying, is the garbage-ist wizard of all. This pairing is literally cursed, but so potent it must be true.

Place holder  of - 30Anna Merz, Publicity Assistant (she/her)

I would like to start this off by saying I for one ship the Marketing and Publicity teams at TDA xoxo

But also I mega ship Samson and Abitha from Slewfoot. A wholesome Monster/devil love of flower crowns, bees, and revenge.

Image Place holder  of - 14Becky Yeager, Manager of Ad/Promo & Marketing (she/her)

Kadou and Evemer from A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland

One is a prince. The other one is a bodyguard. Could I make it any more obvious? Prince Kadou is kind, thoughtful, and anxious. Evemer is loyal, honorable, and reserved. Together they are everything I want out of a couple: a perfect balance of sweet and oh no, he’s hot. They bring out the very best in each other as they contend with conspiracies, a counterfeit crisis, and the periodic assassination attempt. If slow burn and pining are your cup of tea, then look no further than A Taste of Gold and Iron.

cover of A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz MeadowsRachel Taylor, Marketing Manager (she/her)

Definitely Caethari and Velasin from A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows. Arranged marriage trope? Queer romance? Yearning? WHAT MORE COULD I WANT?!?!?!

What is your SFF OTP? Let us know in the comments? 

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Thrilling and Chilling Halloween Reads From TPG!

OUR TIME HAS COME……AGAIN!

What time is that, you ask? The time of October, which means Fall, which means…HALLOWEEN! And yes, we first posted this list LAST Halloween, but we will not be taking questions at this time, thanks.

We’re kicking off the scariest month of the year with some thrilling old, new, and new-in-paperback reads from Tor Publishing Group! Check them out below and let us know which is at the top of your TBR in the comments.


MordewMordew by Alex Pheby by Alex Pheby

God is dead, his corpse hidden in the catacombs beneath Mordew. In the slums of the sea-battered city, a young boy called Nathan Treeves lives with his parents, eking out a meagre existence by picking treasures from the Living Mud and the half-formed, short-lived creatures it spawns. Until one day his desperate mother sells him to the mysterious Master of Mordew. The Master derives his magical power from feeding on the corpse of God. But Nathan, despite his fear and lowly station, has his own strength—and it is greater than the Master has ever known. So it is that the Master begins to scheme against him—and Nathan has to fight his way through the betrayals, secrets, and vendettas of the city where God was murdered, and darkness reigns.

Book of Night by Holly Black

Book of Night by Holly BlackCharlie Hall has never found a lock she couldn’t pick, a book she couldn’t steal, or a bad decision she wouldn’t make. She’s spent half her life working for gloamists, magicians who manipulate shadows to peer into locked rooms, strangle people in their beds, or worse. Gloamists guard their secrets greedily, creating an underground economy of grimoires. And to rob their fellow magicians, they need Charlie Hall. Now, she’s trying to distance herself from past mistakes, but getting out isn’t easy. Bartending at a dive, she’s still entirely too close to the corrupt underbelly of the Berkshires. Not to mention that her sister Posey is desperate for magic, and that Charlie’s shadowless, and possibly soulless, boyfriend has been hiding things from her. When a terrible figure from her past returns, Charlie descends into a maelstrom of murder and lies. Determined to survive, she’s up against a cast of doppelgangers, mercurial billionaires, gloamists, and the people she loves best in the world—all trying to steal a secret that will give them vast and terrible power.

Last Exit by Max GladstoneLast Exit by Max Gladstone

When Zelda and her friends first met, in college, they believed they had all the answers. They had figured out a big secret about how the world worked and they thought that meant they could change things. They failed. One of their own fell, to darkness and rot.Ten years later, they’ve drifted apart, building lives for themselves, families, fortunes. All but Zelda. She’s still wandering the backroads of the nation. She’s still fighting monsters. She knows: the past isn’t over. It’s not even past.The road’s still there. The rot’s still waiting. They can’t hide from it any more. Because, at long last, their friend is coming home. And hell is coming with her.

Just Like Home by Sarah GaileyJust Like Home by Sarah Gailey

“Come home.” Vera’s mother called and Vera obeyed. In spite of their long estrangement, in spite of the memories — she’s come back to the home of a serial killer. Back to face the love she had for her father and the bodies he buried there, beneath the house he’d built for his family. Coming home is hard enough for Vera, and to make things worse, she and her mother aren’t alone. A parasitic artist has moved into the guest house out back and is slowly stripping Vera’s childhood for spare parts. He insists that he isn’t the one leaving notes around the house in her father’s handwriting… but who else could it possibly be? There are secrets yet undiscovered in the foundations of the notorious Crowder House. Vera must face them and find out for herself just how deep the rot goes.

Black Tide by KC JonesBlack Tide by KC Jones

It was just another day at the beach. Then the world ended. Mike and Beth were strangers before the night of the meteor shower. Chance made them neighbors, a bottle of champagne brought them together, and a shared need for human connection sparked something more. Following their drunken and desperate one-night stand, the two discover the astronomical event has left widespread destruction in its wake. But the cosmic lightshow was only part of something much bigger, and far more terrifying. When a lost car key leaves them stranded on an empty stretch of Oregon coast and inhuman screams echo from the dunes, when the rising tide reaches for their car and unspeakable horrors close in around them, these two self-destructive souls must fight to survive a nightmare of apocalyptic scale.

The Witch in the Well by Camilla BruceThe Witch in the Well by Camilla Bruce

When two former friends reunite after decades apart, their grudges, flawed ambitions, and shared obsession swirl into an all-too-real echo of a terrible town legend. Centuries ago, beautiful young Ilsbeth Clark was accused of witchcraft after several children disappeared. Her acquittal did nothing to stop her fellow townsfolk from drowning her in the well where the missing children were last seen. When author and social media influencer Elena returns to the summer paradise of her youth to get her family’s manor house ready to sell, the last thing she expected was connecting with—and feeling inspired to write about—Ilsbeth’s infamous spirit. The very historical figure that her ex-childhood friend, Cathy, has been diligently researching and writing about for years. What begins as a fiercely competitive sense of ownership over Ilsbeth and her story soon turns both women’s worlds into something more haunted and dangerous than they could ever imagine.

The Echo WifeThe Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey by Sarah Gailey

“I’m embarrassed, still, by how long it took me to notice. Everything was right there in the open, right there in front of me, but it still took me so long to see the person I had married. It took me so long to hate him.” Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research. She’s patient and gentle and obedient. She’s everything Evelyn swore she’d never be. And she’s having an affair with Evelyn’s husband. Now, the cheating bastard is dead, and both Caldwell wives have a mess to clean up. Good thing Evelyn Caldwell is used to getting her hands dirty.

You Let Me InYou Let Me In by Camilla Bruce by Camilla Bruce

Cassandra Tipp is dead…or is she? After all, the notorious recluse and eccentric bestselling novelist has always been prone to flights of fancy—everyone in town remembers the shocking events leading up to Cassie’s infamous trial (she may have been acquitted, but the insanity defense only stretches so far). Cassandra Tipp has left behind no body—just her massive fortune, and one final manuscript. Then again, there are enough bodies in her past—her husband Tommy Tipp, whose mysterious disembowelment has never been solved, and a few years later, the shocking murder-suicide of her father and brother. Cassandra Tipp will tell you a story—but it will come with a terrible price. What really happened, out there in the woods—and who has Cassie been protecting all along? Read on, if you dare…Get it in paperback now!

Certain Dark ThingsCertain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Welcome to Mexico City, an oasis in a sea of vampires. Domingo, a lonely garbage-collecting street kid, is just trying to survive its heavily policed streets when a jaded vampire on the run swoops into his life. Atl, the descendant of Aztec blood drinkers, is smart, beautiful, and dangerous. Domingo is mesmerized. Atl needs to quickly escape the city, far from the rival narco-vampire clan relentlessly pursuing her. Her plan doesn’t include Domingo, but little by little, Atl finds herself warming up to the scrappy young man and his undeniable charm. Vampires, humans, cops, and criminals collide in the dark streets of Mexico City. Do Atl and Domingo even stand a chance of making it out alive? Or will the city devour them all?

SlewfootSlewfoot by Brom by Brom

Connecticut, 1666. An ancient spirit awakens in a dark wood. The wildfolk call him Father, slayer, protector. The colonists call him Slewfoot, demon, devil. To Abitha, a recently widowed outcast, alone and vulnerable in her pious village, he is the only one she can turn to for help.mTogether, they ignite a battle between pagan and Puritan – one that threatens to destroy the entire village, leaving nothing but ashes and bloodshed in their wake. “If it is a devil you seek, then it is a devil you shall have!” This terrifying tale of bewitchery features more than two dozen of Brom’s haunting paintings, fully immersing readers in this wild and unforgiving world.

The Last House on Needless StreetThe Last House On Needless Street by Catriona Ward by Catriona Ward

In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. A teenage girl who isn’t allowed outside, not after last time. A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory. And a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible. An unspeakable secret binds them together, but when a new neighbor moves in next door, what is buried out among the birch trees may come back to haunt them all.

HEXHEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a seventeenth century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters homes at will. Everybody knows that her eyes may never be opened or the consequences will be too terrible to bear. The elders of Black Spring have virtually quarantined the town by using high-tech surveillance to prevent their curse from spreading. Frustrated with being kept in lockdown, the town’s teenagers decide to break their strict regulations and go viral with the haunting. But, in so doing, they send the town spiraling into dark, medieval practices of the distant past.

The Living DeadThe Living Dead by George A. Romero & Daniel Kraus by George A. Romero and Daniel Kraus

It begins with one body. A pair of medical examiners find themselves battling a dead man who won’t stay dead. It spreads quickly. In a Midwestern trailer park, a Black teenage girl and a Muslim immigrant battle newly-risen friends and family. On a US aircraft carrier, living sailors hide from dead ones while a fanatic makes a new religion out of death. At a cable news station, a surviving anchor keeps broadcasting while his undead colleagues try to devour him. In DC, an autistic federal employee charts the outbreak, preserving data for a future that may never come. Everywhere, people are targeted by both the living and the dead. We think we know how this story ends. We. Are. Wrong.

Nothing But Blackened TeethNothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw by Cassandra Khaw

A Heian-era mansion stands abandoned, its foundations resting on the bones of a bride and its walls packed with the remains of the girls sacrificed to keep her company. It’s the perfect venue for a group of thrill-seeking friends, brought back together to celebrate a wedding. A night of food, drinks, and games quickly spirals into a nightmare as secrets get dragged out and relationships are tested. But the house has secrets too. Lurking in the shadows is the ghost bride with a black smile and a hungry heart. And she gets lonely down there in the dirt.

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Ask the Staff: Our Favorite Halloween Reads

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, EVERYONE!!!! It’s our absolute favorite time of year and we’re excited for candy, costumes, and curling up with a scary book. We wanted some recommendations on what to read and asked the experts what their go-to creepy books are. And by experts, we mean our terrific and terrifying staff. Check out their best Halloween picks here!


image-39122Kristin Temple, Associate Editor

My go-to Halloween/Spooky Season read is Stephen King’s IT. Every few years, as the weather starts to cool off, I’ll transport myself back to Derry and watch gleefully as the Losers throw rocks at bullies, face their fears, and save their town. Something about the coming-of-age themes and the epic battle against evil really puts me in the Halloween spirit.

image-29826Jordan Hanley, Marketing Manager

Halloween is not only one entire season on the calendar, it is also an entire ~mood~. Working on Nightfire titles means that I get to think about Halloween as others think about Christmas– i.e. all year long! Since I joined the Nightfire team, I first dipped my toe and then completely submerged myself in the horror genre. I’ve been a diehard Constant Reader of Stephen King for as long as I can remember, but luckily for me, I am surrounded by horror fans who have expanded my view of what horror can be.
A few recent Halloween atmospheric reads have been:
The Family Plot by Cherie Priest and Halloween Season by Lucy A. Snyder.
The Family Plot takes place in a haunted house that bites back. I recently moved and had been hunting down antiques and gently used furniture up and down the Jersey shore. The Family Plot centers around a gold-mine– a house left untouched in the boonies. As I was furniture hunting, I constantly wished I could have been in this house! But without all the horrible things that happen in it.
Halloween Season by Lucy A. Snyder is a collection of short stories by the author of one of my most anticipated forthcoming Nightfire books. Lucy is an incredibly talented writer, and these fun-sized stories are perfect for curling up on the couch with on a chilly October night.

image-39125Julia Bergen, Marketing Manager

I don’t actually have a go-to Halloween book, because I very rarely reread books, I always want something new! So at Halloween I usually pick out something scary/autumnal that I haven’t read yet. I really love Tor.com novellas for this, since they’re quick and can fit into my reading routine, like The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle, The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht, or The Atrocities by Jeremy C. Shipp.

image-39126Theresa Delucci, Senior Marketing Director

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is a horror classic for a reason and I return to it frequently, but for the last few years I’ve been revisiting its modern spiritual descendant, A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay. When the leaves change color and the sky gets gloomy, any falling-apart house in New England could contain a falling-apart family like the Barretts. Is teenager Marjorie very sick or very possessed? Things only get worse and more terrifying and, seen through the eyes of Marjorie‘s clever kid sister Merry, you’re pulled into an ending that’s horrific, heartbreaking, and leaves you wondering what haunts every lonely soul.

image-39032Rachel Taylor, Marketing Manager

I’ve never had a go-to Halloween book before, but I’ve found one this year that I know is going to be my new yearly re-read—Slewfoot by Brom. If you loved 2015 film The Witch, this is 1000% the book for you. It’s also filled with some absolutely stunning yet creepy art, which I can’t help but keep flipping back to.

image-39034Lizzy Hosty, Marketing Intern

My go-to book for Halloween is any of the Series of Unfortunate Events books. I’ve been periodically working my way through them since I never read them as a kid, but obviously Halloween is the best time to read these creepy stories! I’m also really excited to read Nothing But Blackened Teeth, because I have been rocking the pre-order pop socket, and cannot wait to double that energy but holding the book in one hand and my phone in the other.

image-37538Angie Rao, Design

The Monster of Elendhaven!

It’s spooky and dark but also fun and short so you can read it and then eat some candy while you process your feelings.
What book are you most excited to read this Halloween? Let us know in the comments!

a cat, Marketing Coordinator 

 
This interactive necromantic legal thriller from Max Gladstone has something scarier than skeletons and demons: balancing cost of living, debt, career advancement, and life satisfaction (in addition to many skeletons and demons)! Pay off your loans! Make partner! Find a hot partner (if you want)! DIE! BE REBORN AS A DEATHLESS SKELETON! GO TO WORK ON MONDAY!
My transition into all caps is meant to reflect my all caps love for this game, that you should go play immediately. Also check out Deathless: The City’s Thirst, where after working with other mortal magic practitioners to depose a god, you must take on god’s task of procuring water for a desert city.

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