I’m extremely excited to share with you the cover reveal of The Eternal Shadow by Shameez Patel Papathanasiou. If you don’t already know this, I loved The Last Feather (you should read my review) and I’m so honored to be able to reveal the cover of the sequel. Cassia and Luke have been living in my mind since The Last Feather and I can’t wait to see what Book two has in store for them. Thanks for stopping by to see the new cover!
Bookish Brews Snapshot
The Eternal Shadow by Shameez Patel Papathanasiou
Cassia is abducted by the king to be used as his personal Healer and her only hope is that Prince Lochlan isn’t as bad as everyone says he is. Meanwhile, her best friend, Lucas, needs to flee the Selene realm and find allies elsewhere, but in this new realm, all the inhabitants are afraid of the dark where a shadow is lurking, feeding upon them. They must face the king or this eternal shadow.
🕯️ Slow Burn 🏆 Strong Lead Woman ❤️🩹 Trauma and Healing 📚 Sequel
- Genre: Fantasy, Speculative Fiction
Praise for The Last Feather
The Eternal Shadow is the second book in the Selene Trilogy published by Flame Tree Press. It follows the events of the first book, Shameez’s fantasy debut, The Last Feather. In case you missed it, check out what people are saying about book 1:
Papathanasiou’s debut is a captivating portal-fantasy for readers ready for older protagonists and more complicated choices
— Booklist, starred review
Papathanasiou’s talent for writing resolute characters makes her diverse cast sing, and she infuses Cassia’s adventure with emotion. This enchanting portal fantasy will have readers hooked.
— Publisher’s Weekly
I have never seen such a perfect description of characters who are mature simply because they had to grow up too young.
— Bookish Brews
Flash Interview with Shameez Patel Papathanasiou
Amanda: The cover for The Last Feather was undeniably focused on the falling orange feather which played a huge role in the story, this cover is not quite as obvious. If we were to judge a book by its cover, what is this one saying?
Shameez Patel Papathanasiou: The Last Feather’s premise was certainly simpler than The Eternal Shadow. After building up the story in the first book, I had the opportunity to delve deeper and create far more intricate and elaborate threads connecting the characters to each other and to the world.
I gave no input into this cover, and the team surprised me. When I saw it, my heart fluttered. It was perfect. It compliments the cover for The Last Feather in the most wonderful way and I can’t wait to have them together on my shelf. I requested no changes.
The swirls of purple and red are not only bold in their choice, but lend itself to mystery and romance, which are two things readers can expect as Cassia and Lucas have to uncover secrets and discover their deepest desires.
Amanda: While writing The Last Feather, did you already know what was going to happen in The Eternal Shadow?
Shameez: Yes and no. I knew some of the major events that would unfold and initially, wrote a very rough draft of book 2 the second after I’d finished book 1 where I stumbled upon some new ideas. The story changed one more time after I let it simmer in the back of my mind and before submitting it to my publisher, I reworked it again.
This version is the one I fell in love with.
Amanda: Why did you choose fantasy?
Shameez: Fantasy is one of my favorite genres to read and each time I read a fantasy novel, I am further inspired to write. My intention is to add my voice to countless others who have, for many years, been ignored.
Aside from the need for diversity in genre fiction, I admire the genre for almost always lending itself to the notion that in the end, good defeats evil, and in a world where we are constantly bombarded with bad news, it is a relief to escape into a fantasy world with that promise.
Amanda: You’re currently participating in NaNoWriMo, and if I remember correctly, you’ve mentioned somewhere that The Last Feather was written in a NaNoWriMo many years ago, is this true?
Shameez: The very first version of The Last Feather was written in NaNoWriMo and it was called The Other Side. The storyline was as messy as could be and the characters were not the right fit for the story, or the world I’d created during that month. I let it sit for years and tried not to think about it, but I couldn’t let go. One day, Cass and Luke came to me and fit perfectly into Selene with their own personalities and problems and once I added them to the story, everything made sense.
And yes, I am currently participating in NaNoWriMo. I am also incredibly honored to be a NaNoWriMo coach this year. I love the organization and am thrilled to be part of the team motivating authors everywhere to continue writing, because like me, they may not have a winning first draft, but the month could lend itself to inventing a world or a set of characters that you fall in love with. No writing is wasted!
Cover Reveal
