We’re exclusively revealing the cover to the Mechanica companion novel, Venturess, by Betsy Cornwell! Plus, we have a Q&A from the author herself.
Mechanica gave us a feminist and steampunk twist to the classic Cinderella story when it debuted in August 2015, and we loved every second of it. Now, we’ve got Venturess, a companion novel to the original story, which follows Nick, Fin, Caro, and Jules to the nation of Faerie.
The official description reads:
An action-packed companion to the New York Times bestseller Mechanica that’s perfect for fans of The Lunar Chronicles and The Red Queen series.
Young inventor Nicolette Lampton is living her own fairy tale happy ending. She’s free of her horrible step-family, running a successful business, and is uninterested in marrying the handsome prince, Fin. Instead, she, Fin, and their friend Caro venture to the lush land of Faerie, where they seek to put an end to the bloody war their kingdom is waging. Mechanical armies and dark magic await them as they uncover devastating secrets about the past and fight for a real, lasting happily-ever-after for two troubled countries—and for themselves.
Smart and unconventional, this novel will appeal to readers of romance and adventure alike.
Today, we’re also exclusively revealing the beautiful cover for Betsy Cornwell’s next novel. Check out the Venturess cover below:
Q&A with Betsy Cornwell
How did inspiration for Venturess come about?
I tend to treat my characters like imaginary friends, and I’ve spent more time ‘with’ Nicolette Lampton, the heroine of Mechanica and Venturess. So even though she’s a Cinderella figure and Mechanica retells that story, Nick didn’t vanish into her happily-ever-after when I finished the first book. The elements that carry Nick and her friends through Venturess have always been there: the war in Faerie, Nick’s relationship with her fairy-godfather-ish housekeeper, and some other things that I can’t reveal yet!
I don’t believe in “brick-wall happy endings,” as Dodie Smith puts it, so my characters always live on past their endings in my mind, which means all my books have a bunch of companion novels hiding inside them. Life is like that too: no real endings, just infinite possible beginnings.
What can you tell us about this new story?
Venturess is a companion novel for Mechanica rather than a sequel, so I think the first thing to know is that you don’t have to read them in order! The main players are the same, but this is an independent story.
When Venturess starts, Nicolette’s Cinderella story is over, and she has carved out a happy life as an inventor. She shares an unconventional loving friendship with Caro, a palace servant, and Fin, the prince of Esting. But war has broken out between Esting and Faerie, its long-abused colony. Even after an assassination attempt, the prince and the king cannot agree about which path to take.
Nick receives a message from her long-lost housekeeper, now a revolutionary, begging her to bring the prince to Faerie for a diplomatic meeting with his commander. Fearing a trap, Nick, Fin, and Caro still decide to travel across the wide, monster-infested ocean to Faerie, hoping to bring the war to a peaceful end at last. But in Faerie, the friends struggle to stay united as they uncover devastating secrets from the past, and revelations about the future that could destroy both their countries.
How do you feel the cover captures the story?
My favorite thing about the cover is Jules, Nick’s mechanical horse and steadfast friend. Lots of Meachanica readers have told me that Jules is their favorite character (and he might be my favorite too!), so it’s great to see him getting the spotlight here.
I also love the sense of movement in the cover. Venturess is full of action, whereas Mechanica is more introspective, and I think both books’ covers reflect those moods really well. The cover artist is Manuel Sumberac, and he’s done a brilliant job with both covers; he’s made my books look like just the kind of stories I like to read, and that’s pretty perfect.
If you had to describe Venturess in five words, what would they be?
Adventure, magic, heartbreak, unconventional love.
You’ve also recently announced some other upcoming projects! What can you tell us about those?
Yes! My next book is another retelling, set in the same universe as Venturess. The Forest Queen is a gender-swapped retelling of the Robin Hood legends set in Esting two hundred years before the events of Mechanica and Venturess. It follows young noblewoman Silviana Loughsley as she founds a haven for the destitute in Woodshire Forest. Mechanica readers may remember Fin and Nick talking about the Forest Queen in one of their secret meetings.
Giveaway
Two winners will be selected to receive an advanced copy of Venturess. One U.S. resident will receive a physical ARC of the book, while one international resident will receive an e-copy.
About the author
Betsy Cornwell is an American writer and teacher living in west Ireland. She is the story editor and a contributing writer at Parabola, and her short-form writing includes fiction, nonfiction, and literary translation and has appeared in Fairy Tale Review, Zahir Tales, The Violence Prevention Initiative Journal, and elsewhere. She holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Notre Dame and a B.A. from Smith College.