Today on the site, I am delighted to reveal this extremely excellent trailer for one of my favorite authors, Lev A.C. Rosen, and his equally excellent upcoming gay historical mystery, Lavender House, which releases from Forge on October 18th! Here’s the story:

Lavender House, 1952: the family seat of recently deceased matriarch Irene Lamontaine, head of the famous Lamontaine soap empire. Irene’s recipes for her signature scents are a well guarded secret—but it’s not the only one behind these gates. This estate offers a unique freedom, where none of the residents or staff hide who they are. But to keep their secret, they’ve needed to keep others out. And now they’re worried they’re keeping a murderer in.

Irene’s widow hires Evander Mills to uncover the truth behind her mysterious death. Andy, recently fired from the San Francisco police after being caught in a raid on a gay bar, is happy to accept—his calendar is wide open. And his secret is the kind of secret the Lamontaines understand.

Andy had never imagined a world like Lavender House. He’s seduced by the safety and freedom found behind its gates, where a queer family lives honestly and openly. But that honesty doesn’t extend to everything, and he quickly finds himself a pawn in a family game of old money, subterfuge, and jealousy—and Irene’s death is only the beginning.

When your existence is a crime, everything you do is criminal, and the gates of Lavender House can’t lock out the real world forever. Running a soap empire can be a dirty business.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | IndieBound

Sound amazing? It is. But you only partially have to take my word for it, because this trailer is worth a thousand of them. But first, a few words from the author:

“I’m so thrilled to present you all with this vintage ad for Lamontaine Soap, the soap company featured in Lavender House. I was so thrilled and excited to hire my dear friends Florian and Jes to create this project, which I gave them only a little direction on. They created something amazing, vintage, ominous, and a little sexy. I hope you enjoy it, and if you do, please pre-order the book (out Oct 18th!) and share the video on social media! Hope you all stay as fresh as flowers.

And now, without further ado, the trailer for Lavender House by Lev A.C. Rosen, starring Jes Bedwinek and directed by M. Florian Staab!

Want to re-port the trailer? Click here to download it in TikTok-friendly format and here for square format!

Buy the book: Bookshop | Amazon | IndieBound

Lev Rosen writes books for people of all ages, most recently Camp, which was a best book of the year from Forbes, Elle, and The Today Show, amongst others and is a Lambda finalist, an ALA Rainbow List Top Ten and is being adapted into a film directed by and starring Billy Porter. His next book, Lavender House, will be released fall of 2022, and after that Tennessee Russo in Spring of 2023. He lives in NYC with his husband and a very small cat.  You can find him online at LevACRosen.com and @LevACRosen