Today on the site I’m delighted to reveal the cover of Southwest Gothic: Seven Plagues of Sa’stoh by Bladen Mercutio, the second book in the folk horror Southwest Gothic series, releasing March 20, 2027! Here’s the story:
Five thousand years ago, he was buried. Now, the Scion of War is awake—and he’s thirsty for blood.
Six months after avoiding the Harvest’s world-altering Reaping, witches Remy and Vincent are still hunting for missing legends and loved ones. What they find instead across the haunting deserts of New Mexico is a nightmare: Lucio Sa’stoh, an ancient entity with god-like power, has broken free from his tomb with a singular, bloodthirsty purpose: to slaughter his own siblings.
To stop the tyrant from tearing the world apart, Remy and Vincent must form an uneasy alliance with the enigmatic but powerful Sam and Lilith. In a realm drenched in desert sun, folklore and fading magic, stopping the wrath of a god might cost them everything they have left.
And here’s the cover by Bohemian Trash Studios!
Missed book 1? Check that out here!
Bladen is a scientist by day, rock star by night, writer in between, and someone who enjoys running only in dreams. A graduate in atmospheric sciences, they chase fire and tell the future for a day job. In addition to their work with the Southwest Gothic series, Bladen has written and recorded several varieties of sonic entertainment, including an accompanying soundtrack to the novels. A Desert Southwest native, they do their best writing in the ghost towns of the Texas borderland between the real and the unreal. Also a witch, the second law of thermodynamics is their magical ethos and they try to live everyday as though it were Halloween. Bladen likes cats, honey mustard, yelling at clouds while drinking scotchy scotch and is composed almost entirely of jokes.