Changing your worldview...
one book at a time.
Hello gentles all…
Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash
I get a lot of emails, now that I own a business. And 98% of the want to sell me something for said business.
Quite a few of these are offering to tell me how to sell a book and make $10,000. And that sounds great. Small publishers dream of that. But their methods are shady.
They want me to put together a book, usually using AI, that fills a hole, with dubious info, that people can really get with an internet search & a little media literacy. They’re telling me to produce, not useless books, but… empty books. There’s not heart behind the books, no soul shown in the production of it, no passion.
That’s not the kind of book I publish, that Quills and Cosmos publishes.
You’ve maybe heard my tagline: Quills and Cosmos Press publishes sci-fi & fantasy novels by women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other minorities.
And that’s the basis. But what do we really publish?
Books that can change your worldview, that’s what we publish.
Our first book, Arlo Z. Graves’ THE ICE MOVES FOR NO ONE, focuses on a great set of fantasy tropes: shapeshifters, mythical gods, arena competitions, and a little bit of romance. But is that what it’s about? No. It’s about a woman (who happens to be a selkie), that is a warrior. She’s a fighter, in and out of the arena. And she, during the beginning of the biggest competition of her life, comes down with the beginnings of what will turn out to be a chronic illness.
That’s not what you thought was coming, right?
But the main character has to fight, literally for her life, every day of her life, from her own body failing her. But she’s a warrior. How will she reconcile these two things, that which forms her new life? And can she find happiness like this, while struggling to survive? (And what the heck is the deal with the soda pop company??)
The second book that Q&C has put out, released just yesterday, is Molly Haniszewski’s BEYOND THE BORDER FOREST. This book has been called by a reviewer, “cozy with teeth.” I love that, because it’s not just a book that you cuddle up and read with your PSL. It’s going to change you. The main character? Subtly different… she’s plus size, and likes… embroidery? And baking? And isn’t afraid to admit it. But she’s also willing to go off, into the forbidden forest no less, to save her sister, from a magical, immortal King. And these things coexist in her, and you see that that’s not such a stretch. And the male main character? A trans man, but that’s not the most interesting thing about him. He’s got a story, and secrets, and enough easy-going charm to make you want to follow him to the ends of the forest.
And that’s just the two books we have out for 2025. 2026 has a lineup of all new ways to change your world view and make you feel seen.
This is what I want from Quills and Cosmos. I read a lot of submissions. And some of them are absolutely fabulous and deserve to be in the world. But they don’t have the gravitas that I’m looking for. They’re not Q&C books, and I have to reject them.
Eventually I’ll make an imprint that is for books that are “just” light and fun, romps without the baggage. But they’ll still be written by women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other minorities.
Thank you to all of you that have shown your support recently. You’re changing lives when you support an indie publisher, an indie author, an indie bookstore. You make a difference, by helping us make a difference.
Stay tuned, gentles all. We may never make $10K in a week with one of our books, but we will absolutely keep trying to change the world with them.
~Meagan