Ink Stains & Ill-Fated Lies

No scribe has ever returned from the Sunglade. It's a continent of burning sunlight and terrifying suncreatures, and the home of the worshippers of Ponuriah, the evil sun goddess. When Adaris Kavari, a disgraced wandering scribe with a lame leg, finds herself following her curiosity too far and gets captured by those worshippers, she's forced to record their side of history in order to survive. Much to the worshippers' glee, Adaris is also a Divus-a race whose crafting is used mainly to heal, and sometimes to hurt-and a terrifying young researcher immediately latches onto her because of it. But Adaris isn't the only prisoner here. She meets an attractive and snarky painter named Rhonwen with an unfortunate link to Adaris' past. Wanting to save them both, Adaris conforms to the sun goddess worshippers' ways while looking for an escape. She knows that once she's free, she'll have recorded a keystone story that would help restore her tarnished reputation and might even turn the tide of the upcoming war. The sun goddess worshippers' influence is strong, especially with the new elements of crafting Adaris encounters-elements that could turn her pitiful crafting into something new and powerful-and her scribe's curiosity twists into something even she didn't anticipate. As a scribe, she's recorded many heroes' adventures. Now, it's her turn to become the hero-by any means necessary. (2024 Goldie shortlist in Fantasy)