Today’s the day! We’re delighted to announce the cover art for K. V. Johansen’s forthcoming Breath and Bone, sapphic sword and sorcery with a unique voice. Johansen is known for books like The Wolf and the Wild King and the extraordinary series Gods of the Caravan Roads, where the past always intrudes to complicate the present, and for complex, often conflicted characters struggling to live with the consequences of their actions, and Breath and Bone continues in that vein. For more from Johansen, check out her interview with Paul Weimer on Nerds of a Feather.

Artist Laura Galli is new to Candlemark & Gleam, but she has done considerable work for other publishers, TTRPG and card games, and video games. She specializes in narrative and dynamic composition, with a gift for finding the moments that convey the core of the story. Here she’s given us the protagonists, the vhalgod Naskanna Deathdealer and her lover the wild godling Thallyn. Together they defeated the emperor, and vanished into the obscurity of the hills. But a desperate girl has come seeking their help, and they find they cannot refuse… I love how she’s caught the moment between repose and action, and how perfectly it shows the characters. We hope to work with Laura again!

Breath and Bone will be out from Candlemark & Gleam on May 18, 2026. Preorders to come!