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THE FIRST BRIGHT THING
(Coming June 13, 2023)


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"This is the magic circus book that I have been looking for my whole life."
- Seanan McGuire


"A celebration of artistry and wonder as essential talismans we wield against despair."
- Travis Baldree


"A masterpiece of the fantastical and the human."
- Freya Marske


"A heartfelt celebration of difference."
- Publisher's Weekly


If you knew how dark tomorrow would be, what would you do with today?

Welcome to the Circus of the Fantasticals.

Ringmaster – Rin, to those who know her best – can jump to different moments in time as easily as her wife, Odette, soars from bar to bar on the trapeze. With the scars of World War I feeling more distant as the years pass, Rin is focusing on the brighter things in life. Like the circus she’s built and the magical misfits and outcasts -- known as Sparks – who’ve made it their home. Every night, Rin and the Fantasticals enchant a Big Top packed full with audiences who need to see the impossible.

But while the present is bright, threats come at Rin from the past and the future. The future holds an impending war that the Sparks can see barrelling toward their Big Top and everyone in it. And Rin's past creeps closer every day, a malevolent shadow Rin can’t fully escape. It takes the form of another Spark circus, with tents as black as midnight and a ringmaster who rules over his troupe with a dangerous power. Rin's circus has something he wants, and he won't stop until it's his.

PRE-ORDER!

"If this circus were real, I'd be in the front row; it's the found family so many of us crave. Richly imagined and vividly depicted, The First Bright Thing shows both the joys and costs of power."—Sarah Pinsker, award-winning author of A Song for a New Day
Pre-Order Here!

ADD ON GOODREADS

“Mesmerizing and magical, The First Bright Thing gives friendship, love, and found family top billing, puts the audacity of optimism on center stage, and delivers a voice with artistry and flair worthy of the Ringmaster herself.”—Rowenna Miller, author of the Unraveled Kingdom series
Go to Goodreads

JOIN PATREON!

"Brimming with complex characters, The First Bright Thing is a one-of-a-kind exploration of the deathless tension between light and dark, in the world and in our souls. Dawson's debut, like the Ringmaster at its heart, commands your attention completely."—Greer Macallister, bestselling author of The Magician's Lie
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MOST ANTICIPATED LISTS (highlights):
Goodreads
Nerdist
Polygon
Shelf Awareness GLOW

NOMINATE FOR:
IndieNext!
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