December 2025 Newsletter
Welcome, December! A year in review, and what's ahead.
Dear Readers,
As David Lynch would say, "And if yoooooouuuuuu caaaaaaan belieeeeeve it..." except instead of saying Friday, I'll add, "it's a December once again!" And another David [Byrne] of Talking Heads sings, "And you may ask yourself, how did I get here?"
Thinking Back
What a year. One of profound personal loss, starting with a massive wildfire that my little family and I had to flee here in LA, and beset with job loss, other losses, and then the most devastating, the sudden and unexpected loss of a close family member. I've been reeling. It's been hard to keep my chin up. But I'm "head to wind" as the sailing term goes. I have to keep up my responsibilities. I've tried to rally, and it's been very hard and often not possible to get everything done. Certainly wasn't how I wanted this year to go, or this decade.
I celebrated the wins I did get. I got two book deals. To Wonder and Starshine, announced here: https://jendiagammon.com/2025/02/21/book-deal-for-fantasy-and-science-fiction-collection/ and now available.
And this wild book deal happened as well, for Dungeon Crawl at the Haunted Mall! https://jendiagammon.com/2025/02/04/book-deal-for-choose-your-own-adventure/ You can preorder this everywhere, and it's out April 21, 2026. This is already my bestselling book ever, and it's not even out yet. Plus, I really and truly love being on the Penguin Random House site. Lifelong achievement: made.
Dismiss
There will be a book tour! More on that in my 2026 news later...
My 2025 Books
I had four books out in 2025, which makes me shake my head in disbelief. This was a quirk of publishing. Four different publishers, and these books were in various stages from 2022/3 to this year. You just never know how things like this are going to shake out. No matter what, I'm fortunate. Thank you for reading my books!
Doomflower
Atacama
To Wonder and Starshine (as mentioned above)
The Secret of the Sapphire Sentinel (writing as J. Dianne Dotson)
Waterstones (paperback)
Nebula Award Nominations are OPEN
I've made an eligibility page for all awards, such as Nebula Awards, Hugo Awards, World Fantasy Awards, BSFA Awards, British Fantasy Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards, and Bram Stoker Awards. I have books that fit in most or all of these. I'd be honored for your nomination! See all the details:
Jendia Gammon
Signed Books
I still have some signed books, both standalone and anthologies, I can sign and ship from my Ko-Fi shop. U.S.A shipping only for these, due to cost. Take a look:
https://ko-fi.com/jendiagammon/shop
Writing Update
I'm coming down to the wire for my writing deadline for The Dawn of Dusk and Twilight, the final book in the Amethyst Lantern series which began with my Nebula & BSFA finalist, The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern and continued in this year's The Secret of the Sapphire Sentinel. This is a prequel, and the main characters are adults starting in OUR era, who have incredible journeys to the time 500 years in the future, when the first two books take place. Hint: no time travel is involved. But time jumps, yes. And a whole lot can happen in 500 years. It's a bittersweet book, but I'm hoping I stick the landing. (And you WILL see some familiar faces, if you've read the other two!) I'm writing at a brisk pace when time and household peace permits.
On that note: I'm hoping I can find better writing digs at some point in the new year. Where I live, it's exceptionally noisy and that's becoming an impediment to what I do. Something has to give. For now, I power through.
Plus, it's Cafe Advent time! I'm visiting various cafes around SoCal all December (certainly not every day, can't afford it and wouldn't want to do that) to try a seasonal coffee or tea and support local businesses. When I can squeeze writing time into this exploration, I will. But mainly, I'm doing it just for me. I'm busy and I need a break occasionally. You can follow my adventures on Instagram (here's the first one).
A 2026 Preview - Books
There is A LOT happening in 2026. Once again, I have FOUR books out:
Dungeon Crawl at the Haunted Mall. This a Choose Your Own Adventure book that will be in stores all over the world, a first for me. What a ride! If you like Stranger Things, The Goonies, 80s and 90s mall nostalgia, and warped humor, this one's for you. For middle grade to infinity. April 21, 2026.
The Vale of Seven Dragons. This is the first in the Vale of Seven Dragons trilogy, and is my fantasy debut novel. Early preorders are on the publisher site; global vendor preorders are coming later. Paperback, hardcover, ebook.
This is the tale of a rebellious princess and a loyalist prince, seven lost dragons, and the beginning of the end of their world as they know it.
The 16-year-old Princess Githilien (Thilly) of Vickery wants nothing to do with the Crown. She wants either to become a knight, which is forbidden, or join her mother’s secretive mystical practices in the north. Whereas 18-year-old Prince Beaumain of Catellaith is of age to be knighted, and he frowns upon any deviation from his royal birthright. By tradition, the two teens should be betrothed from Thilly’s birth, but her mother insisted on raising an independent daughter who might choose her own destiny.
But when monsters invade the lands of the south, Thilly and Beaumain must unite and fight for the future of their lands, and try to find the missing Seven Dragons of myth…if they even existed at all. April 7, 2026, via Sley House Publishing.
Godfestation. An Appalachian weird horror novella. In Godfestation, Ivy “Fern” Fernberg encounters monstrous beings and strange people following the death of her father. Fern initially brushes them off as hallucinations from complicated grief. Then she realizes that she is not the only one experiencing these visions, and her father could somehow be involved. This is a strange journey of grief, horror, and wonder set in Southern Appalachia.
“Intriguing and creepy, a dive into folk horror and family history full of twists and shocks.”
– Adrian Tchaikovsky, Hugo Award-winning author of Children of Time
August 11, 2026, via Sley House Publishing, and you can preorder now. Paperback and ebook. More preorder vendors rolling out in the weeks ahead. This one's been getting a lot of buzz. Might be a sleeper hit for me; it's really affecting everyone who's read it in interesting ways. And it's deeply personal.
The Dawn of Dusk and Twilight. Mentioned above and out October 20, 2026; cover reveal and preorders forthcoming.
A 2026 Preview - Events
Whew, this is where things get wild. Dungeon Crawl at the Haunted Mall will have my first, true book tour organized by a publisher rather than by me. I do not know for sure where all I'll be, but certainly at a few California bookstores and possibly in some other regions. This book will be promoted at some major conventions for books, comics, and games (it is a form of game book) by Choose Your Own Adventure. It's featured in Penguin Random House's Spring 2026 Kids' Must-Have Releases.
Rachel Tran
Like...pinch me?!? This is in the PENGUIN CATALOG for kids' books.
(Did I just discover the above? Yes.)
Before I know anything about any book signings for my 2026 books, here's what I'm either definitely or possibly going to be part of in 2026. Some might just be panels, but I don't know yet:
March 27-29, 2026 – WonderCon, Anaheim, California
May 30-31, 2026 – Bay Area Book Festival, Berkeley, California
July 23-26, 2026 – San Diego Comic-Con, San Diego, California
August 27-31, 2026 – LAcon V – 2026 World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), Los Angeles, California
October 22-25, 2026 – World Fantasy Convention 2026, Oakland, California
If anything else comes along, I'll let everyone know. Meanwhile, I'm part of several upcoming podcasts and no doubt that'll continue in the new year.
I'm building in both spontaneity and time for breaks, because I've got more writing deadlines and of course, editing ones as well.
Stars and Sabers Books
Speaking of editing, I am proud to be Editor-in-Chief of Stars and Sabers Publishing. We have an impressive team and big plans! Here's what we've got out this year and what's available for 2026 so far. More to come, and all of it great!
Thank you!
If you've read this far, thank you for that, first of all. And meanwhile, I can't express how grateful I am that you've followed my journey, read my books (either written by me or edited by me), and supported what I do. You are stars!
Here's to a full year, its ups and downs, and now it is time to finish my current book to get ready for 2026.
Unless I have breaking news, this will be my last newsletter of the year.
Wishing you nad yours Happy Holidays and a gentle start to winter (or summer, in the Southern Hemisphere).
Ad astra,
Jendia
