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The Frog Pond Special Edition: Cover Reveal for A FATE WORSE THAN DROWNING!

The cover for A FATE WORSE THAN DROWNING, my Nova Scotian folklore-inspired historical fantasy debut novel, is live!

Sarah L. Hawthorn

19 Dec 2025 — 3 min read

A Fate Worse Than Drowning - Poisoned Pen Press / Sourcebooks, coming out July 21, 2026

It's here!! It's beautiful!! I hope you love it!!

Drum roll, please!

The cover for A FATE WORSE THAN DROWNING, my Nova Scotian folklore-inspired historical fantasy debut novel, is live!!!

Check out the amazing, animated video that my publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, created for the reveal:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DScu5dbjdAg/

"One deal with the devil makes a fool. Two, a villain..." A FATE WORSE THAN DROWNING cover featuring the title, author name Sarah L. Hawthorn, and red waves in layers rising up to a dark island with a shining lighthouse.

There's also a Goodreads giveaway going on starting today!

Check it out if you're in the U.S.

(Canadian friends, I should have good news for you down the line!!).

Process of a cover

The cover design and illustration was done by Andrew Davis, a phenomenal artist who you can find on Instagram! Andrew's previous works for books like The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch and The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed are also absolutely stunning and I couldn't be happier with what readers will see on bookshelves next year!

When I opened the first version of the cover (which was very close to the final version!), I was mid-way through opening some Pokémon cards and I was not emotionally prepared to take it in!!! A mixture of excitement and relief met some tears as I read the design brief and feasted my eyes. Bright red waves! Tiny stars! A lighthouse atop a craggy dark island! A gorgeous title font that interacts with the splashes of water! Immediately I knew I was in good hands, design-wise.

Over the next few months, the design and editing team consulted me on small tweaks here and there, and overall it was an incredibly smooth process! I cannot say enough praise for the team at Poisoned Pen Press and Sourcebooks, who have supported this book with such immense enthusiasm and kindness.

If you like it, please share/get in on the excitement!

A FATE WORSE THAN DROWNING: 2 Sisters 2 Furious

What is this book about???

A year ago, Elle made a deal with the devil to save her sister. Now, they live on a desolate spit of land beyond Halifax harbor. Elle, as lighthouse keeper, steers unsuspecting sailors to their destruction; those are the terms of her bargain. Liney need never know the cost. Her safety is worth every drop of blood.

But a sinner's pact is not so simple. When the devil returns, demanding more – more shipwrecks, no survivors – Elle knows what she must do to keep Liney safe...

Another ship. Another crew killed in the devil's name.

Then a woman washes ashore. Is she a soul to be sacrificed, or part of a darker design? As Liney and the stranger grow closer, Elle faces an impossible choice: kill, and break Liney's heart, or forfeit her own soul.

Danger arises from all sides: the merciless sea, ruthless men on the mainland, and the infernal bargain itself…

Souls and sisterhood, fate and fire – what must be sacrificed for the devil to get his due?

This book has always been a love letter to my hometown, to over-protective sisters, to feminist revenge, and to finding your freedom in a world built to cage you in. Soon readers will get to meet Elle and Liney in all their messy glory, the restless ghost of a murdered lighthouse keeper, the shipwrecked cartographer in more danger than she realizes, and some infernal, yet all too familiar, villains along the way.

To anyone who's been on this journey for a month, a year, or since I started this newsletter 3 whole years ago (!!): Thank you, sincerely. Your interest has been instrumental in keeping this pink frog afloat.

Pre-order Links!!!

If you'd like to pre-order A FATE WORSE THAN DROWNING, check out the links below!

Pre-ordering in publishing is a big deal. It's the best way you can tell a publisher that you think my work is worth investing in. Some books get so many pre-orders that it tells the publisher whoa, we've got something really special here! They may order a second print run before the book's even out, or push the book higher up their priorities for marketing.

(A little brag here: A friend sent me the Indigo page (a major Canadian bookseller), and turns out my book was picked as "A Most Anticipated Book"!! It means you get 500 bonus points when pre-ordering!)