AJ Lancaster

Category: Fae & Firstborns

  • How to Marry a Winged King – new cover reveal

    I’m thrilled to announce that How to Marry a Winged King is getting a new cover to match How to Find a Nameless Fae! The illustration is once again by the talented Holly Dunn, and I love that we’ve snuck kōwhai, a distinctly New Zealand flower and one that features heavily in this story, into the border!

    How to Marry a Winged King is a companion novella to How to Find a Nameless Fae and set in the same world, but they are each standalone fairytale retellings so you can read one without reading the other.

    The cover of the book How to Marry a Winged King is blue with a foliage border of kōwhai flowers. Two figures are shown dancing - a woman and a man with wings and antlers.
    Cinders just wanted to dance at the ball.
    But she becomes part of a game to find a fae king’s bride.

    As a lowly human, Cinders has never been good enough for her noble fae family – but she can’t escape them. Every dawn, the magic binding her to their manor calls her back.

    When the fae king announces he’ll choose a bride at the Thrice-Held Ball, Cinders is of course forbidden to attend. Even if the dancing doesn’t go past dawn, her family would never allow her to be seen with them. But after she receives a pair of enchanted shoes that alter her appearance, she can’t resist the chance to become someone else for a night. She’ll dance in disguise for the three nights of the ball and enjoy her small stolen freedom.

    She never expected to catch the fae king’s eye, or for her act of rebellion to turn into something far more dangerous. Everyone wants to know who the mysterious masked lady is, and they won’t rest until they find out. King Tawhiri sees her as no one ever has before, but how can she trust it’s more than just enchantment at work?

    Can she make it home by dawn? And does she even want to marry a winged king, anyway?

    Links are still populating, but it is slowly rolling out across the interwebs. The ebook will release 20 August!

    Bookshop.org | Amazon (UK) | Amazon (US) | Kobo

  • Pre-order bonus for How to Find a Nameless Fae

    Pre-order bonus for How to Find a Nameless Fae

    To celebrate the trad re-release of How to Find a Nameless Fae, I’ve put together a pack of digital goodies for anyone who pre orders the hardback! This will include:

    🏠2 bonus scenes, including a never-before-seen one from the hero’s pov

    🏠Digital wallpaper set

    🏠Printable colouring page

    🏠Book-themed cocktail/mocktail recipe

    Where can I buy the hardback?

    United States:

    Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Amazon.com

    United Kingdom:

    Blackwells UK | Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones | TGJones | Wordery | Amazon UK

    Australia / NZ:

    Booktopia AU | The Nile (NZ) | Amazon AU

    How do I get the pre-order goodies?

    1. Pre-order the hardcover
    2. Submit your preorder receipt using this form
    3. Incentives will be emailed out starting on the UK release date on 6 August
    pre-order incentive form

  • Big news! I’m going trad!

    Big news! I got a trad publishing deal!


    Tor UK has acquired the rights for How to Find a Nameless Fae & How to Marry a Winged King (worldwide) & for the Stariel series (UK & Commonwealth excluding Canada)!

    What does this mean?

    I’m now a territorially-complicated hybrid author, part indie, part trad, depending on where you live and which book format!

    For Stariel, the ebooks will remain indie in the USA and Canada, but will transition to traditionally published everywhere else.

    For How to Find a Nameless Fae & How to Marry a Winged King, we’re going full trad everywhere babyyyy!

    Will the content be changing?

    No, the books may get a light copyedit/proofread, but the stories will remain the ones you know and love!

    When will the new trad editions be published?

    The ebooks will switch over to Tor UK’s versions imminently for the relevant countries!
    The UK print editions will be re-released in HARDBACK starting with:

    • How to Find a Nameless Fae in August 2026.
    • The Lord of Stariel in November 2026.

    With the rest to follow!

    What will happen to the current indie paperback editions?

    The indie paperbacks will over time be replaced by the new trad print editions. If you want to get the indie paperbacks before they go out of print, please do so ASAP. The new editions will be a different size/format, so act now if you’ve got a partially complete set of Stariel paperbacks!

    Will the ebooks be staying in KU?

    This is going to depend on the territory! The Stariel books will be staying in KU in the USA & Canada. Outside of that, it will be up to the publisher to decide, so the ebooks may be only periodically available in KU.

    What about audio?

    My existing audiobook editions are with Podium and will remain available.

    Are we losing the beautiful covers?

    The plan is to keep the same gorgeous designs by Jenny Zemanek (Stariel) and Holly Dunn (Nameless Fae), with a glow-up for the new trad editions.

    How are you feeling?

    Very emotional, in a good way! Thank you so much for supporting me on this journey! As an indie, it’s been wild and humbling to see fans’ love for these stories. Bringing my books into the trad space means they can reach even more readers. Tor has published some of my favourite authors, and I can still hardly believe I’m joining them! I can’t wait to see my books in bookstores.

  • How to Find a Nameless Fae is Out!

    My feel-good fantasy romance retelling of Rumpelstiltskin is out! I am vibrating with excitement.

    Buy now
    Cover of How to Find a Nameless Fae. A man, a woman, and a cat on a floral green background. The woman is flourishing a dagger at the man. The man has cat ears and a tail.

    What happens when a first-born bargain goes wrong?

    Princess Gisele has spent her life preparing for an evil fae sorcerer to claim her. That was the bargain her mother was tricked into: one royal first-born in exchange for spinning straw into gold.

    But it’s been decades, and he still hasn’t shown up.

    The unfulfilled fairytale-debt, however, is refusing to lie quietly. When its chaotic magic reaches unbearable levels, Gisele takes matters into her own hands. Terrifying fae sorcerer or not, she’ll hunt him down and force him to stop ruining her life.

    But instead of an evil mastermind, she finds the scholarly, nameless lord of a magical house. He wants nothing to do with the angry knife-wielding spinster on his doorstep. Unfortunately, the fairytale-debt has other ideas.

    Now magically bound to her lifelong nemesis, the only way to break the magic between them is to work together to find the nameless fae’s lost name. Assuming they don’t strangle each other first.

    HOW TO FIND A NAMELESS FAE is a cozy fantasy romance retelling of Rumplestiltskin with spice, featuring a middle-aged heroine, a buttoned-up hero, and an interfering sentient house.

    Advanced Praise for How to Find a Nameless Fae

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    “Imagine Rumpelstiltskin but in a cottagecore, fantasy, romantic comedy kind of way.”


    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    “Lancaster truly has a way with making lovable and a little unhinged characters that you will be rooting for from beginning to end.”

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    "I fell into the world of faerie and never wanted to leave."


    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    “At its heart, this story explores loneliness, how it affects all kinds of people, the doubts it plants, and the yearning it brings. But it’s also about finding your people, and I think it’s safe to say that Gisele and Mal finally found theirs 💕”