Former editor Charles signs with Storm Publishing

Historical romance writer K J Charles has signed a one-book deal with Storm for a new historical mystery, Come to Dust.

Publisher Kathryn Taussig struck a world English rights deal with Courtney Miller-Callihan of Handspun Literary for e-book, paperback and audiobook rights to the book, which will be published in early 2024.

Charles was a fiction editor in the UK for over 20 years, working at Harlequin, then Barrington Stoke (specialist children’s), and then Bloomsbury (children’s education fiction), before turning her hand to writing. She has self-published over 30 novels – mostly in the queer historical romance genre and has been nominated for a Romance Writers of America RITA award.

Set in 1904, Come to Dust begins with a young man, Jeremy Kite, who receives a note claiming he killed his friend Toby while they were at Oxford University together. Determined to prove his innocence, Jem reconnects with the people who were there the night Toby died, only to discover that the secrets of their shared pasts should probably have stayed buried.

Taussig said of the acquisition: “K J Charles’s writing has a fascinating historical backdrop, but it’s her characters who really make this book shine. I feel proud to be publishing Come to Dust and to be working with such an outstanding writer.”

Charles added: “I’m delighted to be published by Storm, a terrifically exciting new publisher, for my first entry into the historical mystery field.”