KATZENJAMMER Cover Reveal
Recently, I shared that I have a new book coming out on June 28, 2022.
It’s called Katzenjammer.
katzenjammer (cat-zen-YAM-mer):
n., German, literally “cat’s wail,”
1. A hangover
2. A state of distress or confusion
3. A harsh and discordant sound
…
Cat lives in her high school. She never leaves, and for a long time her school has provided her with everything she needs. But now things are changing. The hallways contract and expand along with the school’s breathing, and the showers in the bathroom run a bloody red. Cat’s best friend is slowly turning into cardboard, and instead of a face, Cat has a cat mask made of her own hardened flesh.
Cat doesn’t remember why she is trapped in her school or why half of them—Cat included—are slowly transforming. Escaping has always been the one impossibility in her school’s upside-down world. But to save herself from the eventual self-destruction all the students face, Cat must find the way out. And to do that, she’ll have to remember what put her there in the first place.
Told in chapters alternating between the past and the present, Francesca Zappia weaves a spine-tingling, suspenseful, and haunting story about tragedy and the power of memories. Much like the acclaimed Eliza and Her Monsters, Katzenjammer features black-and-white illustrations by the author throughout the novel. Fans of Marieke Nijkamp’s This Is Where It Ends and Karen McManus’s One of Us Is Lying will lose themselves in the pages of this novel—or maybe in the treacherous hallways of the school.
It’s a horror novel. When I say horror, I don’t mean like Now Entering Addamsville fun Scooby-Doo spookiness. I mean acid-trip, gore-and-dismemberment, looking-at-the-darkest-events-in-life horror. I described this to my agent as Kafka’s Metamorphosis meets American Horror Story. It’s a very short, quick book, and it scared even me when I wrote it. If you’re unsure about reading it, check the trigger warnings on the book’s page.
If you like horror, upside-down nightmare worlds, or examining the masks we wear and the ones others put on us, you can preorder Kazenjammer here and add the book on Goodreads. You can also visit the book’s page on this website here.
With the advent of Katzenjammer, I also decided it was time to update my website. Welcome! You’re here! This’ll be the place to come for updates, info about my books, and links to all my social media. I’ll still be answering questions on my Tumblr, and you can visit my FAQ page to find links to where you can ask questions and view my previous answers.
On top of ALL OF THIS, you may have noticed I’m starting a newsletter (again). The plan is to send this out monthly, and it will include mainly news about my own books and what creative things I’m up to, swag opportunities, and writing advice. I am by no means a writing expert, but I get asked questions about writing and publishing all the time, so I thought I would collect what I’ve been asked over the years and try to make something useful out of my answers. If you want to learn about writing or publishing, let me know what topics you’d be interested in!
To go along with the cover and website reveal, I’m doing a giveaway for my old iPad + Apple Pencil and signed copies of both Eliza and Her Monsters and Now Entering Addamsville. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I do the art for my books (including this Katzenjammer cover). I use a lot of mediums, but mostly I use my iPad. I have a new one now, and I’d like to give my old one to an aspiring artist who doesn’t have access to technology like this. Check out my Instagram post for details on how to enter the giveaway, and please share with everyone you know!
New book, new website, new goals. I’m so excited to start this adventure with you all.
~ Chessie
