Publication date: August 19th 2025
Genres: New Adult, Urban Fantasy
A new, spicy urban fantasy from TikTokker Liz Shipton, perfect for fans of I am Number Four, Wreck it Ralph and ACOTAR.
What if you wrote a magic computer program? What if that magic computer program started summoning monsters?
When twenty-something coder Seven Jones goes back to school at a community college in San Diego, the last thing she wants is to join some stupid club. And the last thing she expects is to walk into an underground magic club. Like, actual wizards and shit.
Seven reluctantly joins the motley crew of magic weirdos and discovers her own power. But she struggles to control it…until she figures out how to channel her magic through an artificially intelligent computer program.
Unfortunately, there is literally nothing Seven’s new friends hate more than AI, and when a student mysteriously turns up dead, blame falls on Seven. Is her “creepy artificial magic” summoning terrifying creatures to hunt students? Or is someone trying to frame her?
With only one person – cute ex-Navy seal Logan – on her side, Seven fights monsters (Dragon? Check. Kraken? Check) while struggling to convince everyone that her AI has nothing to do with them.
But how can she convince her peers when she isn’t totally convinced herself?
Hi! I’m Liz. I’m a freelance writer, indie author, and full-time, off-grid, live-aboard sailor. I’m currently sailing around the world with my boyfriend and my dog, turning my real-life adventures into speculative fiction.
I feel extremely grateful to be able to explore the world as I do, and I love incorporating the experiences, places, and people I encounter on my travels into my work.
I also use my books as a means to explore themes of mental health, addiction, technology, climate change, and the looming collapse of society (but, like…in a fun way.)
When I’m not penning novels about the impending apocalypse, I work as a freelance content writer specializing in articles about code, music theory, and off-grid living. On the rare occasion I’m not writing, you can find me swimming, hiking, telling my dog I love her for the bazillionth time today, or watching Taskmaster.
Len Buonfiglio is a former New York bar owner and family man. He has the perfect life until he yearns for more—for something he knows will destroy everything he had, but something he can’t resist. He makes his choice and that, along with a traumatic event, shatters his world. His life and what he had now broken, his only choice is to leave the city and his family. His flight takes him to the remote Caribbean island of St. Pierre where he opens a sports bar that he runs with his friend and partner, a young local islander named Tubby Levett. In Freedom Drop, a genial tour guide, Rawle “Big Tree” Johns is a suspect in an American woman’s fall from a cliff and held in custody. John’s mother enlists Buonfiglio to help free her son and to prove that he had nothing to do with the woman’s death. Conflicted by the need to spend time with his sixteen-year-old daughter who he hasn’t seen in two years, Mr. Len as he’s known on the island, reluctantly agrees to help.
Buonfiglio’s search for the truth reveals that there are other, much more powerful forces involved in the woman’s death that threaten both his life and his family. In the course of his investigation, he confronts a high-ranking island politician, the local superintendent of police, the dead girl’s mother, and, ultimately, a shady yet powerful outsider investor. Was the girl’s death an accident or did Johns cause that accident? Or was she murdered? The lack of clarity—the mystery of what really happened to the girl—he realizes, reflects the enigma that is St. Pierre. It’s a riddle that, despite living on the island for several years, he still cannot solve.
In Calypso Blue, Brian Silverman crafts a gripping tale of mystery, revenge, and redemption set against the backdrop of New York and the Caribbean. The novel follows John Saint John, a man torn between his faith, past, and responsibilities as a father, as he grapples with a life-altering decision driven by a desire for justice. As his story unfolds in the shadow of a significant historical event, another narrative emerges—one centered on Leonard Buonfiglio, an American expatriate running a bar on the island of St. Pierre. When a legendary calypso singer, Lord Ram, dies under suspicious circumstances, Leonard is reluctantly pulled into an investigation at the behest of the island’s police superintendent.
Blending elements of crime, culture, and personal reckoning, Calypso Blue explores themes of loss, second chances, and the ghosts of the past that refuse to be forgotten. With vivid storytelling and rich atmospheric detail, Silverman transports readers into a world where music, memory, and mystery intertwine.
“An impressive debut…Silverman capably captures the feel of his setting en route to a satisfying conclusion. A sequel is warranted.” ~ Publishers Weekly
“Silverman had me at the Caribbean setting, and held me with his fully human characters—of both good and bad natures—and their situation.” ~ SJ Rozan, Edgar-winning author of The Murder of Mr. Ma
“A mystery steeped in authentic Caribbean atmosphere. Silverman knows his territory, as does his hero, an ex-Marine-turned-sleuth who discovers that, even in paradise, things aren’t always what they seem.” ~ Wallace Stroby, author of Heaven’s a Lie and Some Die Nameless
“A buddy book, a whodunit, and a family drama, Freedom Drop is mystery magic.” ~ Reed Farrel Coleman, author of Sleepless City
“Brian Silverman’s Freedom Drop is an exciting and welcome new addition to the crime writing pantheon.” ~ S.A. Cosby, author of Razorblade Tears and All the Sinners Bleed
About Author Brian Silverman:
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Brian Silverman’s writing career has spanned over 30 years. He has written about travel, food, and sports for publications including the New York Times, Saveur, Caribbean Travel and Life, Islands, the New Yorker, New York, and others. From 2004 through 2013, he was the author of the annual Frommer’s New York City guidebook series. He co-authored the acclaimed Twentieth Century Treasury of Sports with his father, Al Silverman. His short fiction has appeared in numerous publications, including Mystery Tribune, Down and Out Magazine, and Mystery Weekly. His stories have been selected to appear in The Best American Mystery Stories in 2018 and 2019, and The Best American Mystery and Suspense Stories 2021. His other short fiction has appeared in publications such as Down and Out Magazine, Mystery Magazine, Dark Waters, and Vautrin. Freedom Drop is his first published novel. He lives in Harlem, New York, with his wife, Heather, and his sons, Louis and Russell.
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