Maiden Lane Press launches today with Moonrise

 

A literary agent who used to be on the publishing side jumps the fence and decides she can do it as well if not better than the big guys. That’s the story of Marly Rusoff, who created Maiden Lane Press specifically to release Cassandra King’s latest novel Moonrise.

That novel, a retelling-of-sorts of Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier, launches today!

Rusoff held a design competition to create the imprint’s gas lamp logo. She and her partner Michael Radulescu pored through listings of gods, goddesses and titans to find a name for their press, finally fastening on Maiden Lane, an evocative place name.

Today’s book launch is a hopeful testing ground for Rusoff. If all goes well, she may begin publishing her clients’ backlists or other items of interest, such as a commencement speech given by Arthur Phillips, author of Prague, or Jonathan Odell’s first novel, now out of print.

More than that, though, Moonrise is dedicated to Cassandra King’s sister Nancy, a teacher who died just as the book was finished. Both Daphne DuMaurier and Nancy would be proud of their very different but personal associations with this novel, one readers are saying is King’s best book yet.

Here’s a description of the book from the author’s website:

Helen Honeycutt is just getting her life back on track after a bitter divorce when she meets Emmet Justice, an attractive widower still grieving for his late wife, Rosalyn. Their sudden marriage sets off a maelstrom of resentment and ill-will among Rosalyn’s family and friends. Hoping to mend fences, the newlyweds plan a summer at Moonrise, Rosalyn’s historic estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Moonrise is known far and wide for its unique nocturnal gardens, which have fallen into ruin since the death of its mistress.

Like the heroine of Daphne DuMaurier’s classic romance, Rebecca, Helen becomes obsessed by her predecessor, who lives on in her house and gardens and the hearts of those who loved her. Not only does Helen fail to measure up to the beautiful and accomplished Rosalyn, she doesn’t fit into her world, either, an elite enclave of well-to-do summer people. Even the gardens exclude her, since their secrets, passed down by generations of gardeners, died out with Rosalyn. When it becomes clear that someone in Rosalyn’s close-knit circle of friends is determined to drive her away, Helen wonders if she can trust anyone, even her husband. As the sweltering summer draws to an end, Helen must uncover the secrets of the past in order to establish her own identity apart from the woman she replaced.

The book is available in hardcover or Audible format.

King is the wife of author Pat Conroy. A few prepub blurbs:

“A suspenseful Gothic that gives a nod to its predecessors while still being fresh”--Publisher’s Weekly

“Moonrise is a fantastic, not-to-be-missed novel."-- Anne River Siddons, author of The House Next Door

"I read Moonrise in a single greedy gulp.” -- Meg Waite Clayton, author of The Wednesday Sisters

Congratulations to Cassandra, Marly and Maiden Lane Press!