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Jesse Aragon

@jva_writes

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cat person | UFO enthusiast | Sunday Times bestselling author 👿✨THE DEMON STAR out now with @dawbooks / @tbbpublishing

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FAQ by @jva_writes

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5 months ago

MASTERPOST

1 - At a glance
2 - cover copy
3 - content warnings
4 - blurbs
5 - reader reactions (from goodreads and netgalley)
6 - comp titles
7 - selling points from the publisher
8-9 - sneak peeks
10 - shitpost (ft character art from José Nieto) by @jva_writes

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5 months ago

(Redoing my pinned posts for coherence and updates, excuse the mess)

ABOUT ME

✨I write space fantasy

💀 My work features horror elements, messy characters, visceral fight scenes, and upsettingly twisty plots

✍️ It took me almost 10 years of writing, querying, and going on submission to get a book deal

🇧🇪 I grew up in Belgium and was at one point fluent in French

🌈 I live in St. Louis and it rains too much here

😈 I love horror movies

🐱I have a cat, Rosie, who moved across the country with me from New Mexico

🚑 I’m a former EMT and current RN

👽 I have an “I want to believe” tattoo in honor of The X Files

💪 I enjoy CrossFit but not in an annoying way, please don’t look at me like that

⛪️ I am not Catholic, just Hispanic and existentially depressed

🎮 I will only play video games on easy mode

🚫 I will never, ever use AI, nor will I knowingly engage with media that uses it by @jva_writes

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5 months ago

The Demon Star by @jva_writes has been slithering inside our brains recently... It's the perfect SFF Horror blend got the spooky season!

Available in eBook, Audio and Hardback - The Demon Star is a Sunday Times Bestseller and isn't one to miss!

I mean, just read what @piercebrownofficial has to say about it!😮

Grab your copy of The Demon Star today!
#thebrokenbinding #thedemonstar #jessearagon by @jva_writes

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a day ago

Sometimes I cheat on my Necrons with Space Marines. Sometimes they are even Ultramarines. Unfortunately, I think Captain Titus is my best work so far.

This was my first attempt at non-metallic metal, so it’s a bit rough and idk if I’ll do it again anytime soon. I am, however, very pleased with how his stupid tiny little face turned out (do not ask me how many times I painted over his eyeballs and tried again before I got them right. Also do not zoom in.).

My fingernails have never looked worse and my wallet is unhappy, but I’m REALLY enjoying this routine where, to wind down at the end of a day (writing or my day job), I’ll put on an audiobook and paint. Captain Titus is about 1.5 books’ worth of work, I think.

#miniaturepainting #spacemarines by @jva_writes

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2 days ago

Thank you so much to @megancheewrites and Bindery Books for the opportunity to read an ARC of her wonderful debut!

This is a science fantasy novel, so it doesn't really play by the rules of genre. If you know anything about my taste in books, you know I'm ALWAYS here for that. You can see how much fun the author must have had creating the setting, and it's just a joy to read. It's a bit of a learning curve at first--or at least it seems that way--but you quickly figure out that ANYTHING can happen in the city of Starga. (Just go with it. Embrace the chaos!)

The plot is just as wild. I won't spoil it, but suffice to say I predicted very little 😂

This book also deserves a shout-out for all the little creatures I got unreasonably attached to (rock creatures!!!!!)--cute without ever crossing into saccharine territory. I found this a pretty heartwarming story, with a few hard-hitting scenes that reveal unexpected depths.

My official blurb: "THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF FALLING WORLDS is a neon fever dream of a book, anchored by heart and hope. I loved every second of this chaotic ride.”

You can read for yourself on February 23, 2027! Highly recommend.

#bookreview #bookrec #sciencefantasy #thearchaeologyoffallingworlds by @jva_writes

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4 days ago

Have you read The Demon Star by @jva_writes yet!? And if not, what are you doing!? Come get your morally grey scifi fantasy with horror! You know I love people as vessels for demons and this was that x10. The worldbuilding is rich and sprawling and really just utterly impressive. Aragon keeps the tension high and pulls off fight scenes with cinematic precision 😍 by @jva_writes

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10 days ago

Wrapping up my first ever book tour (?!) in the UK! Thank you so much to everyone at @thebrokennbinding for making this possible! It’s been a dream come true.

I now get one day to recover and then it’s back to the day job 😅😭

#thedemonstar #booktour #debutauthor

Night 1: Forbidden Planet

Special thanks to @agentbakerbooks and @littlebooklight for making sure I didn’t get lost in London, even though I kind of did anyway

Also got to meet real live fantasy author/sword icon @clclarkwrites , who I promise was actually there even though I didn’t get a photo. I acted extremely normal and chill.

@ryancahillauthor only roasted us a little bit

Got to meet fellow author and 2026 debut @ilanamiral in person for the first time!

Also got to meet @voidcricket , who has been endlessly supportive and full of great advice among this debut journey

Fun fact I had no idea Warhammer World was in Nottingham until like two weeks ago, so OBVIOUSLY I had to go

Worth visiting for the dioramas

The only Necron display 🥲🥲🥲 Disgraceful.

The only other thing I knew about Nottingham was Robin Hood

I couldn’t get a straight answer from anyone about whether this is actually the oldest pub in England, or they just say that to bait tourists

I liked Nottingham

Thank you to @stephenaryan_writer for an excellent discussion at Waterstones in Nottingham!

I was making this face approximately 90% of the time I wasn’t talking but I swear that’s just my face 🥲🥴

Book

Venue in Shipston

I chaired this panel, which was extremely cool

Did all three events with fellow fake scifi author @the_ruocchio , who had so many interesting things to say! I could not find any pictures where we were both looking at the camera at the same time.

Got to meet these two absolute legends 🤯

It’s important to me that everyone knows Adrian Tchaikovsky has seen one of my painted Necron minis, and he said it was neat.

Cardamom bun was okay

I do wish I’d had more time to enjoy the scenery! by @jva_writes

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10 days ago

Yesterday we hosted three awesome authors of science and fantasy: CHRISTOPHER RUOCCHIO, JESSE ARAGON (and her DEBUT novel The Demon Star) in conversation with the electric RYAN CAHILL! Thanks to all our awesome panellist and brilliant attendees who came along to ask their questions and share in our collective love of these stories, and to The Broken Binding for working with us to create such a fabulous evening #authors #booktok #signing #fantasy #scifi @tbbpublishing taken in Forbidden Planet by @jva_writes

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14 days ago

ugh I'm obsessed with these books. Give me thirty of them. I could read 65 million years' worth of wacky Necron escapades.

No context reasons you should read The Wicked and the Warped (no spoilers):

- marriage is a punishment in Necron culture?
- biting one’s nails, also known as “autocannibalism”
- there’s an Ork who invented a gun that teleports targets closer to him so he can hit them with his club
- the most disgusting possible way to explain cheese
- Trazyn the Infinite canonically has ADHD
- multiple instances of a very unexpected object being used as a bludgeoning weapon
- Necrons finding the definition of “arsehole” more horrific than literal demons
- you can be 65 million years old and still have daddy issues
- Orikan the Diviner is so annoying it low key doomed his whole species
- “so they’re divorced”

I’ve gotten more familiar with the overall 40k setting since my first foray in with The Infinite and the Divine, so I got more of the little references this time. This book contains some really interesting lore developments for which I’m glad I had context.

While I didn’t love it quite as much as the first installment, I can see myself coming back to both TIATD and The Wicked and the Warped as comfort reads for many years to come.

I highly recommend the audiobook, again. Richard Reed's narration is incredible, and it’s worth it just to hear him dramatically screech a solid 75% of Orikan’s lines (I love him so much).

#necrons #bookreview #thewickedandthewarped by @jva_writes

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18 days ago

I’m at a point of burnout with Canva and Instagram where if I have to make one more post I will combust. Fortunately I made this one ahead of time, months ago when I was still full of life and energy.

Featuring:

EVERY VERSION OF YOU - Natalie Messier - speculative romance, OUT NOW
SHAPES OF LOVE - LV Peñalba - YA contemporary, OUT NOW
STRANGE LIGHTS - Mira González - scifi, COMING SOON
THE EX-PERIMENTO - Maria J Morillo - romance, OUT NOW
AN IMMACULATE DECEPTION - Isabela Livino - historical horror, OUT NOW
THEIR WILL UNDONE - RJ Valldeperas - YA fantasy. OUT NOW (author also has an adult romantasy, DAUGHTER OF THE DARK, coming soon!)
CURSED EVER AFTER - Andy C Naranjo - YA fantasy, OUT NOW
THE DEMON STAR - some asshole idk - science fantasy, OUT NOW

I would like to use this post as my scheduled reminder that “Aragon” is in fact a real surname, which has nothing to do with Lord of the Rings or any other fantasy novel 🥲You cannot throw a rock in southern Colorado/New Mexico without hitting an Aragon. I personally know about eight other Aragons who aren’t even related to me (tbf we do tend to check first).

#2026debuts #hispanicheritagemonth #bookrecs by @jva_writes

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20 days ago

I love to paint character art

🖤🥀🦇
#characterart #digitalart #bookishartist by @jva_writes

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23 days ago