What is the title of your latest release?
KINGDOM OF TOMORROW, tale 1 in the Book of Arden series
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
In a kingdom where night turns people into monsters, a sunshine girl prone to anxiety attacks is drafted to train as a royal warrior. She’s recruited into a secret society that meets in an invisible library filled with prophetic books, and her only ally is an enigmatic high prince tasked with training her, who glares like it’s his love language.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
That is the detail I got first. I saw this image flash in my head—two worlds, instantly fused together. One layered over the other like a transparent image altering everything beneath it. A massive rock wall filled the cracks between them. In that moment, the realms exchanged half of everything. We acquired some of their godly statues, and they acquired some of ours. Their buildings made of crystal and precious stones suddenly fused with our buildings made from brick or concrete, becoming half and half. Waters mixed and soils combined, which complicated survival resources. From there, I had to know how and why it happened and who lived there.
Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Absolutely! Arden is sweet, anxious, chaotic and brave. She makes mistakes, but her intentions are pure. Considering she draws the enigmatic, unshakable Cyrus Dolion like a magnet, well, I would very much enjoy being in his orbit (cue dreamy sigh).
What are three words that describe your hero?
Fierce. Dangerous. Loyal.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
When I started writing KINGDOM OF TOMORROW, I was in the harshest season of my life. My marriage was crumbling, I was facing financial ruin, and my health was poor. But this story was a passion project I had to write.
What I didn’t realize until the end was that I’d been writing my way through buried pain. Arden battles panic attacks—something I had to overcome too. She’s caught between truth and the lies she was being fed, just like I was. It wasn’t until I faced the truth, difficult as it was, that true change came. Same for her.
Through her journey and the creation of the Tome Society, keepers of that invisible library, I explored what it means to come face-to-face with a truth you’ve long denied and how the only way out is to break and rebuild. Fear, consequences, connection, redemption—I wove it all in. In many ways, Arden’s story became a mirror of mine.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I do a bit of both. While I avoid major edits mid-draft, I often go back to tweak or mark places where I need to add scenes. That way, when I finish and return to the beginning, I’ve got a much clearer picture of what needs to change.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
That answer changes every day. Sometimes it changes within hours. Today, I have craved both a meatloaf sandwich with cream cheese and California sushi rolls. I usually gravitate to “creamy” dishes, though. Speaking of, every month I (and Jill Monroe) post a new recipe to our Treasury of Wonders Patreon. It’s usually something we’re craving. This month it’s a rich, creamy French-inspired chicken and noodle dish worthy of nobility. I would dive into a bowl of that SO hard right now.
Describe your writing space/office!
My desk is currently cluttered with pens, papers and notepads. Above my monitor is a chalkboard with some of my favorite scriptures. And surrounding me are sleeping dogs and cats. (Basically, creative cough cough genius and warm cuddles.)
Who is an author you admire?
Jill Monroe. She’s brilliant, hilarious, and a constant inspiration.
Is there a book that changed your life?
The Favor Advantage by Terri Savelle-Foy
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published). Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I had known in my heart it was time to leave the publisher I’d been with for over twenty years. No bad blood, just wasn’t the right fit anymore. I wrote KINGDOM OF TOMORROW, a passion project, and my agent shopped it out. The amazing editors at Amazon loved it. We spoke about our visions for it, and everything clicked. When my agent told me they’d made an offer, I might have done a little dance through my house, praising the Lord. Working with Montlake on this book has been such a blessing.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
Right now, I’m really into personal and spiritual growth.
What’s your favorite movie?
I don’t know if I have an all-time favorite, but I am super excited for Sketch, a comedy about a young girl whose monster drawings come to life. It sounds wild and completely up my alley.
What is your favorite season?
Winter! Give me cold weather, fuzzy blankets, snuggles with my fur babies, and family holidays, and I’m in heaven.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
With my kids and grandbaby! I also like to issue birthday “requests” to my family. Like, “A chai tea would be really nice today…” And they have to say “Granted!” with enthusiasm. It’s the rule.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Gravely Curious, a podcast that is completely real and totally fictional. A cemetery gravekeeper solves a cold case with the help of her fur-baby and guard cat, Rolex. It’s charming, clever, and absolutely unique, if I do say so myself. The fact that I voice the heroine doesn’t mean I’m biased. It doesn’t mean I’m not biased, either. LOL
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I enjoy all the foods, but if I had to pick one, I’d go with casseroles. Good ole southern deliciousness, thank you very much.
What do you do when you have free time?
I play with my granddaughter, read, nap, snuggle with my animals and study scripture. I’m extremely blessed!
What can readers expect from you next?
On December 2nd, the sequel to KINGDOM OF TOMORROW releases—KINGDOM OF TODAY—and oh, it is a wild ride!
KINGDOM OF TOMORROW by Gena Showalter
From New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter comes a fusion of modern and fantastical worlds, where a young woman must navigate a secret society, uncover a shocking enemy…and resist an undeniable attraction.
Twenty-year-old Arden Roosa knows only Ourland. Two worlds split and stitched together, with broken pieces from each, statues of fallen gods, and heavenly artifacts that are worshipped…or feared.
But nothing is more fearsome than the night.
A strange madness haunts the darkest hours, turning innocents into gleeful killers. Arden does her best to stay safe, until she reads a book written about her life—The Book of Arden—and everything changes.
Forced to join Fort Bala Royal Academy, Arden is paired with the ruthless High Prince Cyrus Dolion. But while he trains her for combat against a mystical adversary, she can’t deny the sparks burning between them.
If her panic attacks and war games aren’t enough, Arden is also tapped to join the Tome Society, rumored guardians of an invisible library with books that foretell the future. But the more she learns about the society, the less she understands about Ourland, the gods…and the person she’s destined to be.
Dystopian | Romance Fantasy [Montlake, On Sale: September 1, 2025, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781662530524 / eISBN: 9781662530517]
Buy KINGDOM OF TOMORROW: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Powell’s Books | Books-A-Million | Indie BookShops | Ripped Bodice | Walmart.com | Target.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR
About Gena Showalter
Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of the wildly popular White Rabbit Chronicles, the Angels of the Dark, the Lords of the Underworld, and the Otherworld Assassins series. In addition to being a National Reader’s Choice and RITA nominee, her romance novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazine, and have been translated in multiple languages. She lives in Oklahoma with her family and menagerie of dogs, and truly believes love conquers all.
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