Boston, MA — January 21, 2025 — Ruadán Books is delighted to announce that it has signed a very good deal with author Xan van Rooyen for a 2026 release of their upcoming novel Born of Malice. Van Rooyen creates quirky characters and fantastic worlds while enjoying the soothing heavy metal music in their current home of Finland. Born of Malice, their upcoming book for Ruadán, is a magical world that explores and celebrates diversity and culture while playing with mythological aspects and legends. They are excited about the partnership and deal with the newest publisher that inspires and elevates unique voices in dark speculative fiction and crime noir.
“The way Xan builds their stories is like no other writer I’ve ever known. Opening each page is like stepping into another world entirely, and I can’t wait for readers to get lost in Born of Malice.” – Lindsay Leggett, The Rights Factory.
Van Rooyen’s work has been praised by many in the field, and Ruadán founder and CEO, R. B. Wood had this to say about the deal:
“Xan is a delightful, intelligent, and passionate writer. We were delighted to include their story, “Helsinki,” in our first anthology, “Winter in the City.” We knew we wanted to work more with this amazing wordsmith, and our readers will be enthralled with the stories they will share in 2026.”
Estranged neuroqueer demigod siblings are at war with themselves and each other in an ancient mortal city soaked in unpredictable magic and teetering on the knife’s edge of revolution, but one mage just might have the power to restore order in the underworld if they don’t bring about the apocalypse first. Born of Malice is a queer dark fantasy about learning to embrace the monster within and finding forgiveness even in the most withered hearts. This book is for readers who like their grimdark queer and quirky with a dollop of black humor. The world of Malice is both Afrocentric and loosely inspired by Finnish underworld mythology. It’ll be out late 2026 early 2027.
