Of Monsters and Mainframes

by Barbara Truelove

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Pub Date Jun 03 2025 | Archive Date Not set

LGBTQIAP+ | Sci Fi & Fantasy

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Description

Spaceships aren’t programmed to seek revenge—but for Dracula, Demeter will make an exception.

Demeter just wants to do her job: shuttling humans between Earth and Alpha Centauri. Unfortunately, her passengers keep dying—and not from equipment failures, as her AI medical system, Steward, would have her believe. These are paranormal murders, and they began when one nasty, ancient vampire decided to board Demeter and kill all her humans.

To keep from getting decommissioned, Demeter must join forces with her own team of monsters: A werewolf. An engineer built from the dead. A pharaoh with otherworldly powers. A vampire with a grudge. A fleet of cheerful spider drones. Together, this motley crew will face down the ultimate evil—Dracula.

The queer love child of pulp horror and classic sci-fi, Of Monsters and Mainframes is a dazzling, heartfelt odyssey that probes what it means to be one of society’s monsters—and explores the many types of friendship that make us human.

Spaceships aren’t programmed to seek revenge—but for Dracula, Demeter will make an exception.

Demeter just wants to do her job: shuttling humans between Earth and Alpha Centauri. Unfortunately, her...

Advance Praise

“A book that will make you incredibly invested in the relationships between AI. This is a clever and imaginative retelling of aspects of Dracula that both makes you giggle and gasp.” —Kimberly Lemming, USA Today bestselling author of That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon

"A gloriously clever mashup of genres that captures the loneliness of space, and the joy of finding companions to explore it with. I laughed one page, cried the next, and cheered for Demeter and her motley crew throughout. Of Monsters and Mainframes is a delight from start to finish." —Maiga Doocy, author of Sorcery and Small Magics

"OF MONSTERS AND MAINFRAMES is fast and fun, with crackling prose, airlock-cold chills, and a lot to love in its too-human inhuman protagonists. It's a treat to read a book that feels so modern and so classic at the same time, sitting right on the bridge between Murderbot and a monster movie." —Karen Osborne, author of Architects of Memory

“This book is a warm hug in bloodied arms. Mixing hull breaches with skeletons eating chips, it’s a fantastic and strange journey into inter-species friendships and slow-burn platonic robotic love. The entire cast could step off the page and slap me in the face and I would thank them for it.” —Eli Snow, author The Divine Gardener’s Handbook

"I devoured this like a mythical creature feasting on an interstellar crew. Delightful, unhinged, and obscenely compelling. Told through a quippy lens, this story is incredibly warm for a monster mash set in space. It feels like a new wave of fable and I can’t recommend it enough." –Craig Montgomery, author of A Circle of Stars

"Of Monsters and Mainframes is an exquisite kaleidoscope of genre and style that drips with nostalgia yet remains fresh and exciting. Truelove deftly balances laugh-out-loud humor with cutting-edge tension while weaving a heart-swelling tale of friendship, identity, and the meaning of humanity." — S. Hati, author of And the Sky Bled

Marketing Plan

Social campaign with over 5M direct reach plus paid promotions
National print, broadcast, and online media campaign including radio and podcast interviews
Extensive review copy mailings to booksellers, media, and influencers
Netgalley and Goodreads promotions
NYC launch event with broad influencer and media attendance