Mother & Slaughter - Liz Shipton

Reserve your copy now! Expected release is July 1, 2026. Will ship on or after July 1, 2026. Limited copies available. 

The Handmaid's Tale meets Gladiator meets Monty Python in this female-rage-fueled fantasy satire.

A hundred-and-fifty years ago, the women of Draconia were stripped of their magic. Since then, every girl who comes of age in the kingdom is given a choice: have kids or become a gladiator.

Eleanor Skinner chose gladiator, and at 35, she's now the oldest undefeated gladiator in the history of Draconia. She's wealthy, she's notorious, and overall, she's pretty happy being a child-free lady-killer, thank you very much.

Then a one-night stand leaves her knocked up.

Eleanor would literally rather be decapitated in the arena than ever have to change a diaper. Unfortunately, she gets no say in the as soon as the men find out, she'll be forced to have the kid. So when she hears about a witch who lives outside the kingdom and might still have her power, Eleanor and her best friend Rosalind embark on a quest to find her and end the pregnancy with magic.

But the journey takes an unexpected turn, bringing Eleanor face-to-face with old flames, new friends, and secrets about Draconia that would make any self-respecting feminist want to stand up, pick up a sword, and use it to slaughter the patriarchy.

This is a political satire FIRST, romance SECOND. It deals with sensitive topics like trans rights, a woman's right to choose, and immigration. The romantic arc ends with a "happy for now."

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Liz is a hybrid author best known for her urban fantasy Dot Slash Magic, which received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly, and for her viral comedy videos. She lives on a sailboat in the Caribbean with her partner and dog. On the rare occasion Liz isn't writing, you can find her reading, swimming, telling her dog "I love you" for the bazillionth time today, or watching 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.