I’m proud to be finally able to fully share my cover! And I’d love to hear what you think of it — you can let me know at shirin@shirinyimleos.com, or better yet, by posting it on Instagram and tagging me @shirinyimleos.

The novel is already available for pre-orders (pub date February 23, 2027), and I’d be delighted if you improved my chances of landing on the New York Times Bestseller List in February by ordering a copy now, and maybe even one for a friend. You can also do this at your local bookstore.

If you’d like to go a step further in support of this book (a rising tide lifts all!), I invite you to become a member of my street team by taking my street team challenge. Just sign up here and I will send you a list of ways in which you can help — send five promotional postcards to friends (I’ll even stamp them), drop a flier at your library, attend an event in person, that kind of thing — as well as a street team kit designed to help make meeting the challenge easy. On March 23, 2027, submit a challenge card ticking off everything you’ve done to receive a thank you gift of a limited-edition OF WIND AND DUST Street Team cap and a personalized and signed Street Team bookplate. The six people who've ticked the most boxes will also receive a grand prize from this list:

1. A 20-page critique and one-on-one Zoom discussion with
   Heather Jackson of Heather Jackson Literary (my rockstar agent)

2. A 20-page critique and one-on-one Zoom discussion with
   Lisa Manterfield (my frequent retreat and instruction partner)

3. A 20-page critique and one-on-one Zoom discussion with
   Susan Lyn McCombs (ex Callisto and Tricycle Press, and once my editor at Goosebottom Books)

4. A 20-page critique and one-on-one Zoom discussion with
   Laurie Skiba (seasoned dev and line editor who specializes in manuscript weight-loss)

5. A 20-page critique and one-on-one Zoom discussion with
   A. E. Conran (author, editor, and BookPassage book specialist)

6. A 10-page critique and one-on-one Zoom discussion with
   Susan Chang (freelance dev editor and ex acquisitions editor at Tor/Macmillan)

I hope this sounds like a fun way to get involved with this launch, and an easy-enough lift. Thank you so much for your interest and support! I also thought you might like to see two early glimpses of my book in the wild: it’s behind my editor in this recent WSJ article, and already loaded into the bookstore ordering system, Edelweiss, as you can see at this excellent bookstore.

Of course, these are the first glimpses but not the first mention — that came early when I sold the book and Publishers’ Weekly named it a deal of the week!

But it’s been a long time since that drink, so I’m just delighted to now have a public cover! Here it is in all it’s glory, just in case you want to see it again.

What is the book about? It’s a sweeping, multigenerational novel about three women married to the same man at the same time, that stretches from rural China to an emerging, mid-nineteenth century Seattle. Here’s how my publisher describes it:

Three women—one born married, one born enslaved, one born free—brought together by one man. 

Betrothed at birth, Yook Lan enters the Chun House as a teenager to become the household’s Great Wife—only to be left behind by a husband who must journey across the world to ensure the survival of his family. 

Forced to sleep on the floor of a storeroom, gambled away, and ransomed into the Chun household, Guai Fong finds herself cared for but isolated, as neither servant nor daughter.

Mary has only ever known the silver waters and green trees of Puget Sound. But her life is forever changed when she falls in love with a stranger who has come to America to make his fortune, but who must return to China to secure his legacy. 

The abandoned first wife, the ransomed slave, and the displaced young woman become inextricably linked, their happiness and purpose connected to one man, one household. Through decades, across oceans, and painting a vivid portrait of three women as they struggle against history’s constraints, OF WIND AND DUST is an unforgettable, intricately crafted story of striving, sacrifice, love, and loyalty inspired by my own family history.

_ _ _

And here’s what other authors have been saying about it:

“Each of Leos’s characters is so real, so persuasively embedded in time and place—and all their stories are equally compelling. A wonderful piece of work . . . Brava!”

—Karen Joy Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of Booth

“Of Wind and Dust is a glorious, compassionate epic set in two countries: one ancient, the other which calls itself new. Encompassing almost seventy years and three striking women’s voices, it is a story of the power of culture, love, and duty, and the ways they can catalyze or entrap us. . . . A masterpiece.”

—Erica Bauermeister, New York Times bestselling author of The Scent Keeper

“Lush, knowing, and quietly devastating . . . Shirin Yim Leos has crafted an unforgettable portrait of a family shaped by ambition, war, and longing, illuminating a largely untold history.”

—Michael David Lukas, author of The Invisible Line

“These days, what a respite to fall into the world of women doing what women do: showing courage, resilience, and the fierce will to push on. From rural China to harbor-town Seattle, three wives of one man emerge from the sweep of history, the trap of family legacy, and the complexities of love to stand, confront and finally own their tomorrows. An engrossing story by a storyteller of extraordinary insight . . . I didn’t want it to end.”

—Stephanie Gangi, author of Carry the Dog

"I was swept into this tale from the very first page, and I did not want to stop reading on the last one. This compelling story revolves around three complicated women, all wives of the same man, who each play a role in the rebuilding of a prominent Chinese family after war and famine devastate the country. Engrossing, heartbreaking, and hopeful, Of Wind and Dust is a beautiful novel I will carry with me for a long time."

—Martha Conway, author of We Meet Apart

Almost twelve years went into the research and writing of the novel. You can find out more about the story behind the story by clicking to download this fact sheet:

Thank you, thank you, thank you all for your interest and support, and I hope you’ll join me for what promises to be an interesting ride by watching this space and following me on Instagram @shirinyimleos.

If you are a Goodreads member, check out this chance to win one of ten advance copies in celebration of our new cover! This giveaway will run from 9/1 to 9/30 and is U.S. only: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/449249-of-wind-and-dust-a-novel.

And don’t forget, I’m also happy to sign you a bookplate for any copies bought, and any of my children’s books! Just send proof of purchase and the name to which you’d like each bookplate dedicated, to shirin@shirinyimleos.com. Don’t forget the address you’d like me to send the bookplate to!