Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon

Mare’s fun solo debut (after Big Name Fan, with Ruthie Knox) skillfully blends a fascinating science fictional concept—individual decisions creating shifts between parallel universes—with cozy, down-to-earth queer romance. Tressa Fay has all but given up on love, but when a wrong-number text from a woman named Meryl leads to flirting, she is eager to meet Meryl in person, only to have Meryl stand her up. Tressa Fay believes she’s been catfished—until Meryl’s sister shows up with the alarming news that Meryl can’t have texted Tressa Fay, because she’s been missing and incommunicado for a month. Upon closer investigation, Tressa Fray notices that Meryl’s texts are all time-stamped as being sent in May, when it’s already early October. It becomes clear that somehow Meryl and Tressa Fay are able to text over the five-month gap. Tressa Fay warns Meryl about her disappearance, and the women desperately work together to prevent the inevitable from their different locations in space-time. What follows is a heartwarming multiverse tale of fated love, family, and memory. Fans of Mare’s past collaborations will not be disappointed. Agent: Tara Gelsomino, One Track Literary. (June)