Exclusive Excerpt: Alexis Henderson Tackles Dark Academia in An Academy for Liars
Alexis Henderson has already proven she can write dark historical fiction (The Year of the Witching) and disturbing horror (House of Hunger). But her latest novel will tackle all new territory for her, combining her penchant for genuinely creepy storytelling with the fascinating world of dark academia. A twist on the magical boarding school trope, An Academy for Liars follows the story of a down-on-her-luck young woman admitted to an institution known as Drayton College by way of a mysterious phone call she receives in a mall parking lot.
Hidden in Savannah, this seemingly age-old school of magic is home to a select group of students who are taught to harness their innate gifts of “persuasion”, an ability which technically isn’t mind control but isn’t that far off from it, either. The most skilled of practitioners can, allegedly, even use their abilities to “persuade” matter, and reshape reality itself.
For Lennon, adjusting to her new reality is challenging and learning to master her powers exhausting. But she’s determined to succeed, even as she begins to discover disturbing secrets about the secret world she’s willingly made herself part of.
Here’s how the publisher describes the story.
Lennon Carter’s life is falling apart.
Then she gets a mysterious phone call inviting her to take the entrance exam for Drayton College, a school of magic hidden in a secret pocket of Savannah. Lennon has been chosen because–like everyone else at the school–she has the innate gift of persuasion, the ability to wield her will like a weapon, using it to control others and, in rare cases, matter itself.
After passing the test, Lennon begins to learn how to master her devastating and unsettling power. But despite persuasion’s heavy toll on her body and mind, she is wholly captivated by her studies, by Drayton’s lush, moss-draped campus, and by her brilliant classmates. But even more captivating is her charismatic adviser, Dante, who both intimidates and enthralls her.
As Lennon continues in her studies, her control grows, and she starts to uncover more about the secret world she has entered into, including the disquieting history of Drayton College. She is increasingly disturbed by what she learns, for it seems that the ultimate test is to embrace absolute power without succumbing to corruption…and it’s a test she’s terrified she’s going to fail.
An Academy for Liars won’t hit shelves until September 17, but we’ve got an exclusive look at the story for you right now—-a glimpse at Lennon’s first real test to become part of Drayton.
He was slim, and tall enough to need to duck a bit when he walked through the door. His jaw was sharp and faintly stubbled with the ghost of a beard, like he’d intended to shave that morning but had forgotten. His hair too was shorn short. His skin was a rich bronze. Lennon guessed he was about Wyatt’s age, give or take a few years. He was covered in tattoos. The backs of both of his hands were tattooed with moths, and the imagery was repeated on the hard planes of his neck. The moths on his hands had their wings, but a few of the ones on his neck had had their wings ripped from their thoraxes. The imagery was grotesque enough to make Lennon squirm.