He spent nine years building the case that could hang her.
Then magic bound them seven feet apart.

A Stitch of Bone and Silk is a dangerous slow-burn fantasy of forced proximity, divided loyalties and the terrible bargains people make for power. An adult dark fantasy, out 1 December 2026.

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Matthew Thale, a dark-haired man in a black and gold frock coat, stands at a desk in a lamplit study with a gaslit city behind him

Morigan Weiss, a dark-haired woman in a black and gold gown, holds a book in a lamplit study overlooking a gaslit city at night

Morigan Weiss breaks into Matthew Thale’s study looking for one sheet of paper. He is sitting in the dark, waiting for her. Twenty-one nights to the tide, and neither of them is sorry yet.

Enemies to lovers, with a heist at the start and a trial at the end. Magic has rules here, and the bureaucracy has more.

/ Adult Dark Fantasy
/ Forced Proximity
/ Slow-Burn Tension
/ Morally Grey Characters
/ Dangerous Bargains

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Allison Locke

Stories about dangerous systems and the people who refuse to behave inside them.

Allison Locke is the author of The Order of the Seam, an adult dark fantasy trilogy. Her debut novel, A Stitch of Bone and Silk, comes out on 1 December 2026. She writes about power, dangerous bargains and the intimate damage people do in the name of duty.

Outside fiction, she works in software product management. The job gave her a lasting fascination with how people build systems and how quickly “working as intended” can become a threat. That curiosity runs under her stories, where institutions and old assumptions are rarely as stable as they look.

She is a mother of one and a lifelong reader of speculative fiction, drawn to stories where beauty and danger sit very close together.

Follow Allison on Goodreads and BookBub to hear when the next book lands.

Her books are about bargains with hidden costs, and about people who rarely understand the price of a choice until they have already made it.

The Order of the Seam is set in an empire that looks elegant and runs on debt. Locked rooms and private agreements shape every scene. Every alliance has an edge, and the person standing beside you may be the one you need most or the reason everything goes wrong.

At the centre are capable, stubborn characters who are spectacularly bad at choosing the safest path. They lie for good reasons, love inconvenient people, hold on too long and make decisions that are perfectly logical right up until they become disastrous.

21 NIGHTS

Until the tide turns

7 FEET

Before the tether bites

2 LIVES

Entered on one account

1 EMPIRE

Built on debt

Card 0, The Burglar: a cloaked woman at a moonlit window above a desk with a sealed letter. Caption: "I have never been caught."

Card I, The Prosecutor: an empty leather chair in a dark, book-lined study. Caption: "I sit in the dark because light is expensive and I already know where the furniture is."

Card IV, The Tether: two hands joined by a glowing red thread above a map of the city. Caption: "Seven feet is not a distance. It is a sentence, and we are both serving it."

Card V, The Forger: a hand writing on parchment beside a magnifying glass and an inkwell. Caption: "Originality is a luxury for men who mean to be caught, Conservator. I prefer to be efficient."

Card VI, The Pawnbroker: brass scales, spectacles and a slate of tally marks in a pawnshop. Caption: "Also I have never sold you. Put that on the slate."

Card VII, The Ledger: an open ledger filled with tally marks beside a lit candle. Caption: "Eleven a night went to bed and got up smaller. Four hundred and ten a year did not get up."

Card VIII, The Throne: an empty throne in a candlelit hall with a crown in the foreground. Caption: "Slowly is the only weapon left on the table. I intend to spend all of it."

Card IX, The Well: a view down a stone well with a spiral stair and an iron ring. Caption: "Hot glass is a mouth."

Seven and a Half Feet is an exclusive scene from A Stitch of Bone and Silk. Discover what happens when two enemies are forced closer than either of them can survive comfortably.
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The Order of the Seam

Morigan Weiss in a dark, high-collared gown beside a lit street lamp under a crescent moon

Three books. One empire.

The Order of the Seam is an adult dark fantasy trilogy by Allison Locke. It follows two people who start on opposite sides of the law, in an empire built on forged identities and inherited debt.

At its centre are Morigan Weiss, a forger with very good reasons to distrust the Crown, and Matthew Thale, the prosecutor who has spent nine years building the case that could hang her.

Their story begins with a break-in.

Across three books, private crimes become public reckonings and the machinery holding the empire together starts to show its seams.

Read it for an enemies-to-lovers slow burn, forced proximity, political intrigue, a rule-bound magic system and consequences that do not disappear at the end of a chapter.

A Stitch of Bone and Silk

A forger and the prosecutor building a case against her, bound by a seven-foot tether neither of them asked for. Book One opens with a heist and ends somewhere far more dangerous than a courtroom.

Out 1 December 2026

A Ledger of Ash and Iron

Morigan got what she stole. She has not yet paid for it. In Book Two, the fallout reaches far beyond two people, and the ledger starts collecting what it is owed.

Coming 12 January 2027

A Census of Salt and Song

Some debts can be paid. Some systems have to be broken. Book Three brings the trilogy’s bargains and betrayals to their reckoning.

Coming spring 2027

Frequently asked questions

What is A Stitch of Bone and Silk about?

A Stitch of Bone and Silk is an adult dark fantasy by Allison Locke. Morigan Weiss, a forger, breaks into the study of Matthew Thale, the prosecutor who has spent nine years building the case that could hang her. A magical tether binds the two of them, and they cannot move more than seven feet apart.

When does A Stitch of Bone and Silk come out?

A Stitch of Bone and Silk comes out on 1 December 2026. It is Book One of The Order of the Seam. The Kindle edition is available to pre-order on Amazon.

What genre is The Order of the Seam?

The Order of the Seam is an adult dark fantasy trilogy with a slow-burn romance at its centre. It is an enemies-to-lovers story with forced proximity, morally grey characters, a heist and court intrigue, set in an empire that runs on debt and a magic system with strict rules.

How many books are in The Order of the Seam, and in what order should I read them?

There are three books. Read them in this order: A Stitch of Bone and Silk (Book One, 1 December 2026), A Ledger of Ash and Iron (Book Two, 12 January 2027) and A Census of Salt and Song (Book Three, spring 2027).

Who are the main characters?

Morigan Weiss is a forger with very good reasons to distrust the Crown. Matthew Thale is the prosecutor who has spent nine years building the case against her. The trilogy follows the two of them from opposite sides of the law.

What romance tropes are in A Stitch of Bone and Silk?

Enemies to lovers, forced proximity through a seven-foot magical tether, a slow-burn romance, and a plot built on a heist and court intrigue.

Is there a free story set in the world of the books?

Yes. Seven and a Half Feet is a free bonus scene from A Stitch of Bone and Silk. Chapter Nineteen of the novel carries part of that night, and the scene gives the whole of it, from Matthew’s side. It contains no spoilers. Newsletter subscribers can read it at allisonlocke.com/seven-feet.

Who is Allison Locke?

Allison Locke writes adult dark fantasy. A Stitch of Bone and Silk is her debut novel and the first book in The Order of the Seam. Outside fiction, she works in software product management.

How do I contact Allison Locke for press, reviews or rights?

Email press@allisonlocke.com or use the contact form on this page. Please include any relevant dates or deadlines.

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Questions, review requests, rights enquiries, or a note for Allison? Email press@allisonlocke.com, or send a message below. Allison reads everything that comes in. Your details are used only to reply to you. See our Privacy Policy.

Press and Rights

I am Allison Locke, author of The Order of the Seam. I read this address myself and I answer it myself. Write to me about interviews, review copies, rights and licensing, events, or any other professional enquiry.

Reviewers, booksellers, podcasters and literary organisations are welcome. If you would like an advance copy of A Stitch of Bone and Silk before it publishes on 1 December 2026, say so in your message and I will send one. If your request has a deadline, put the date in the message and I will work to it.

Email: press@allisonlocke.com
Website: allisonlocke.com

He spent nine years building the case that could hang her.Then magic bound them seven feet apart.