Inked in Gray Press has acquired world English rights to Aria Unsung by author AJ Super.
Aria Unsung is an adult/crossover science fiction novel about power, community, family, and sacrifice.
Mech-pilot Aria has never wanted to be the Chosen One despite the fact she can hear the resonance of the black mech. When Aria is forced to accept the newly returned Chosen One, Ondes Martenot, into her squad after a disastrous first impression, she has no choice but to leave the coven and the only home she’s had since her biological family’s deaths. But rifts in time and space open because of the presence of Ondes’ black mech, letting a giant metal-and-flesh monster into the world, and Aria loses her second family.
Grieving and angry, she swears to make the Chosen One give up their power. When Ondes begs Aria to return to be a part of the squad again, she sees her chance. However, while by their side, Aria discovers that there’s more to being Chosen than singing a rift closed. Now she must give up her quest for justice, and if she can’t, the role of Chosen One might just become hers.
Aria Unsung is expected to release Spring 2027.
In the meantime, we’ve talked with AJ about her upcoming release to give readers a behind-the-scenes peek of Aria Unsung!
What inspired you to write Aria Unsung? Did any special or unusual circumstances or incidents play a role in the conception and/or writing of this book?
The idea for ARIA UNSUNG came very initially from a friend who was writing a manuscript about magic and musicians. I played the violin for many years before eventually setting it down and thought that I could use that knowledge to incorporate sound as a catalyst for a science-magic based technology. It eventually turned into mechs made of crystal and their drivers using resonance to make them work.
Beyond that, I also wanted to write a book about sacrifice and the power of community and how both are effective tools to fight against the bad in the world.
As I’m pretty much a discovery writer (don’t worry readers, I know how to outline. I just prefer the blank page in my writing process.), the manuscript just kind of spiraled from there. Because I very much start with vibes and “what if,” I try to start with a strong beginning and then ask “and then?” Sometimes it’s “and then what happens?” Sometimes it’s more “and then how does the character react?” I just let the text, and the characters guide me in the first (or zero) draft.
Without any spoilers, what was your favorite part of the book to write?
The food. I have a strange little synesthesia where I can taste and smell certain words very clearly . . . especially if I’ve experienced them. Oranges, roses, many different foods, even the “bad” smells . . . I have a very visceral reaction. But food is such a major part of life and cultures across the world.
My early books tend to write food blandly because there’s no joy in it. However, in ARIA UNSUNG, I was able to create a space of community and memory around food, specifically grilled stuffed flatbread, that is joyful but bittersweet. It’s my way of reproducing my childhood memory of my own father cooking his “specialty” (meat gravy on toast, aka shit on a shingle) in such a way that it fit the world. I remember how that meal created a sense of belonging. It was one of the first meals that I ever helped to cook, and I wanted to write that sense of community and family into Aria, so meat gravy turned into flatbread tied to the memory of her father.
Were there any major influences for you as a writer?
Family . . . Both of my grandmothers were forces of nature. One encouraged me to follow what I wanted to do with my life by simply existing, the other was the foundational inspiration behind my creative endeavors.
Grandma one (Grams) wanted to be a finish carpenter when she was a child. But at that time, women weren’t “allowed” into that profession, and her family directed her to “do what women do,” and she became the matriarch of our family. The other (Grandma Pettipoo) read science fiction and fantasy widely, especially by female authors, and encouraged me to do the same.
When I started writing little plays and short stories as a child, my parents continued to nurture what Grams and Grandma Pettipoo had emboldened in me. My mother would let me read instead of cleaning my room. My father pushed me to write beyond my limits. They all saw a creative spark and really nourished it at a young age.
Without any spoilers, is there a character who holds a special place in your heart?
Berceuse definitely holds the side-character bits of my heart in this story, though I really do love all my characters. Berceuse is paraplegic due to an accident, much like my dad’s best friend, Greg (who has since passed). His personality is also loosely based off Greg as well: a snarky, loving, accepting person not limited by a lack of mobility.
Greg was an excellent tennis player, skier, and generally an amazing athlete. Berceuse is the most expert mechanic who deals with the crystal mechs and one of the driving forces of Aria’s longtime squad-family. And while our world didn’t accommodate Greg well, I wanted to create a world that would. So, there’s hover chairs and no stairs for Berceuse . . . among many other things. (I mean, what sci-fi world still needs stairs?) Berceuse isn’t limited by his mobility in many ways. Not physically, and definitely not mentally. He’s who Greg was to me and could have been to so many other people.
If your book had a soundtrack or theme song, what would it be?
Oh boy, do I have a surprise for you! I actually have a playlist that I compiled while I wrote this manuscript. You can click here for the entire playlist if you’re interested, but the whole of it starts with the theme song for the book, “Brave New World” by Kalandra, and some character themes spread throughout as well. Like “World of Our Own” by Power-Haus, Lloren, and Mark Siegel for the Coda and “Hero (I will Survive)” by Supergirl and RAIGN for Aria.
What is your favorite trope?
I honestly don’t have a favorite trope. I obviously work with some recurring themes throughout all my books. Family and community. Identity. Power dynamics and the resultant corruption. Sacrifice. ARIA UNSUNG is no different. I especially explore how power and wealth corrupt and how family and community can fight against those who wield their power and wealth for their own enrichment while destroying the lives around them.
What was a memorable moment when you learned that language had power?
The last summer I spent visiting Grandma Pettipoo she loaned me Ursula K. LeGuin’s THE DISPOSSESSED. I had spent most of the summer reading, as usual, and started it very last. However, it was so good that I didn’t want to leave it behind. It was the first book that I read where I realized an author could do more than entertain a bored kid. I started seeing things like voice and theme and recognized that books could be more than books. They could be commentary on the world. I was a teen by then, and summers after that turned to activities and sports and pool parties so we really didn’t visit again like we did when I was a kid. I still have her copy of THE DISPOSSESSED. It’s one of my most precious belongings.
So what are you reading now? What’s on your TBR List?
My TBR, like so many author’s lists, is extraordinarily long… and I never have enough time to whittle it down, though I’ve read some fun stuff lately by Allegra Pescatore.
Right now, I’m trying to finish THE DEAD CAT TAIL ASSASSINS by P. Dèjlí Clark so that I can move onto THE SIEGE OF BURNING GRASS by Premee Mohamed and then to Xiran Jay Zhao’s HEAVENLY TYRANT, the sequel to IRON WIDOW.
What other works have you published? Where can we find you?
I debuted in 2021 with EREBUS DAWNING, the first of a trilogy with Aethon Books and Blackstone Audio. It was followed with A STAR REBORN later in 2021 and QUEEN OF THE BLACK in 2023. There is a digital boxed set now for sale (released January 2026) of the entirety of this trilogy, the SEVEN STARS SAGA.
My social media links can easily be found on my website and remember to sign up for the Swordfights & Spaceflights newsletter to keep up on any news regarding ARIA UNSUNG. I can be found most frequently on Discord in the SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers’ Association), WriteHive, BSFW (Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers), and other servers.
About AJ Super
AJ Super is a queer, disabled, and neurodivergent author trying their best to write diverse and normative worlds. They live in the picturesque mountains of Idaho with their spouse and feline overlords while trying to support an obsession for many pairs of slippers (and fuzzy socks).
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