Painted Devils

Cover designed by M.S. Corley

*Painted Devils* is a Young Adult fantasy novel and the sequel to Little Thieves, written by Margaret Owen. It was published on May 16, 2023. It is also the first part in a duology.

## Synopsis

*Let’s get one thing straight—Vanja Schmidt wasn’t trying to start a cult.*

*After taking down a corrupt margrave, breaking a deadly curse, and finding romance with the vexingly scrupulous Junior Prefect Emeric Conrad, Vanja had one great mystery left: her long-lost birth family... and if they would welcome a thief. But in her search for an honest trade, she hit trouble and invented a god, the Scarlet Maiden, to scam her way out. Now, that lie is growing out of control—especially when Emeric arrives to investigate, and the Scarlet Maiden manifests to claim him as a virgin sacrifice.*

*For his final test to become a prefect, Emeric must determine if Vanja is guilty of serious fraud, or if the Scarlet Maiden—and her claim to him—are genuine. Meanwhile, Vanja is chasing an alternative sacrifice that may be their way out. The hunt leads her not only into the lairs of monsters and the paths of gods, but the ties of her past. And with what should be the simplest way to save Emeric hanging over their heads, he and Vanja must face a more dangerous question: Is there a future for a thief and a prefect, and at what price?*

### Proverb behind the title

"A child's eye fears the painted devil, but an elder wields the brush." — Almanic proverb

## Characters

* **Vanja Schmidt** –
* **Emeric Conrad** –
* **The Scarlet Maiden** –
* **Joniza Ardîm** –
* **Proctor Kirkling** –
* **Helga** –
* **Erwin** –
* **Brunne** –
* **Katrin ‘Little’**
* **Jörgi**
* **Udo**
* **Jakob**
* **Eida**
* **Ozkar**
* **Dieter**
* **Luisa**
* **Sånnik**
* **Henrik**
* **Ragne**-

## Publication

*Painted Devils* was published by Henry Holt & Co. (US) and Hodder & Stoughton (UK) on May 16, 2023 in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.

### Editions

**PAINTED DEVILS - US/UK (English) Edition**

Published by Henry Holt & Co. (US), Hodder & Stoughton (UK)

Cover designed by M.S. Corley

Released May 16, 2023

US Hardcover: 978-1250831163 (384 pages) 🩸 UK Hardcover: 978-1399702188

US eBook: 978-1250831156 (384 pages) 🩸 UK eBook: 97801399702201

Audiobook: 978-1250866165 (? hrs) 🩸 UK Audiobook: 978-1399702218

(Audiobook narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, published by Macmillan Young Listeners)

**PAINTED DEVILS - Illumicrate Edition (English UK)**

Published by Hodder & Stoughton

Sold in April 2023 as a follow-up to Illumicrate's special edition of Little Thieves (2021)

Hardcover: 978-1399702232 (504 pages)

Exclusive cover illustration drawn by Margaret Owen. Book has orange sprayed edges with black stenciling and a foil dust jacket with the US/UK cover design by M.S. Corley

## Development

*Painted Devils* was announced October 25, 2021 as part of a two-book deal.

As per the Publisher's Marketplace Deal Report for Young Adult Fiction: *"Margaret Owen's PAINTED DEVILS, the sequel to LITTLE THIEVES, in which the con artist goddaughter of Death and Fortune accidentally starts a cult, only to face off with the deity she made up when it manifests and claims her ex as a virgin sacrifice, to Tiffany Liao at Holt Children's [publishing], with Jess Harold editing, in a significant deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2022, by Victoria Marini at Irene Goodman Agency (world)."*

## Book Illustrations

While Little Thieves had seven in-book illustrations that digitally emulated the old-fashioned fairy tale engravings, for *Painted Devils* the author is making linocut illustrations. This is a version of woodcut printing, where a design is carved into a linoleum surface, rolled with ink, then pressed to paper or fabric.

## Image Gallery

All images and videos related to *Painted Devils* can be found in the Painted Devils Gallery.

## Trivia

* In response to the question: "if your book/wip were a scented candle, what would it smell like? 👀✨," Margaret Owen responded that *Painted Devils* would smell like "cinnamon, rose petals, petrichor"

## External Links

* Painted Devils on Goodreads
* Painted Devils on StoryGraph

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.instagram.com/p/CdtljxjPhr4/ Margaret Owen on Instagram - May 18, 2022 - "For folks who want to scope the cover without waiting through the reel"
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/what\_eats\_owls/status/1453046817071845378 Margaret Owen on Twitter - October 26, 2021 - "The next two books are also going to function as... not QUITE standalones, because character growth, but each will have its own standalone central conflict. Rather than one epic stretched over three books, it's more like three seasons of a show that may or may not get renewed! 😂"
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/what\_eats\_owls/status/1453048920842465281 Margaret Owen on Twitter - October 26, 2021 - "But the proverb behind this one's title is (apart from being cribbed from Macbeth) perhaps a bit more insightful re: what the book's really about."
4. ↑ https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250831163/painted-devils US Macmillan listing for Painted Devils. *Accessed June 18, 2022*
5. ↑ https://www.illumicrate.com/news/illumicrate-exclusive-painted-devils-by-margaret-owen Illumicrate.com - Exclusive Painted Devils edition
6. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CVgIMFavFCW/ - Margaret Owen on Instagram - October 26, 2021 - "Get in, scammers, we're starting a cult. Little Thieves #2 is on the way. 🖤"
7. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CfujE\_Zv\_up/ - Margaret Owen on Instagram - July 7, 2022 - "For the Little Thieves illustrations, I tried to digitally emulate the old-fashioned engravings you’d find in fairytale books, which was... intensive to say the least.😩 For Painted Devils, I decided to try linocut for the first time, which is a slightly modernized take on woodblock printing."
8. ↑ Linocut on Wikipedia
9. ↑ https://twitter.com/what\_eats\_owls/status/1503068304348393472 - Margaret Owen on Twitter - March 13, 2022 - If your book/wip had a scented candle, what would it smell like?