Soul Proprietor
A Novel
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Pub Date Sep 22 2026 | Archive Date Sep 22 2026
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Description
The afterlife’s most profitable innovation? Renting souls to the living.
Tiffani Lutatio, a top salesfiend for Hell's Soul Exchange, needs 142 more rentals to claw her way into Hell's C-suite—with Fred, her fire-breathing dachshund, in tow. But in her rush to the bottom, she accidentally rents out a porn star’s recalled soul, violating one of Hell’s commandments. To retrieve it before Hell’s Information Agency finds out and stops her promotion, Tiffani must accept a humiliating bargain: Grant her customer three favors.
In present-day Portland, Oregon, where demons and angels haunt dive bars alongside the living, Tiffani and her band of misfit celestials and delinquent mortal teenagers stumble onto Hell’s most classified secret. There’s something far more dangerous for her career than even Hell’s worst demon: a conscience.
Soul Proprietor is darkly funny romp through a fantastical afterlife on Earth, where capitalism is eternal, good and evil are up for a rebrand, and redemption might finally be possible.
A Note From the Publisher
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephanie Vance is the author of the Washington Post bestseller The Influence Game (Wiley, 2012) and Across the Aisle (Entangled Publishing, 2022). She’s a lifelong lover of speculative fiction, and Soul Proprietor is her second novel. She’s a transplant from Washington, DC, to Portland, Oregon.
Advance Praise
“Dante’s Divine Comedy meets Office Space in Vance’s devilishly snarky workplace satire, which proves that hell is other fiends.” —Alex Shvartsman, author of The Best of All Possible Planets
“Hell, yes! Clever, twisty, and snort-level funny, Soul Proprietor paints a generous layer of hilarity over Vance’s subversive message of rights for humans and inhumans alike. Ambitious but seemingly misanthropic demon Tiffani struggles with what good and evil throw her in the way along with a collection of crafty, memorable characters on both sides of the afterlife firewall, each of whom deserves their own novel. As the story hauls readers to hell and back (and back again), each ride is a thrilling road trip you won’t want to miss.” —Randee Dawn, author of Tune in Tomorrow and We Interrupt This Program
“The best speculative fiction holds a mirror up to the world we actually live in. Soul Proprietor does that and then cracks the mirror and rents it out by the hour. Vance takes the absurdity of corporate culture completely seriously, applies it to eternal damnation, and somehow delivers something far richer than a joke. Imagine The Good Place if it had a sales quota. I finished it and immediately wanted to press it into someone else's hands.” —Don Schechter, author of Ascendants
“[A] lively novel about ambition, guilt, and the ugly logic of systems that treat people as units . . . Soul Proprietor is funny, dark, and brisk . . . it knows that satire works best when the laughter catches in your throat.” —Manhattan Book Review
“The story’s fun premise and light, sardonic prose lampoon corporate culture . . . a well-executed twist leads to the revelation of even more earth-shattering secrets and momentous negotiations for the future of reality itself . . . Soul Proprietor is an engaging satirical novel in which people prove to be more complex than simple designations of ‘good’ and ‘evil.’”—Foreword Clarion Review
“[The book's] supernatural romp through the underworld and mortal affairs will draw fiction readers who enjoy tales of demons, deities, and dilemmas; while those who appreciate undercurrents of humor will delight in how Tiffani confronts the forces that overlay her life . . . Soul Proprietor is at once hilarious, intriguing, unexpected, and delightfully original.” —Midwest Book Review
“Such a fun, clever premise. Many high-concept books get the ‘what’ part right but fail to deliver on the ‘how’ and ‘why,’ causing their latter acts to stumble. That is not an issue for Soul Proprietor, whose inane world-building and surprising cast of characters come in strong and never stop swinging, keeping you curious and turning pages from first to last. Everything I expected to happen didn’t. Everything that did happen exceeded my expectations. Rooting for someone who has been doing nothing but evil for decades has never been so much fun. Fred the hell-dachshund deserves a spinoff.” —Ken Ziegler, author of The Loudest Place on Earth
“Stephanie Vance has imagined an afterlife that is equal parts corporate bureaucracy, fantasy, and social satire, then populated it with characters whose struggles feel surprisingly human. Soul Proprietor is witty, inventive, and ultimately thoughtful, reminding us that the best speculative fiction entertains while asking difficult questions about ambition, morality, and redemption.”—Rick Wilber, Sidewise Award- and Canopus Award-winning author, editor, and professor
Marketing Plan
- Digital galley distribution on NetGalley
- Book review submissions
- Award submissions
- Post publication eBook discount campaign
- Digital galley distribution on NetGalley
- Book review submissions
- Award submissions
- Post publication eBook discount campaign
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781967510801 |
| PRICE | $19.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 320 |
Links
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Average rating from 20 members
Featured Reviews
This was a fun reading experience! In a world where demons and angels have shops where humans can rent out souls. Perhaps you’d like to impress someone, but you don’t have the means yourself – then you can rent a soul of someone were confident.
To portray lower level demons as, essentially, used car salespeople was a brilliant way of portraying a purgatory – weird meetings and work models included.
If you’re looking for a fast-paced, fun story I’d really recommend this!
I had such a good time reading this book! It was funny and witty, with lovable characters and a plot with some interesting concepts. I laughed out loud several times while reading this amazing story, and I hope to see more of some of these characters in the future.
The MC is Tiffani, a demon trying to reach Hell's C-Suite level, hoping to make a difference in how things are done and have a better life. She is focused, determined, and willing to take risks to get what she wants.
But as a demon, she isn't supposed to befriend angels and humans; she's not supposed to care, and definitely, she's not supposed to want to do the right thing. So, as you might guess, she is in trouble.
Tiffani is an amazing character who, somewhere along the line, starts to make peace with her feelings and realizes she wants a place to belong and people she can trust.
My favorite parts are Tiffani & Maggie's chats about technology. Maggie is a 15-year-old hacker, and Tiffani can barely manage old technology. So every time Maggie tries to explain something, it's freaking hilarious. Tiffani gets lost in the explanations while Maggie rolls her eyes as any teenager would.
The cast supporting Maggie is amazing, and each has something unique that makes them lovable and funny. Maggie is my favorite, followed by Arthur. And a very special mention to Fred, Tiffani's dog, who can set things on fire.
Hell is depicted as a dysfunctional corporate work environment, while Heaven is presented in quite an original way, especially the angels. Heaven is just as dysfunctional as Hell in some ways, and angels can be vain, bossy, and some might even lie to you.
The plot twist was really good and original. It raises a lot of questions and puts the characters in a bit of a pickle, jajaja. Overall, the story is engaging; it flows easily, and the more you read, the more you fall for the characters and want to know what's next.
As in every $h1tty company where employees aren't happy about their working conditions and how they are treated, Hell is the epitome of it. So, in a way, the book is a social critique that focuses on the dehumanization of labor, class struggle, and corruption.
But I would say the main themes are about belonging, friendship, redemption, and the importance of free will. Naturally, since we can talk about Hell without talking about Heaven, the good vs. evil is the glue.
I truly hope there will be more books about these characters. I would love to read about Arthur and the kids, and Barry. Barry is such a cute character, charming but a bit insecure, and apparently, super hot.
Would I recommend this book? YES! A thousand times yes. Witty comebacks, sarcastic comments, tons of laughs, and a few things to think about.
Stephanie Vance does an amazing job in taking a concept that I was excited about and worked well overall, I thought the idea of an afterlife and renting souls as a job in Hell was a fascinating concept. The characters were everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall feel of them and that they felt like they were in the afterlife. The plot worked well and was written in a way that was what I was hoping for and glad I got to read this.
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