Katherine Harbour's Blog - Posts Tagged "ya"

A cyborg Cinderella in a futuristic Beijing and a stepmother and stepsisters who are portrayed as a family, not cardboard villains. A sexy prince who acts like a true ruler and a fairy godfather who's a scientist. And an evil queen from a race of terrifying, predatory people called Lunars. These are the clever elements of CINDER. The heroine of the title is a tough, practical young woman in a bad situation, which brings the story into fairy tale territory, even with the science fiction setting. In a world plagued by a virus which takes its toll, Prince Kai is dealing with his own escalating dangers, and this creates a bond between him and Cinder. It's Cinder's tenuous position in her world--and the Lunars--that drew me into the story. And, yes, you really root for her to go to that ball.

When Phoebe Rothschild meets weird Mallory Tolliver in 7th grade, it's the beginning of a fast and true friendship--but, it turns out, Mallory isn't what she seems. In their junior year of high school, Mallory's beautiful and shady brother Ryland shows up and it isn't a secret to the reader that both Mallory and Ryland are denizens of the world of faerie who are luring Phoebe to her doom because of a pact Phoebe's ancestor made with the faery queen. This isn't the story of a romance, however, but of a friendship, and it is suspenseful and heartbreaking, as Phoebe learns she herself is far from ordinary.

Thorn Jack: A Night and Nothing Novel
Thorn Jack is coming out March 10 in trade paperback, (stay tuned for a giveaway!)so I thought I'd introduce the characters who wrestled the story away from me.

Finn Serafina Sullivan(17-18) Aspiring photographer. Recovering from the death of her older sister.

Jack Fata/Hawthorn (19 forever) A violinist. A member of the Fata family. A Jack, one of the mortal boys or girls (Jills) filled with magic flowers and made into a soldier.

Reiko Fata (19 forever) Eldest daughter of the Fata family. A Fata queen who rules from the art nouveau splendor of the Tirnagoth Hotel.

Caliban Ariel'Pan (21 forever) One of the Fata family. The crooked dog, the crom cu, a lieutenant of the Wolf king.

Sylvie Whitethorn (17-18) Aspiring actress and Finn's friend.

Christie Hart (18) Aspiring poet and Finn's friend.

Sean Sullivan (42) Finn's dad and a professor of folklore and mythology.

Phouka Banrion (19 forever)Fata family's chauffeur and Reiko's lieutenant.

Nathan Clare (18)One of the Fata family and a boy chosen for his beauty and courage to be a Fata sacrifice.

Aubrey Drake(18)Captain of the HallowHeart Ravens football team. One of the blessed.

Anna Weaver (12) The young sister of a Fata victim. An oracle.

Absalom Askew (18 forever)Jack's friend. A Fata and a trickster.

The Black Scissors (23 forever)A mysterious figure, once Reiko's lover. A highwayman/once a tailor, cursed by the Fatas.

Bones and Heart, the ebook short, will be included in the Thorn Jack paperback! It's Jack's origin story. When he's sent on a mission by Reiko (a month before Finn's arrival), to the sinister Fata Mr. Bones, a creator of Grindylow, Jack recalls his first encounter with the Fatas in London with his exorcist father.
There's also currently a Goodreads giveaway taking place for Thorn Jack!

Thorn Jack will be out in trade paperback tomorrow, with a new cover and the bonus story "Bones and Heart." There's a Goodreads giveaway until March 17 and I'll be answering questions until then as well, through Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/author/7273...

Time's running out for the Briar Queen advanced reader copy giveaway, which ends April 27!
As Finn and Jack attempt normal lives, the Wolf king arrives in Fair Hollow to take Reiko Fata's place and a mysterious young man named Moth reveals a secret that means Finn, Jack, Christie, and Sylvie must venture into the perilous Ghostlands.
Briar Queen: A Night and Nothing Novel

Congratulations to the winners of the Briar Queen arcs! Your signed copies are in the mail, sent USPS priority, 3-day!

Dollhouse
Cassie has moved to Australia. When she and her friends go hiking, her best friend, Aisha, disappears. Searching for her, Cassie and her companions, including Aisha's boyfriend, eventually find a strange mansion in the woods. Inside, they discover an eerie complex with a carousel, a giant Raggedy Ann, and a giant clown doll. Cassie and her friends are soon trapped in a nightmare of a dollhouse, with an imperious girl named Jessamine and several other ghostly girls. Then they meet the other mysterious and sinister denizens of the dollhouse...
The characters' trapped, surreal isolation reminded me of William Sleator's 'House of Stairs'. It's a creepy, atmospheric read and I look forward to the other books in this creepy series.

Thorn Jack: A Night and Nothing Novel
The Fatas in Thorn Jack call themselves 'the children of night and nothing' because they believe they CAME from nothing and night, that they are thought-forms and elementals that only take on substance when they find a belief system they can shape themselves into. Or perhaps they are the ancient dead, spirits who haven't passed on and have evolved.
The Fatas are based on the faeries of Celtic and Gaelic folklore, who are entwined with the dead, the old gods, and mythical monsters. But each country has their own tribe or court of Fatas, reflecting the historical culture of the place in which they exist. The French Fatas call themselves 'La Bestia', because their favorite shadow form is that of a wolf, yet they are elegant and modern. The native Fatas of America call themselves Blackhearts because of what happened to the original inhabitants with whom they used to communicate.
But Finn and Jack's Fatas are outlaws and criminals, banished from their various countries to the 'New World', where the Blackhearts generally have nothing to do with them they wear the shapes of dreams or nightmares. Rules keep them in those shapes and they must adhere to those rules.
And in order to survive these capricious and sometimes malevolent entities, Finn and her friends must learn the rules.

Briar Queen will be coming out as a trade paperback, ebook, and audio June 2. Here are a few reviews!
RT BOOK REVIEWS: "Harbour's characters play for high stakes, and the author is not afraid to make her characters pay." http://www.rtbookreviews.com/book-rev...

BOOKLIST: "The lilting, whimsical new adult fantasy, balanced by impressively detailed and dark vignettes, is fueled by a gothemo-scenester aesthetic... The magic is mysterious, the drama is aching, and the people are beautiful"

KIRKUS: "Readers drawn to faerie lore will enjoy this lush, romantic tale" https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: "Harbour makes love, suffering, and sacrifice the most poignant parts of her worlds, and readers with even the barest knowledge of fairy lore and legends will be pulled deep into this tale of sharp magic and its ruthless children" http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0...