Katherine Harbour's Blog, page 19

SciFiChat Interview

I'll be answering questions @scifichat, using #SciFiChat, this Friday, Feb 6, 3-5. The subject is mainly folklore, but I'll answer anything. The moderator is David Rozansky. Join us!
https://twitter.com/scifichat?lang=en

Voyager Valentines!
A chance to win Godiva, a signed Hc copy of Thorn Jack, and a charm bracelet by studying the dating profiles of Jack (pre-Finn), Sylvie, and Caliban and matching them up with other Harper Voyager authors' characters http://katherineharbour.blogspot.com/

Tarot Cafe by Sang-Sun Park 1-7

This manga series is one of my favorites. The artwork is as exquisite and detailed as a professional wedding cake, the characters are intriguing, and the stories are tragic, sweet, and sexy. Pamela is the immortal owner of the Tarot Cafe and her clientele are all supernatural creatures, most of whom confess their sins to her, and so relate stories in an anthology fashion. There are vampires, angels, fairies, living dolls,and shapechangers. We learn Pamela's story as well, when a beautiful and mysterious young man enters her life. Definitely worth reading if you love urban fantasy, even if you've never read manga.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Teenage Blue has been raised by a houseful of women who call themselves psychics, although they seem more like good-natured witches. Blue is a sweet, eccentric girl who has been told she will kill her true love. Then she meets four boys who attend the exclusive school nearby, and the Raven boys--Gansey, Adam, Ronan, and Noah--bring adventure into her life. Like four knights on a quest, the boys, led by wealthy, all-American Gansey, are searching for the tomb of a dead Welsh king in the little town of Henrietta. It's Blue's home life and the friendship between the four boys that create the story's magic. There's a gentle romance between Blue and Adam, who isn't wealthy, and a mystery concerning Noah. Adam and Ronan's family situations create more tension and there's a mysterious presence that might not be benevolent, communicating with Blue and the four boys. The reason for Gansey's obsession with the Welsh king, and Blue's future with whoever is to become her one true love, remain intriguing questions for the sequel. This is a great modern fantasy for anyone who liked Practical Magic, or fans of Melissa Marr and Holly Black.

Briar Queen Cover Reveal/Excerpt

Here it is, the cover for Thorn Jack's sequel, Briar Queen, and the first chapter!
At Tor.com: http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/12/br...

Wayfarer by Lili St. Crow

This is actually the second book in a series and it's a fantastic retelling of Cinderella. The setting is an affluent suburb in the future, after a magical apocalypse. Things remain pretty much the same but for the magic, which has created a wasteland in the middle of the world and which can cause harmful mutations called 'twisting.' Ellie Sinder lives with her beautiful, abusive stepmother. Both are charmers, people who can manipulate magic. Her best friends are Ruby and Cami, modern versions of Red Riding Hood and Snow White. (I loved the camaraderie between the three girls.) When Ellie meets golden Avery Fletcher, a young man from an influential charmer family, her desperate escape plan suddenly changes and, for once, she seeks help (from a seemingly benevolent source). The details of the world-building are amazing. Ellie's struggle against her stepmother is horrific. I've already bought the first book, Nameless, and can't wait for the third.

Thorn Jack PlayList

So I've begun a SoundCloud playlist for Thorn Jack. There are 8 songs so far and I'll be adding more.Here it is: https://soundcloud.com/katharbour/sets

THORN JACK SEQUEL: BRIAR QUEEN

It's that time of the year, when I've delivered the final edit of my next book to the publisher. For a few hints of what BRIAR QUEEN is going to be about, you can visit my Pinterest page! http://www.pinterest.com/katharbo/bri...

The first Thorn Jack newsletter will also be released the end of this month. Sign up here if you'd like to learn more about Finn and Jack's world and see the cover reveal for BRIAR QUEEN: http://katherineharbour.com/contact.p...

Archon by Sabrina Benulis

Angela Mathers is a damaged young woman who has arrived at Westwood Academy in an unknown part of the world that seems to by ruled by a Vatican that deals in the occult. Young women called Bloodheads are being shipped here because there is a prophecy that one of them will become the Ruin, the one who will end the world. With evil angels, regal demons, doll girls, and a carnivorous jinn, Angela's world becomes terrifying. Her suicidal urges soon fade as she fights to survive and find out if she is the Ruin. Aside from the previously mentioned dangers, there's the devil-worshipping mean girl and a mysterious and sexy Bad Boy priest who becomes a not-so-trusted ally. Archon's atmosphere is drenched in rot and ruin and it's a Gothic world that reads as if it could actually exist somewhere. Using familiar tropes, the story is creepy, original, and imaginative.

Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block

In Los Angeles, a precociously-chic girl named Weetzie Bat is maturing. While her best friend Dirk is searching for a boy named Duck, Weetzie meets the glamorous My Secret Agent Man and an epic romance begins. The result is a daughter named Cherokee. When My Secret Agent Man is seduced by a creature called The Lanka, who abandons the baby she then has, Weetzie decides to raise it as her own. Francesca Lia Block's sparse sentences and rich prose make these books (Weetzie Bat is the first in a series and each book is barely 100 pages) read like modern fairy tales. She paints a dazzling and mythic picture of existence in a city vibrant with the magic of old and new Hollywood.Weetzie Bat

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

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.