Nettle King Cover Reveal!

THE COVER OF NETTLE KING!

Here it is, representing a certain house called Sombrus, the House of the Wolf and the Snake. It also has the wonderful quote by Seanan McGuire (Rosemary and Rue)  "These books are like goblin fruit: dark, sweet, and addictive"

Looking for the contest? Next post down!

Thorn Jack Giveaway Contest!

To celebrate the completion of Nettle King, the third book in the Thorn Jack series, I'm holding a giveaway! THERE WILL BE ONE WINNER OF EVERYTHING listed below.

WINNER WILL RECEIVE: One Thorn Jack charm bracelet
                                             One MP3 audio CD of Thorn Jack, (will play on MP3 players or transfer to iTunes on computer) read by Kate Rudd (Fault in Our Stars) with autographed bookplate
                                             One small signed print of one of my paintings                
                                             One copy of Faerie Magazine, Summer edition

CONTEST OPEN TO U.S. AND CANADIAN RESIDENTS ONLY. One winner will be chosen, at random, by Random.org. Neither Facebook, Twitter, or Blogger have anything to do with this contest.

All you need to do is visit my author page on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or tweet about the contest!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hoover Library SF & F Festival

Thank you to Pat, Krysten, Jeremy, Corey, and the fantastic staff at the Hoover Library for their perfect hospitality. If you live near Hoover, Alabama and you've never been to this library, it is gorgeous, with separate sections, a business center, a cafe, and art gallery.

And thank you to Ingrid Seymour for being a gracious interviewer. Not being a selfie person, I forgot to take one, but here's a picture of one of her books which I bought and had her sign:

Below are the other cool books and art I bought from Alabama artists and authors. Missing (but listed below) are the ones I also wanted, but didn't have time to pick up: Lucian by Van Allen Plexico, Ghost Gal by Bobby Nash (these 2 authors conducted a hilarious and informative panel on the state of SF), and Thrones and Bones by Lou Anders, and a fantasy print by David LaRocca.

(Keeper by Ingrid Seymour, Summer Gothic edited by Jared Millet, a print by Ali Duke (nightshadepromise.deviantart.com), The Arthur Paladin Chronicles by David Alastair Hayden, and Finder by Pepper Thorn.)

Print by David LaRocca (http://www.artbylarocca.com/)

All in all, I had a great time, (even though I missed the costume contest), and I met some fantastic authors and artists.

Hoover Library SF & Fantasy Festival

August 1, 2015

I'll be appearing at the Hoover Library's SF & Fantasy Festival, being interviewed by fellow Harper Voyager author Ingrid Seymour (Ignite the Shadows). Award-winning authors Van Allen Plexico (The Sentinels series) and Bobby Nash (Ghost Gal) will also be making an appearance on a panel discussing their books. There will be games, panels, a costume contest, and all things SF and Fantasy!

Afterwards, there'll be book signings! 

http://www.hooverlibrary.org/sci-fi-fantasy

Fantastic Fantasy Finds: Lycanthia and Heart-Beast by Tanith Lee

IF YOU LIKE ROMANTIC WEREWOLVES...

In Lycanthia (1981), a young man named Christian arrives in turn-of-the-century Europe to claim his inheritance; a chateau. He's warned by his servants about the de Lagenays, a strange family who live nearby. An atmosphere of foreboding is established. And there are wolves in the woods...
Then Christian meets the mysterious woman and young man--Gabrielle and Luc--who are the de Lagenays and, possibly, werewolves. Lonely Christian befriends them despite the village's hostility towards them. But when Christian betrays his two friends, it doesn't end well. The sense of dread and desperate loneliness matches the winter setting, creating a very dark fairy tale indeed.

The protagonist in Heart-Beast (1992)--also set at the turn-of-the-century and beginning in the exotic Middle East--is Daniel Vehmund, a young man who soon succumbs to a horrifying curse after coming into contact with a diamond with a bad reputation. Daniel leaves a trail of bodies as he travels. When he reaches Europe, he meets Laura, an enigmatic young woman married to a sweet young man she doesn't love. A love triangle results as Laura becomes fascinated by the dangerous and beautiful Daniel. This is a love story with teeth and claws, and it, too, steers the reader towards an inevitable conclusion. It also definitely leaned more toward horror in the dark fantasy category.

Both novels are about werewolves, with strange and elegant characters whose humanity remains despite bizarre circumstances. Both novels have a Gothic beauty that haunts long after they've ended.

Find the rest of my favorite books on GoodReads:  Katherine Harbour (Author of Thorn Jack)

Fairy Creatures: The Kelpie

The kelpie haunts the rivers of Scotland, the lonely places. Although it might take the form of a beautiful horse, it can also shapeshift into an attractive young man and lure the unwary to a watery grave. Unfortunately, the kelpie also has the dietary habits of a crocodile. Sometimes, it appears as a tall woman dressed in green. One telling sign of a kelpie in human form is water weeds in the hair.

The Each Uisge, another water horse, inhabits lochs, and tempts potential victims by appearing as a friendly horse, then running into the water and drowning whoever decides to get on its back. November is the month when the Each Uisge is seen and it sometimes takes the form of a water serpent. (Think Lochness Monster.)

The inspiration for my monstrous kelpie in Thorn Jack came from Brian Froud's book Faeries, where it's depicted as a water demon. The kelpie in Nettle King is more the menacing shapeshifter, pretending to be a young man, emerging from a swimming pool.

Any of these water horses can be exorcised with a halter and bridle stamped with the cross, or a piece of iron. (Although these aren't objects one normally keeps on hand.) Just keep away from lonely water places!

More about the kelpie:  http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/scotland/folklore/kelpie.html

The Awesomeness of Tilda Swinton

So I'm editing, and stressed, and I watch a lot of movies to unwind at night, and to relieve my eyes, and it occurred to me I've been watching a lot of movies starring Tilda Swinton. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, where she plays the White Witch as motherly and cruel. A crazy and frightening angel in Constantine. The gender-switching hero in Orlando. A geriatric cougar in Hotel Budapest. The coolly heartbroken mom of a psychopath in We Need to Talk About Kevin. A trollish and hilarious dictator in Snowpiercer. A bohemian vampire in Only Lovers Left Alive. She imbues every role, even the villains, with an elegant, wounded dignity, an eccentricity grounded in humor or vulnerability. One can almost imagine Tilda as one of Shakespeare's original players (if any had been female) having perfected her craft in the modern world. She never seems to be Tilda in her roles, and, although she seems born to play rocks stars and mythological figures, she will always make them human enough to be fascinating, and that's the awesomeness of Tilda Swinton.