Tag Archives: Harris

Interview with Lauren Harris (Three Questions)

(This is part  “Three Questions With Xxxx“. If you’re interested in taking part click here and fill out the form.)

I’m a big fan of Lauren Harris’ work. One need only look here and here for reviews of her previous books.

1) Your previous books involved life in a small southern town with high school students. This book seems radically different. What did you enjoy most about shifting to more adult characters and situations?

It’s funny because the characters in UNLEASH are only a year or so older than those in MAE, but their life experiences and the gravity of their respective situations are totally different. Now, I don’t hold back on cussing or euphemism in my YA, because I think most teens can handle it and often enjoy reading about characters who talk like they do. I wouldn’t say I actually held back on anything, but the stories felt different. UNLEASH is darker and grittier, and I enjoy writing longer books where I can explore the worldbuilding and magic systems more in-depth. There’s a whole lot of really cool magical history in UNLEASH that I’m super excited for readers to encounter.

2) It sounds like this book involves a small town setting as well. Horror/the paranormal and small towns have a long history. What do you think is unique about that setting that lends itself to those genres? 

I think the sense of isolation is what really lends itself to the genres. There’s a feeling that no one is around to help you. No one is around to hear you scream and, if you’re an outsider, it may be that no one will care or come investigate even if they do–not even the police. UNLEASH actually starts in Miami, but takes place in a small college town in Minnesota, where the main character is trying to hide.

3) This is the first book in a new series as I understand it. Do you plan out series arcs or does that come organically? Bonus question; in either case, do you envision these series as having a definite number (eg a trilogy) or more open ended?

I wrote UNLEASH as a standalone. As I’ve been revising, however, I realized the story could easily continue if there’s demand for it. There are a lot of events in the story that create juicy conflict for further books.

If I were to plan it as a series from the start, I would probably plan the whole thing, which is what I’ve done with my current work in progress. My strategy with UNLEASH will have to be different, but I’m okay with that. Like I said, there’s plenty of room for brand new conflict, and the story was always meant to have series potential.

PREORDER UNLEASH NOW!!

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Keep up with Lauren on the Words of a Feather podcast, her Patreon ( https://www.patreon.com/laurenbharris), or her website, www.laurenbharris.com

Join Lauren’s mailing list to for an exclusive excerpt and a reminder when the book is out!


Cover Reveal for Unleashed

I’m a big fan of Lauren Harris’ work. One need only look here and here for reviews of her previous books. When I found out she had a new one coming out and wanted some help spreading the word, I couldn’t raise my hand fast enough. Look for a “Three Questions With…” interview coming soon.

Here’s the cover and blurb:

A deadly price for freedom. A power she can’t control.

Helena Martin doesn’t know who she hates more, the sorcerers who fired the magic-laced bullet or the gang-lord master who used her mother as a shield. Both hunt the remnants of her pack and the only way Helena can protect them is using her newly-unleashed magic to lead the two factions away.

With a coveted book of spells as bait, she flees Miami and heads for her mother’s Minnesota hometown. There, salvation comes in the form of a dog rescue willing to take in a different kind of stray. The illusion of a peaceful life is seductive but with sorcerers and bounty hunters sniffing around every corner, Helena fights to keep her past, her pursuers, and her unstable power a secret.

Then she discovers it’s not the spell book her enemies are after, but Helena herself, and the strange power she can barely control. When her master’s bounty hunters threaten her new home, Helena realizes that protecting the people she’s grudgingly come to love leaves her with one option: join the sorcerers who killed her mother.

PREORDER NOW!!

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Lauren was raised by an impulsive furniture mover and an itinerant TV News professional in a string of homes up and down the East Coast of the United States. Eventually, settling (sort of) in Raleigh, NC, Lauren befriended a band of whimsical nerds who found themselves de-facto beta readers for her scribblings.

After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she studied English and Classics, Lauren moved to Tokyo, Japan for three years. While there, she studied Japanese, taught English, and fell in love with the hot drink section in the vending machines.

Now, Lauren balances a day-job of Cardiac Ultrasound with her passion for writing and other creative pursuits. She is the author of The Millroad Academy Exorcists novella series and an Assistant Editor at Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show. Her narration and voice acting can be heard on Audible.com, EscapePod, and various short fiction podcasts.

Keep up with Lauren on the Words of a Feather podcast, her Patreon ( https://www.patreon.com/laurenbharris), or her website, www.laurenbharris.com

Join Lauren’s mailing list to for an exclusive excerpt and a reminder when the book is out!


Review – The Girl in Acid Park by Lauren Harris (E-book)

acid park Snarky characters who are investigating the paranormal, written by an awesome author, that takes place in my home state? Sign me up.

Unlike her best friend Hiroki, Georgia Collins can’t see or talk to dead people. But she recently discovered she can help ghosts move on–no exorcism required! Unfortunately, so did the national media. Her underground blog is not so underground anymore and the Millroad Catholic Academy students with their scandals on exposé are less than thrilled about Georgia’s journalistic success.

But Georgia has never been one to let things blow over, so when the police request paranormal assistance on a new murder case, Georgia decides to make the unwanted spotlight work her way and agrees to help…except she didn’t expect Hiroki to refuse.

The Goods -This is the sequel to Exorcising Aaron Nguyen, a book to which I gave four and a half rosary beads out of five. The only thing I faulted Harris for was that the story didn’t have a real sense of place. Yes, there were nods to our mutual home state, but it felt like it could have happened anywhere. Either she paid attention to my review, or more likely, she found her feet in this universe and nailed it. It takes place in a very (actually literally) real place and she makes it pop off of the page.

The other things – snarky main characters, a complicated and interesting protagonist, a riveting mystery with a real sense of danger, and a teen/YA book that doesn’t pander – are all present and accounted for. The whole thing moves along at a good pace. Obstacles are placed in Georgia’s path at every turn and she uses guts, brains, and friends to overcome them. The universe gets built out a little more. I would highly recommend this series to anyone who’s looking for any of the above, be ye male, female, young, or old.

The Bads – Yeah, I got nothing. Well, except maybe that it could have been longer? This is only so that I would be able to enjoy the world she’s making even more. Not because of any lack. Seriously, I closed this and was perfectly satisfied with how things went. It read like butter.

Oh wait, this is where I’m supposed to put the bad things. Maybe you’re lactose intolerant?

Verdict – Buy this book. Support amazing writers. I hope she writes another one. I give this book five big cups of the best coffee.

Amazon
Lauren’s Site
Lauren’s Twitter

Review – Exorcising Aaron Nguyen (Ebook)

The murder of Millroad Catholic Academy’s resident genius, Aaron Nguyen, shuts down student life at the boarding school in rural North Carolina…for about a week. With the resilience of youth, the student body bounces back, and the memory of murder is nothing but a streamer of caution tape fluttering in the breeze. Unfortunately for them, Aaron’s spirit has some resilience as well. The school priest’s exorcism fails, and before long Aaron is breathing chills down the students’ necks and hurling Bunsen burners at nuns.

Georgia Collins doesn’t give a shit about ghosts. All she wants is a story to prove her underground school news blog is more than a gossip column, closure on her one-sided relationship with her best friend Hiroki, and a vanilla latte. She wasn’t expecting Aaron Nguyen’s death to be anything more than a cold spot in the science hall, but since Hiroki has the curse of Spectral Sight, he is the only person who can see and speak to Aaron.

As the ghost’s demands for attention become increasingly violent, Hiroki wants Georgia to help him investigate the crime, claiming that Aaron isn’t likely to budge until his killers are caught. Still hoping for spontaneous romantic combustion, she agrees to help bring Aaron’s murderers to justice and set the vengeful spirit free…but it’s not quite the close encounter she’s hoping for.

I’m not a native North Carolinian, but I’ve been here since I was thirteen. When I saw that Lauren had a book coming out that takes place in this fair state, I was interested in giving it a look. When I understood what it was about I was even more interested. I’m a big fan of modern fantasy and I know that Lauren is a talented creative.

One of the things that I’m always on the lookout for is a book that features a strong female lead. I felt pretty sure I’d find that here, and I wasn’t disappointed. Georgia is exactly that. She’s got her fair share of insecurities and weaknesses, but none that are crippling or too dark. A sense of fun is also something that I’m on the lookout for when it comes to YA fiction in general. Too often I see characters or situations that depress me as a reader. This book is hardly SUPER HAPPY FUN TIMES!, as it does deal with the death of a teen, but it doesn’t get mired down in darkness.

Georgia has a good supporting cast in the form of her love interest Hiroki and the school’s chess master Bishop. All of the characters are as well developed as any can be in a novelette of this length. It’s the characters and their interactions that move this book along at a brisk pace, rather than the plot, and that’s another plus. The banter and humor between them go a long way towards telling us what we need to know about them and it keeps the story fun, even when things get bleak.

The only real disappointment I had with the story is that I wanted the location to play a little bit more of a role. The setting itself, a boarding school, is very important, but it feels like this could take place in just about any southern state. That’s not too much of a detraction, but more local flavor would have enhanced the story.

For people looking for a new story for their teen, I do want to give a bit of a fair warning. I don’t recall if the ages of the characters are mentioned, but context tells me that they’re in their mid to late teens (tenth grade I believe). There’s some strong language and frank sexual talk that some people might not find suitable for younger teens/tweens. I don’t think any of it is excessive a la Chuck Wendig. I was a teen myself and I seem to recall doing my fair share. But if I were to rate this a la the MPAA guidelines, I’d give it a PG/PG-13. As someone who prefers less as more when it comes to violence, strong language, etc. I think Lauren balanced those elements well. I’d easily give this to my thirteen year old in another year or two.

It sounds like this is the beginning of a series, which is all of the rage these days (and I think that’s a good thing). I look forward to what comes next for Georgia and her friends. I enjoyed this book a great deal and I strongly recommend it.

I give Exorcising Aaron Nguyen four and a half out of five rosaries.

Lauren’s Site
Lauren’s Twitter
Smashwords Link
Amazon Link

Ebook Giveaway – Silver Knight and Blue Straggler

Congratulations to Patrick Cusher for winning both of last week’s e-books! I’ll get them out to him ASAP. That’s what can happen with these duel giveaways. I do a drawing for each and with only two entrants it’s a coin flip’s chance.

If you’ve already won, please feel free to comment, but I really want future e-books to go to folks that haven’t won anything. Also, though I’m giving two books away this week, I’ll do a separate drawing for each. You might still win both, but this way there’s a chance for two people to win.

The first one is Silver Knight by Caron Rider:

When seventeen-year-old Diana recognizes an elderly priest in a video on YouTube, she realizes that reincarnation is real and that she’s been alive before! Every night in her dreams, she relives her past learning that it’s kill or be killed. Now a bishop at the Vatican whom she saved in another life calls on her once more. She is needed to help defeat evil within the catacombs of Rome. But when she arrives in Rome, she meets Alexander – the man of her dreams! Through the centuries she has loved him…betrayed him…been killed by him. Will she give him another chance or this time will she strike first?

The second is Blue Straggler by Kathy Lynn Harris:

A blue straggler is a star that has an anomalous blue color and appears to be disconnected from those stars that surround it. But this is not a story about astronomy.

Bailey Miller is “disconnected” from the cluster of her rural south Texas family. She has never quite fit in and now in her early 30s, she finds herself struggling with inner turmoil and a series of bad choices in her life.

Bailey’s drinking too much (even for a member of her family), has a penchant to eat spoonfuls of Cool Whip, works in a job that bores her beyond description and can’t keep a relationship longer than it takes for milk to expire in her fridge.

Even with the help of her two outspoken friends, Texas lass Idamarie and her quirky college pal Rudy, she’s having a hard time.

So she packs up her Honda and heads out of Texas in search of herself and answers to secrets from her great-grandmother’s past. The novel takes readers on a journey from San Antonio, Texas, to a small mountain town in Colorado and back again, as Bailey uncovers not only the secrets of her great-grandmother’s life, but also some painful secrets of her own. All while finding love along the way.

If you have ever wondered why you got stuck with the family you did, what you are doing with your job and your life, or had a sudden desire to run off to the mountains, sit back and join Bailey for this laugh-out-loud, yet poignant ride.

So how do you get these? Merely leave a comment below and your name will be dropped into the virtual hat. There will be two drawings, one for each.

I plan on giving away a book a week this year, but none of them will be my own. Why? Well, I believe in helping introduce people to new authors and nothing does that like FREE! The contests will be as simple as leaving a comment on the blog, or showing me that you’ve left a review on Amazon or Smashwords of books you’ve picked up in the past. I’ll try and change things up to keep them interesting, but by and large you won’t have to work hard.

If you’re an author and you’d like to pitch your hat into the ring, let me know. I’m not asking you to give me anything for free. I plan on buying your e-book from Amazon/Smashwords as a gift for the winner. So in addition to you getting your name out there, you’ll also get a sale for the contest. The most I can budget per week is $2.99, so if you have a book in the $.99-$2.99 price range let me know. I reserve the right to turn you down, but I will try and do so gently. I’d like to have a variety of genres represented.

If you have a free book and would like me to just get the word out I can do that, but you won’t be part of my contest. If your book is more expensive and you would like to donate a copy, that works too.

Shoot me an e-mail, a DM, or leave me a comment to enter your book.