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Showing posts with label Deborah Harkness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deborah Harkness. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Book Review: Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness + giveaway

Time’s Convert 
by Deborah Harkness
September 18, 2018
Pages: 446

Publisher: Viking
On the battlefields of the American Revolution, Matthew de Clermont meets Marcus MacNeil, a young surgeon from Massachusetts, during a moment of political awakening when it seems that the world is on the brink of a brighter future. When Matthew offers him a chance at immortality and a new life free from the restraints of his puritanical upbringing, Marcus seizes the opportunity to become a vampire. But his transformation is not an easy one and the ancient traditions and responsibilities of the de Clermont family clash with Marcus's deeply held beliefs in liberty, equality, and brotherhood.

Fast-forward to contemporary Paris, where Phoebe Taylor--the young employee at Sotheby's whom Marcus has fallen for--is about to embark on her own journey to immortality. Though the modernized version of the process at first seems uncomplicated, the couple discovers that the challenges facing a human who wishes to be a vampire are no less formidable than they were in the eighteenth century. The shadows that Marcus believed he'd escaped centuries ago may return to haunt them both--forever.

A passionate love story and a fascinating exploration of the power of tradition and the possibilities not just for change but for revolution, Time's Convert channels the supernatural world-building and slow-burning romance that made the All Souls Trilogy instant bestsellers to illuminate a new and vital moment in history, and a love affair that will bridge centuries.


After 4 years, Deborah Harkness returns with a new book; Time’s Convert, which tells the story of Marcus’s life, both before he became a vampire and now. Marcus was born in the 1700’s and grew up in New Haven. Phoebe has decided to become a vampire and Marcus’s mate. The process and challenges that she will face, are no different than what Marcus faced so very long ago.

Harkness’s writing is superb and elegant. The words come to life on the pages, filling your imagination with the next chapter in the world of witches and vampires. Marcus’s life has been complicated from the beginning and to get to learn his story as a solder, then a doctor and so much more was a delight. The process that Phoebe endures to become a vampire and to grow as one was both surprising and interesting.

Diana and Matthew’s children round out this wonderful tale with how children that are born from the mating of a vampire and a witch can surprise even the oldest of creatures. I hope the next story to be told will be the lives of these two wonderful characters who are the same yet different.

Getting 5 sheep






Denise B

About the Author:
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Deborah Harkness is the number one New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night. A history professor at the University of Southern California, Harkness has received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships. Her publications include works on the history of science, magic, and alchemy. Her most recent scholarly book is The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution. She lives in Los Angeles.



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Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Spotlight: The All Souls Real-time Reading Companion by Deborah Harkness + book #4 info

In honor of the season of treats, your friends at Headline and Viking Books and Penguin Paperbacks pulled together a FREE real-time reading companion for A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES and SHADOW OF NIGHT. This is not a trick--it's an honest to goodness treat!

Deborah Harkness, Real-Time Companion, The All Souls trilogy, image
The All Souls Real-time Reading Companion Kindle Edition
by Deborah Harkness
November 17, 2015

Publisher: Penguin Books
A richly illustrated real-time reading guide that brings to life the world created by Deborah Harkness in A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night, retracing the events of the bestselling novels with illuminating behind-the-scenes details

A world of witches, vampires, and daemons.
A manuscript that holds the secrets of their past and the key to their future.
Diana and Matthew—the forbidden love at the heart of the adventure.

The All Souls Trilogy began with A Discovery of Witches. It continued with Shadow of Night.

Now, as The Book of Life has brought Deborah Harkness’s #1 New York Times bestselling trilogy to its conclusion, re-immerse yourself in the enchanting fantasy world she has created and enrich your experience of the heart-stopping finale.

All Souls Trilogy Real-Time Reading Companion Soon Available FREE Around the World...


Real-Time Reading Companion, foreign, cover, Deborah Harkness
You can already download the companion in the UK and anywhere Headline books are sold (India, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, etc.) on Amazon or iBookstore. If you download it on a color device, the photographs are in color, too. In the US, you will have to wait until November 17 (the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth I's succession to the throne!), but you can pre-order it today. I just did, so it will download on November 17. It will be available for Kindle. Nook, and IBooks, wherever US editions of the book are available (i.e. Canada and foreign export markets served by Viking/Penguin). Same thing goes: if you download it on a device with a color screen the photos will show up in color, too.


US Amazon link: http://amzn.to/1QaxtmX
And here is the UK Amazon link: http://goo.gl/xfde9O

Again, this is completely free of charge, and our way of celebrating a very special



Announcement 
Coming in 2017: THE SERPENT’S MIRROR
(the following is from Deborah's website)


picture of Serpent's Mirror
“Deborah Harkness has placed World rights to her fourth novel, THE SERPENT’S MIRROR, with Viking Penguin and editor Carole DeSanti. Set in the All Souls’ world and centered on Matthew Clairmont’s career as a vampiric double agent in the Tudor era, the novel explores historical riddles surrounding the ascent of Elizabeth I to the throne. A contemporary narrative involves the witch-historian Diana Bishop and the cast of the Harkness’s bestselling All Souls’ Trilogy (A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, and The Book of Life). THE SERPENT’S MIRROR is projected as the opening volume of a series of novels drawing from material in the centuries-old de Clermont archives, and a 2017 publication is planned.”

For information visit Deborah's website

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Deborah Harkness Fan Con AllSoulsCon on 9/12--virtual pass giveaway!

Here is some news about the upcoming AllSoulsCon, a fan-run one-day convention celebrating THE ALL SOULS TRILOGY, taking place September 12th in Los Angeles but available to fans all over the world via livestream.

Deborah is attending, as is audiobook reader Jennifer Ikeda, and it’s going to be an outstanding opportunity to meet them and fellow fans, enjoy AST-inspired food, wine, contests, and a lot more! You can see the schedule here, but highlights include:
· Q&A sessions with Deborah Harkness and Jennifer Ikeda
· A Renaissance Music Workshop, with performances by University of Southern California musicians and featuring original compositions by Isaias Garcia
· A fan panel (details to come)

The fans who are organizing this con are fantastic, and we want to help them get the word out about early bird tickets, which are 20% off for a limited time (through August 13th only). 

GIVEAWAY
AllSoulsCon is offering a virtual ticket for giveaway—one I Smell Sheep winner will be able to attend the Con from anywhere by computer.

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Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Book Review: The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy, #3) By Deborah Harkness

The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy #3)
by Deborah Harkness
Hardcover, 561 pages
July 15th 2014 by Viking Adult
After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters fromA Discovery of Witches--with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In the trilogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.

The All Souls Trilogy is the vast and sweeping saga detailing the perilous adventures of centuries-old vampire Matthew Clairmont and Yale professor turned reluctant witch Diana Bishop. The primary element propelling the trilogy is the pair’s pursuit of the ancient, terrible text The Book of Life. The book, coveted by all high-level daemons, witches, and vampires is made of living materials and contains the secret of each species’ origins. The implications are massive and Diana and Matthew place their lives on the line, enduring countless tragedies, to ensure the book lands in righteous hands. Published in 2014, The Book of Life was released in paperback this spring. 
Harkness’s tale is very much the thinking reader’s paranormal text. The author, like her main character, is a scholar and this is abundantly apparent in all three texts. The works are expertly researched and meticulously written. Part historical fiction, part scientific journal, part paranormal romance, All Souls is very much an investment in time and attention, but worth every minute. It’s not the kind of text (and I use “text,” because it’s so much more than a set of simple novels) upon which you need to truly focus. It took me a long time to complete The Book of Life because everyday life would easily disrupt the trajectory of the reading experience.

I don’t want to reveal too much about The Book of Life so as to avoid ruining the experience to readers new to the trilogy. Suffice it to say, the third installment of All Souls is very much soul-satisfying. I cried. Twice. At times I felt the book was written just for me with references to personal favourites Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac as well as Abstract Expressionist painter Clyfford Still. I found all three books tenderly and intimately written, abounding in detail. I adored the complete unfurling of Diana’s character as a truly self-possessed and richly talented witch and scholar. The relationship between Matthew and Diana is touching and deep. Although the reader is assured of the passion between the two, their physical romance is tastefully and subtlety written. Theirs is a true partnership. Their pursuit of The Book of Life is largely intellectual and I enjoyed their side-by-side research and scholarly repartee.

Although Diana and Matthew’s tale is largely concluded in this installment, there are definitely hints of works to come, though this may be wishful thinking. One of my favourite characters in the works was Gallowglass, the nephew of Matthew. I’m not sure if his rugged, tattooed, motorcycle-riding appeal is a nod to the typical male leads of the paranormal genre or a hint of a story to come. I hope for the latter. I’m just not sure he has the substance to carry a Harkness work. In addition, there are also the ever-present threats that have yet to be completely vanquished. This, however, instead of being a lead-in to a new series, could be more of a true reading of real-life; nothing is ever truly finished.

In the end, if you’re looking for something more substantive in what can sometimes be a very shallow pool, I suggest All Souls. For me, it ranks among my favourite works. This trilogy satisfies both the entertainment-seeker and literature-lover within me.

5 Sheep





Bianca Greenwood

About the Author:
website-FB-twitter
Deborah Harkness is the number one New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night. A history professor at the University of Southern California, Harkness has received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships. Her publications include works on the history of science, magic, and alchemy. Her most recent scholarly book is The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution. She lives in Los Angeles.

Monday, May 25, 2015

Spotlight: The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy #3) by Deborah Harkness + giveaway

The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy #3)
by Deborah Harkness

Hardcover, 561 pages
July 15th 2014
by Viking Adult 
After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters fromA Discovery of Witches--with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In the trilogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.






About the Author:
website-FB-twitter
Deborah Harkness is the number one New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night. A history professor at the University of Southern California, Harkness has received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships. Her publications include works on the history of science, magic, and alchemy. Her most recent scholarly book is The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution. She lives in Los Angeles.


Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Release Day: The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness + giveaway


The highly anticipated finale to the #1 New York Times bestselling trilogy

THE BOOK OF LIFE
Book Three of the All Souls Trilogy
by
Deborah Harkness

THE BOOK OF LIFE picks up right where Shadow of Night left off.  After traveling through timehistorian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to continue their hunt for the magical alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, otherwise known as the Book of Life.   At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they re­unite with the cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception—ready to face old enemies. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for the Book of Life and its miss­ing pages takes on even more urgency. In the tril­ogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and forbidden passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowl­edge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.
  
“Harkness proves to be quite the alchemist as she combines elements of magic, history, romance, and science, transforming them into a compelling journey through time, space, and geography. By bridging the gaps between Harry PotterTwilight, and Outlander fans, Harkness artfully appeals to a broad range of fantasy lovers…The conclusion of this paranormal adventure is guaranteed to fly off the shelves.”
Booklist

Praise for SHADOW OF NIGHT
“The joy that Harkness, herself a historian, takes in visiting the past is evident on every page…A great spell, one that can enchant a reader and make a 600-page book fly through her fingertips, is cast.”
Entertainment Weekly

“Deborah Harkness takes us places we’ve never been before…Readers time-travel as precisely and precariously as Diana and Matthew do…Shadow ends as Discovery did, with promises of more to come. Lucky for us.”
USA Today
  
THE BOOK OF LIFE is the highly-anticipated final installment of the bestselling All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness (Viking; On-sale: July 15, 2014; $28.95). The trilogy began with A Discovery of Witches which People magazine called, “A wonderfully imaginative grown-up fantasy with all the magic of Harry Potter or Twilight”. The sequel Shadow of Night debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, and the Miami Herald called it, “Enchanting, engrossing and as impossible to put down as its predecessor...a perfect blend of fantasy, history and romance.” In total, over one million copies have been sold in the States with publications following in 38 countries, leaving legions of fans eagerly awaiting THE BOOK OF LIFE, the satisfying conclusion to this superbly written series.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Deborah Harkness is the number one New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night. A history professor at the University of Southern California, Harkness has received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships. Her publications include works on the history of science, magic, and alchemy.  Her most recent scholarly book is The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution.  She lives in Los Angeles.
  


Deborah Harkness will be touring to:
New York City * South Hadley, MA * Canaan, NH * Boston * Raleigh * Miami
Decatur, GA * Philadelphia * Los Angeles * San Diego * San Francisco * Portland
Seattle * Chicago *Milwaukee * Minneapolis/St. Paul * St. Louis * Cincinnati
Houston * Austin * Denver * Scottsdale, AZ
  
THE BOOK OF LIFE Deborah Harkness ▪ Viking ▪ $28.95  ▪  On-sale July 15, 2014 ▪ ISBN: 978-0-670-02559-6
THIS BOOK IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN EBOOK


GIVEAWAY
win a copy of The Book of Life
US ONLY

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Monday, May 27, 2013

Deborah Harkness Q&A + giveaway!


SHADOW OF NIGHT by Deborah Harkness, the #1 New York Times bestselling sequel to A Discovery of Witches, is out in paperback on May 28! Not only have nearly 1.5 million of these two books combined sold in the U.S., but a film is in development from Warner Bros. We would love your help getting the word out to fans and future fans of the All Souls Trilogy!
*You are invited to join Harkness and her editor Carole DeSanti, the author of The Unruly Passions of Eugénie R, for a virtual book event on BookTalk Nation on June 4th at 2pm EST. Fans can join by phone and buy personalized copies of the book by ordering online here. If you could help spread the word about this chat, that would be great.*
For more info on Deborah Harkness and the All Souls Trilogy, check out http://deborahharkness.com.

A CONVERSATION WITH DEBORAH HARKNESS

Q: A Discovery of Witches debuted at # 2 on the New York Times bestseller list with publications following in 37 countries. What has been your reaction to the outpouring of love for A Discovery of Witches? Was it surprising how taken fans were with Diana and Matthew’s story? 
A. It has been amazing—and a bit overwhelming. I was surprised by how quickly readers embraced two central characters who challenge our typical notion of what a heroine or hero should be. And I continue to be amazed whenever a new reader pops up, whether one in the US or somewhere like Finland or Japan—to tell me how much they enjoyed being caught up in Diana’s world.

Q: Last summer, Warner Brothers acquired screen rights to the trilogy, and David Auburn, the Pulitzer-Prize-winning writer of Proof, has been tapped to pen the screenplay. Are you looking forward to your novels being portrayed on the big screen? What are your favorite casting ideas that you’ve heard from friends and readers?
A. I was thrilled when Warner Brothers wanted to translate the All Souls trilogy from book to screen. At first I was reluctant about the whole idea of a movie, and it actually took me nearly two years to agree to let someone try. The team at Warner Brothers impressed me with their seriousness about the project and their commitment to the characters and story I was trying to tell. Their decision to go with David Auburn confirmed that my faith in them was not misplaced. As for the casting, I deliberately don’t say anything about that! I would hate for any actor or actress to be cast in one of these roles and feel that they didn’t have my total support. I will say, however, that many of my readers’ ideas involve actors who have already played a vampire and I would be very surprised if one of them were asked to be Matthew!
 
Q: SHADOW OF NIGHT opens on a scene in 1590s Elizabethan England featuring the famous School of Night, a group of historical figures believed to be friends, including Sir Walter Raleigh and playwright Christopher Marlowe. Why did you choose to feature these individuals, and can we expect Diana and Matthew to meet other famous figures from the past? 
A. I wrote my master’s thesis on the imagery surrounding Elizabeth I during the last two decades of her reign. One of my main sources was the poem The Shadow of Night by George Chapman—a member of this circle of fascinating men—and that work is dedicated to a mysterious poet named Matthew Roydon about whom we know very little. When I was first thinking about how vampires moved in the world (and this was way back in the autumn of 2008 when I was just beginning A Discovery of Witches) I remembered Roydon and thought “that is the kind of identity a vampire would have, surrounded by interesting people but not the center of the action.” From that moment on I knew the second part of Diana and Matthew’s story would take place among the School of Night. And from a character standpoint, Walter Raleigh, Christopher Marlowe, George Chapman, and the other men associated with the group are irresistible. They were such significant, colorful presences in Elizabethan England.
 
Q: In SHADOW OF NIGHT, we learn more about the alchemical bonds between Diana and Matthew. In your day job, you are a professor of history and science at the University of Southern California and have focused on alchemy in your research. What aspects of this intersection between science and magic do you hope readers will pick up on while reading SHADOW OF NIGHT?
A. Whereas A Discovery of Witches focused on the literature and symbolism of alchemy, in Shadow of Night I’m able to explore some of the hands-on aspects of this ancient tradition. There is still plenty of symbolism for Diana to think about, but in this volume we go from abstractions and ideals to real transformation and change—which was always my intention with the series. Just as we get to know more about how Elizabethan men and women undertook alchemical experiments, we also get to see Matthew and Diana’s relationship undergo the metamorphosis from new love to something more.

Q: SHADOW OF NIGHT spans the globe, with London, France, and Prague as some of the locales. Did you travel to these destinations for your research? 
A. I did. My historical research has been based in London for some time now, so I’ve spent long stretches of time living in the City of London—the oldest part of the metropolis—but I had never been to the Auvergne or Prague. I visited both places while writing the book, and in both cases it was a bit like traveling in time to walk village lanes, old pilgrim roads, and twisting city streets while imagining Diana and Matthew at my side.

Q: Did you have an idea or an outline for SHADOW OF NIGHT when you were writing A Discovery of Witches? Did the direction change once you sat down to write it?
A. I didn’t outline either book in the traditional sense. In both cases I knew what some of the high points were and how the plot moved towards the conclusion, but there were some significant changes during the revision process. This was especially true for SHADOW OF NIGHT, although most of those changes involved moving specific pieces of the plot forward or back to improve the momentum and flow.
 
Q: A Discovery of Witches begins with Diana Bishop stumbling across a lost, enchanted manuscript called Ashmole 782 in Oxford’s Bodleian Library, whose secrets Diana and Matthew are still trying to uncover in SHADOW OF NIGHT. You had a similar experience while you were completing your dissertation. What was the story behind your discovery? And how did it inspire the creation of these novels?
A. I did discover a manuscript—not an enchanted one, alas—in the Bodleian Library. It was a manuscript owned by Queen Elizabeth’s astrologer, the mathematician and alchemist John Dee. In the 1570s and 1580s he became interested in using a crystal ball to talk to angels. The angels gave him all kinds of instructions on how to manage his life at home, his work—they even told him to pack up his family and belongings and go to far-away Poland and Prague. In the conversations, Dee asked the angels about a mysterious book in his library called “the Book of Soyga” or “Aldaraia.” No one had ever been able to find it, even though many of Dee’s other books survive in libraries throughout the world. In the summer of 1994 I was spending time in Oxford between finishing my doctorate and starting my first job. It was a wonderfully creative time, since I had no deadlines to worry about and my dissertation on Dee’s angel conversations was complete. As with most discoveries, this discovery of a “lost” manuscript was entirely accidental. I was looking for something else in the Bodleian’s catalogue and in the upper corner of the page was a reference to a book called “Aldaraia.” I knew it couldn’t be Dee’s book, but I called it up anyway. And it turned out it WAS the book (or at least a copy of it). With the help of the Bodleian’s Keeper of Rare Books, I located another copy in the British Library.

Q: Are there other lost books like this in the world?
A. Absolutely! Entire books have been written about famous lost volumes—including works by Plato, Aristotle, and Shakespeare to name just a few. Libraries are full of such treasures, some of them unrecognized and others simply misfiled or mislabeled. And we find lost books outside of libraries, too. In January 2006, a completely unknown manuscript belonging to one of the 17th century’s most prominent scientists, Robert Hooke, was discovered when someone was having the contents of their house valued for auction. The manuscript included minutes of early Royal Society meetings that we presumed were lost forever.

Q: Unlike Twilight’s Bella and Edward—hormonal teenagers who meet in the halls of a high school—your leading characters Matthew and Diana are established academics who meet in the library of one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. This is a world where vampires and witches drink wine together, practice yoga and discuss philosophy. Are these characters based on something you found missing in the fantasy genre?
A. There are a lot of adults reading young adult books, and for good reason. Authors who specialize in the young adult market are writing original, compelling stories that can make even the most cynical grownups believe in magic. In writing A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, I wanted to give adult readers a world no less magical, no less surprising and delightful, but one that included grown-up concerns and activities. These are not your children’s vampires and witches.
IT BEGAN WITH A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES.

Historian Diana Bishop, descended from a line of powerful witches, and long-lived vampire Matthew Clairmont have broken the laws dividing creatures. When Diana discovered a significant alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library,she sparked a struggle in which she became bound to Matthew. Now the fragile coexistence of witches, daemons, vampires and humans is dangerously threatened.

Seeking safety, Diana and Matthew travel back in time to London, 1590. But they soon realise that the past may not provide a haven. Reclaiming his former identity as poet and spy for Queen Elizabeth, the vampire falls back in with a group of radicals known as the School of Night. Many are unruly daemons, the creative minds of the age, including playwright Christopher Marlowe and mathematician Thomas Harriot. 

Together Matthew and Diana scour Tudor London for the elusive manuscript Ashmole 782, and search for the witch who will teach Diana how to control her remarkable powers.




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