Seawitch (Greywalker #7) by Kat Richardson A quarter century ago, the Seawitch cruised away from her dock and disappeared with everyone on board. Now, the boat has mysteriously returned to her old berth in Seattle and the insurance company has hired Harper to find out what happened. But Harper is not the only one investigating. Seattle Police Detective Rey Solis is a good cop, albeit one who isn’t comfortable with the creepy cases that always seem to end up in Harper’s lap. As Solis focuses on the possible murder of a passenger’s wife, Harper’s investigation leads her to a powerful being who may be responsible for the disappearance of the Seawitch’s passengers and crew.
Seawitch is book seven in the Greywalker series. All the books in this series can be read as stand-alone novels, but I suggest you start with book one, Greywalker. The Grey is a fascinating place and best explored as Harper discovers it, plus this book contains some spoilers for the previous books.
Who doesn't love ghost ships? The Seawitch shows up after missing for twenty seven years. Harper is hired by an insurance company to investigate the mysterious reappearance, but it is the Grey that forces the issue. There are trapped souls in the Seawitch, an actual seawitch, merfolk and dobhar-chu’ all mixed up in a complex mystery leaving you wondering who is innocent, helpful, or just evil.
Harper is still struggling with the need to take care of things herself in order to protect those around her, but she has met her match in the stoic Detective Rey Solis. Solis has run into Harper and her weird cases before, but this time he requests to be on the case of the Seawitch so he can work with Harper. He is promoted to a main character status in this book and I hope this means he will have a larger role in future ones.
There is a new story arc introduced in this book and I like where it is headed. There have been hints about Quinton’s past and we finally get more information in the latest installment. His father shows up and wants him to be part of a secret government project that will put the hidden world of supernatural creatures, The Grey, and Harper on the defensive and I can’t wait to see how they fight back.
There isn’t a lot of action in this book until the very end. However, there is a solid mystery and I love the mixing of maritime myths with the author’s creative additions. I will never look at otters the same way again <G>. And as always, I enjoyed the vivid (I use this term a lot when reviewing Greywalker books) descriptions of magic. A lot of time is spent telling the reader about boats and life on the water. I did learn a lot, but this aspect made it easy to set the book down at times so I wouldn't say it was one of my favorite of the series, but worth the read for fans. And yes, Chaos makes her presence known and Richardson has come up with more amusing metaphors for the little creature.
Love how Harper tries to explain what she does to Solis “I … sometimes have little disagreements with … um, with reality. And physics.”
play Kat's theme music while reading the intro! Hark.com
Today we have urban fantasy author Kat Richardson visiting. Her Greywalker series is classic urban fantasy and one of my favorites. They can also be described as paranormal mysteries. The first book, Greywalker, introduces us to P.I. Harper Blaine. After a vicious attack she dies for 2 minutes and can now see into the Grey, a realm of ghosts, vampires, witches, and magic that exists between our world and the next. Problem is they can see her too and now she finds herself solving supernatural cases. Kat's vivid description of magic and the Grey bring her books to life and set her novels at the top of the genre. Book 7 Seawitch is set to release Aug 7, 2012
Sharon: Hello Kat, um…your shoes look…chewed and slimy? *hands
Kat a pair of sheep slippers* Grab a moon pie and some Kool Aid.
Kat: Mmm... sheepy slippers.
Thank you. Alas, we have a dog who will chew almost anything into flinders. You
know: toys, furniture, hardcover books... 2x4s....
Sharon: Would you tell our
readers who aren’t
familiar with you or your fantastic urban fantasy Greywalker series a little
about it? Kat: Oh boy! More
self-promotion! Yup. Greywalker is essentially a paranormal detective series
about a mostly-normal human PI who works for ghosts and monsters. More of a
Raymond Chandler/Dashiell Hammett vibe than it is Twilight with a detective. No vampire shagging going on here.
Actually... not a lot of shagging at all, really unless it's necessary to the
plot. Because I hate writing sex scenes.
Sharon: which scenes DO
you enjoy writing the most?
Kat:The creepy ones. And the witty ones. And I'm pretty good at fight
scenes. But the best scenes are the ones where I get to dig around in a place
that actually exists—or did exist—and make
it... magical! That's way cool. Oo! And pirates! Yes!
Katie: To date what's been the
funniest thing you've done so far as an author?
Kat: I think the funniest thing
was actually caused by a microphone. Back when Labyrinth—the
fifth book—came out
I was giving my first public reading of the book and the store had set up a
brand new microphone on a floor stand and it was adjusted for the host who was
a lot taller than I am. When he lowered it to my height, it was leaning
downward and something wasn't quite tight, so the mic started to sink...
sloooowly... sinking... and I started bending down... reading until I could
bend any further. So I stopped and watched it flopping lower and lower and
said, “Anybody
out there have some Viagra for this poor thing?” Took a couple of tries to get that mic back in place—I think it was shy.
Or maybe it was the combat candy canes.... I was teaching a
Fantasy-writing class and I wanted the students to get a feel for the
difficulties of writing magical combat or conflict. So I had them all stand up
and face each other as if they were their characters and then do whatever their
characters would do in a confrontation situation by brandishing a candy cane to
indicate their action. It was hilarious, students running all over the place,
candy canes flying through the air, characters “dying”
dramatically on the floor.... I think we may have pulled some muscles laughing
our asses off.
Sharon: The 7th Greywalker book, Seawitch, is coming out August 7. What
is a Seawitch?
Katie: Does this happen to involve
Ariel and a nasty octopus looking lady?
Kat: Hahaha! No octopussy
ladies here! Although there are some things with tentacles and some
mermaids. None of them are named Ariel,
however. The Seawitch of the story is actually two things: there's a boat named
the Seawitch on which some horrible things have happened, and there's a... well
a sea witch—she's a
witch who lives in the sea and she's Very Not Nice. Also kind of creepy.
Sharon: poor Harper…does she ever
catch a break?
Kat: Once in a while... she did finally meet the love of her life, after
all....
Katie: Was I the only
one who caught that Kat just said "Octopussy"? Baaahahahaha!
Kat: Did I mention I'm also a James Bond fan...?
Sharon: One of the elements of an
urban fantasy is the journey/growth of the main character over the course of
the series. How has Harper changed since the first book Greywalker? Do you see
an end to her story?
Kat: Oh I think Harper's
changed a lot since the first book and, hopefully, in good ways. She was kind
of resistant to things and whiny and angry about a lot of things, very insecure
and sometimes defensive about how she looked and how people perceived her.
She's more accepting now, of herself, her family, her job... and she never
whines. She's learning how to deal with things she always avoided before, how
to be a friend, how to manage her life without running from it. And she's no
longer so thin she disappears when she turns sideways. And there's definitely
an end, but I'm not saying what it is or when you'll get it, although I do plan
to take a break after book 9 to generate some new ideas for her.
Sharon: Does that mean
you will be working on something else for a while or will you be taking a break
from writing all together?
Kat: I've got some other projects on the creative burner.
I doubt I'll ever stop writing, even if I had to stop doing it for a living.
But there are still two more Greywalker novels under contract, so it'll be a
little while before the “new” stuff shows up.
Sharon: You have created a very
unique place called The Grey. It is more like a character than a setting. What
thought process did you use to come up with it (does that questions make sense
<G>?)
Pioneer Square in Portland, WA
Kat: Yes it does. And I wanted the city and its ghostly
counterpart to be more than just a setting. To be honest, I always had a loose
idea about this non-place where ghosts hung out—kind of like a bar in a fog bank where they'd be kicking back, drinking
zombies and spirits of ammonia—but I
didn't put it together until I was on a Pioneer Square bus in the fog. I'd been
reading a lot about particle and quantum physics and metaphysicsat the time
and I was sort of messing around with ideas about energy states and I thought “what if you just can't see
ghosts because their energy state is too high/fast for your crummy human senses
to perceive?” And
passing through the fog, I could see people moving around, but they were just
shapes with feet (one of the oddities of
fog in Pioneer Square is that it doesn't always touch the ground.) The neon
signs and street lamps made strange glows and streaks of color on the mist and
I thought “that's
what it's like in there—in the
Grey—like fog and light.” And it reflects all
the things you believe back to you, even
the things you don't want to admit you believe in. And that's where the Grey
came from.
Sharon: O_o…wow, that is cool
and spooky. The way you write about the Grey is one of the
reasons I enjoy your books so much. I can see, hear and feel it.
Kat: Oh my... see Kat blush.... Thank you.
Sharon: During the zombie
apocalypse, which fictional character would you like to have at your back?
Kat: Iron Man! 'Cause he's got
the best toys and we could hide out in his houses and snipe the zombies from
Stark Tower with arclight weapons! And drink whiskey. Mwahahahahaha....
Sharon: I’m hanging with
you then! Watch this….Mwahahahaha…see, I can do crazy <G>
Kat: Yay! Everyone should have partners in crazy!
Sharon: If every time you entered
a room a theme song/music would play, what would yours be?
Kat: Not sure... umm... “Twilight Zone” by Golden Earring? Or
maybe “DanseMacabre” by
Saint-Saens. I'd settle for the bass riff from “Peter Gunn”.....
Katie: If I opened your fridge
what would I find? Hey, don't look at me like that! I am hungry.
Kat: Right now? Five-year old
condiments, milk, honey-flavored Greek yogurt, fruit, carrots, cheese, salami, leftover pizza, and
hard cider. Oh, and Cheeze Whiz, but that's for the dog. I think there's some
blood orange sorbet in the freezer. I like the mango better but I'm out of it.
And skull-and-crossbones ice cubes.
Sharon: *grabs pizza*
Katie you get the yogurt :P
Katie: Forget that!
I'm all over the sorbet!
Kat: Next time, remind me to go vegetarian.... And what do
you mean “all over the
sorbet”? Usually it's
the sorbet that ends up all over... umm... maybe I shouldn't say that....
We interrupt this interview to talk privately with Kat about…sorbet, boats and pirates.
*Katie and Sharon throw moon pies at audience*
We now return you to our regularly scheduled interview…
Sharon: What is it like to live on a boat and why do
you?
Kat: Wet. My husband and I like
to own our stuff and we could afford a boat, but not a house, so we bought one
and then we kind of liked it, so we've been living on boats for... umm... 14 or
15 years now. It's a bit like camping sometimes—decks leak in the rain, the heater cuts out sometimes, there's not
enough hot water for a shower, so you have to hike to the marina showers—but if we don't like our
neighbors, we can take our home and leave. Also I sailed a bit in college and I
really love the water—and how
else could we afford to live in an exclusive, waterfront, gated community on a
writer's income?
Sharon: Good point
<G> Do you have trouble sleeping in a bed on land? You know, do you miss
the gentle rocking of the boat?
Katie: And have you
found any pirates? Yo ho yo ho!! Errr!!!
*Sharon wonders why we mention pirates so often...*
Kat: It does take a few days for me to get used to beds
that don't move. I guess I'll have to spend more time in California or on the
top floors of very tall hotels. And pirates? Of course I've found pirates! Mostly they just steal my books, though.
Drat them! Avast, ye scurvy book-pirating lubbers! (At least write a nice
review if you're going to snatch the book off teh Intarwebz!)
Sharon: What is something you are
proud of? Something you regret?
Kat: I'm proud of the books—it was hard to stop making
excuses and start submitting and I try to challenge myself to do something
better and different with each new one. I think I mostly succeed. But I'm also
really proud of my siblings: my sister just finished her Master's Degree and my
brother is getting married this year. He's a really cool guy—he makes wine and has a
degree in American Prose and Poetry. Regret...? I regret not getting off my ass
sooner with the books, but... well, things would be what they are if that had
happened, so it's not worth a lot of regretting on that account.
Katie: Who's your favorite vampire
from either books or movies?
Kat: Dracula as portrayed by
Frank Langellain the 1979 film version. Oh my... so sexy and yet... he's a
monster. Oh Frank, you naughty wicked old thing, you! (Of course I'm also very
fond of my own vampires, Carlos and Cameron, but that would be tooting my own
horn too much, yes?)
Sharon: we encourage
tooting…I like Carlos too. But your vamps smell funny.
Kat: Well, they are dead....
Sharon: what is your latest obsession?
Kat:Paper automata. I've
gotten very silly about making little mechanical things out of paper and card.
I spend way too much time at robives.com. Someday I want to create a paper
critter of my own. Maybe a frog.... or a vampire that rises from its coffin! I
currently have a nodding sheep and a flapping butterfly hanging out in the
boat.
Sharon: a nodding sheep….BAM! 10 coolness
points for you!
Katie: YES! I'll do my
fist pumping in silence since Coke is far and wide the leader in this on going
war.
Kat: Awwww... but my dad was from Oklahoma. You can't make
jokes about Okie Coke without the Coke.... “Okie Pepsi” just isn't the
same.
Sharon: basket of T-Rexes or
basket of flying squirrels?
Kat: T-rex! Yay!
Katie: Petting a shark or Petting
a lion?
Kat: Lion—sharks are too sharp.
Sharon: spelunking or deep sea
diving?
Kat: *shudder* Can't we have a
picnic instead? Oh, deep sea diving, I guess. Maybe we'll find treasure!
Sharon: Yay! Let’s go looking for
booty! ;)
Katie:
Yo
ho yo ho!
Sharon: Ghost of Christmas Past
or Ghost of Christmas Future?
Kat: Christmas Past—he had all the food and
wine.
Sharon: I see you are a
practical woman.
Sharon: Is there anything you
would tell us? Future blog stops, signings, where you buried the treasure?
Kat: Treasure? I thought you had
the treasure.... I didn't tour last year, so I'm trying to make up for it a bit
this year. I am going to be at a bunch of conventions this summer: WesterconJuly 5-8
Kat is a California native with a degree in Magazine Journalism from California State University, Long Beach. She currently lives in the Seattle area with her husband and a pit bull named Bella aboard an old wooden boat that is haunted by the ghosts of ferrets. She rides a motorcycle, shoots target pistol, and has been known to swing dance, sing, and spend insufficient time at the gym. She finally got her first TV in 2011–yes, she missed Buffy but not Firefly! And, although she no longer lives there, she is an advocate for California Ferret Legalization.
*by the way...I found a little flash animation Kat made on her site...it involves the Pigeon of Death and a Sheep!
GIVE AWAY
US/INT
Kat is offering two winners their choice of any of her back list, signed (mass market paperback)
*Buy links for buying all formats in all countries is available at Kat's Greywalker site To enter: 1. leave a way to contact you 2. tell us which James Bond actor is your favorite... *followers get extra point
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