SACRED SCARS released: http://bit.ly/11CPB7
I just received the first review of SACRED SCARS, from Kirkus, and it’s lovely:
(I am editing out some spoiler-ish things...)
“Thrumming with dense, meaningful tension from first page to last, this middle installment in the Resurrection of Magic trilogy follows the two plotlines established in the first volume, Skin Hunger (2007), through despair, oppression and rare moments of hope. Sadima’s thread begins in the caves, where she’s repeatedly hand-copying sociopathic Somiss’s research on ancient magic and (ostensibly) teaching caged boys to write. The second thread, interwoven, follows Hahp through indeterminate years in the caves, in an epoch far later than Sadima’s early section but possibly matching the end of her later one. The text so successfully portrays Hahp’s experience in this grueling, cold-blooded wizard “academy”—isolation, starvation, abuse and constant, unsolvable puzzles—that readers may absorb his strain, confusion and desolation themselves. A single detail implies that Sadima’s thread will converge with Hahp’s in a heartbreaking way, but it could be a red herring. Absorbing and unwaveringly suspenseful.”
New review of the first book in the trilogy, SKIN HUNGER
http://bit.ly/118sUx
32 comments:
Great review; what a nice way to start your release. I can't wait to read it. I loved "Skin Hunger." And both covers rock!
Tricia, thanks! Yes, and Kirkus can be, ah, very blunt, so it's extra nice. I just realized there are a few too many hints and spoilers here and am about to sneak back in and snip 'em out. tiptoetiptoe
k
Hi Kathleen,
I'm just back from ALA, hugging my prize-a copy of Sacred Scars!
Intense.
ohhhh! I can't wait! I'm looking so forward to reading it!
Congratulations on the fabulous review! :0) YaY!
Carolyn, I almost went to ALA, but just have too much writing to do...HUGE year coming up. I would love to have seen you. Were you there signing? I am so lost in space I don't even know what your current title is. I will go look at your webbyplaces.
I hope you like Sacred Scars...!!
Hello to everyone, including the skateboarder...
Christy,
You are so kind. I hope you like it!!! I am writing the third one now...and it is going a direction I didn't expect--they all have. I hope your writing is going well...
Kathleen,
Great review. I can't wait. I have missed Sadima and Hahp. My students can't wait either. Will you be doing an author tour? The Red Balloon in St Paul?
I tried to grab a copy at the IRA convention in Minneapolis but some officious publishing person didn't want to give away the second to last copy because it would mess up her display. I pouted and whined, but to no avail.
I am so looking forward to this!
I'm loving Sacred Scars, though that sounds kind of sadistic, considering. It's so unsettling (in a good way) not knowing what's going to happen... My younger daughter is reading it too, which is hampering my progress. But it's fun to be reading it with someone, so we can talk about it.
ALA was a blast. I did sign; Bubble Homes & Fish Farts, a funny nonfiction book I illustrated for Charlesbridge. But the biggest, best fun was being there with my older daughter, who is in Chicago interning with Cricket.
Wish I could go to the summer scbwi too, especially since I hear you're speaking! But I have to stay home now, and get some stuff DONE.
Very Cool that your daughter is interning in Chicago...and I *love* that you are reading my book with the other daughter.
I do wish you could get to SCBWI, I would love to see you. I, too, am chained to my desk though...
xoxo will try to get up to rain country soon...
MmeT:
You are so kind to write...I hope to travel more in the coming year, but the writing schedule is pretty fierce, so we shall see. If I end coming up there, I will let you know. I would *love* to.
I am so sorry the S&S person was adamant. They are all so budget-tight now...if I had been there...well, we could have both stood near her, then, on signal, cried out in unison, pointing, breathless, "Look!!! A flock of RAVENS!!!"
And you could have grabbed it and run. Oh, that would have made us terrible examples for children.
Tell the kids hello for me. Tell them I am on twitter...Hey. If they are old enough, tell them about this:
http://russet-one-wing.blogspot.com/
Thanks so much for being an educator. If this nutty world survives, it will be because of you folks, worldwide.
k
Charlotte, your profession is the one I wanted in the fourth grade. You should write for kids!!
Thanks for being in touch
k
This is a great review! I can't wait to read it! I've read Skin Hunger twice--such a great book to read as a writer to learn how to write in the moment.
So glad that I finally got to meet you this February in Atlanta at the SCBWI conference.
Karen,
Thanks for the kind words. Atlanta was a wonderful time,wasn't it? And a beautiful snow storm to cap the experience! I loved it there, and am coming back for DragonCon in September.
I hope your writing is going well??
k
Yes my writing is going slowly but surely. Thanks so much for asking!
It never snows in Atlanta, so that was a big, beautiful surprise.
And you'll LOVE DragonCon. It's a blast and the parade is must-see. The outfits are crazy!
Slowly and sure is a good way to write...
I am looking forward to DragonCon thanks for the reminder about the parade...big cons are dizzying to me,it's easy to just walk around staring at random stuff when I am not doing talks and panels....!!
My copy just shipped from Amazon. Very excited:)
I hope you like it!!!
k
What a ravishing review--congratulations!!! Not that I needed further inducements; I've been looking forward to this second installment for a long time. Have hooked many friends on Skin Hunger in the meantime. We love discussing it!
And the cover of Sacred Scars--wow.
See you at the summer conference, Kathleen. I'm thrilled you are this year's star keynote speaker! It feels exactly right, and well-deserved!!
Cheers,
Rita
Thanks so much, Rita, I will look for you in LA, we will manage a catch up, I hope...
...there are MANY amazing people speaking this year! I am honored to be part of this faculty...
Are you really Kathleen Duey? Oh, wow. Authors just seem to become part of the book to me. I really loved Skin Hunger, and I honestly can't wait to see the next novel. I finished the last one, intrigued by the cliffhanger ending, and couldn't wait for the next. I love the cover for Sacred Scars!
Hi, I've just finished reading Skin Hunger, and I loved it! I'm just an ordinary person, picked up your book while looking for a book to read this weekend, and was impressed with the cover summary so I decided to buy it.
I'll be going back to that bookstore tomorrow to buy the second book. I'm lucky to have it and continue reading since I know it was just recently released. I'm anticipating the continuation when I read it tomorrow. I've realized it was 2 yrs after Skin Hunger that Sacred Scars was finally printed. I do hope I won't get to wait 2 years for another installment. I love to read about Hahp, Sadima, Franklin, and Gerrard. Thanks for your work.
A fan from the Philippines
Congratulations on the review! I'd say it's well deserved. My copy of Sacred Scars finally came in the mail yesterday morning, and I've read the entire thing twice since then. Needless to say I'm finding it very hard to stay away from. :) I'm also a perpetual re-reader of books, which comes in handy for series like this where you don't always catch the little details the first time through. I've already had a forehead-smacking DUH moment since the first reading. I'm sure there are many more to be had.
I'd gush to you in great detail about all the things I enjoyed or was startled by in this book, but that could get awfully spoiler-ific and I don't want to ruin anyone's reading experience. Without going into detail, I'll just say that Hahp is an amazing protagonist, Jux intrigues me more than he should, and Somiss is crueler than we knew (but not more than we expected). It's nice to finally understand the cover too after a year of staring at it in faint bemusement, haha. I'll have to track down a librarian or two when I start school again this month and see if we can't get a few more copies of Skin Hunger and Sacred Scars for the shelves there - I only have one copy of each to lend friends, and they get tired of waiting for each other to finish and pass it along. Ah, the Circle of Book Sharing!
And now it's back to playing the waiting game, which is both painful but good, since I know the third one will be worth the many months. Good luck and thank you for Sacred Scars!
Kathryn
Daughter and I just finished reading Sacred Scars. Loved loved loved it. Downside -- waiting for the next one! Do you have a tentative publication date?
Thanks!
Yes, Christopher! It's me. And I am smiling at your kind words. Thanks for writing...
Seagull,
I am thrilled that you liked the books and am writing the third one now. I hope it won't be as long an interval, but these are such complex books that they do take time. I will hurry!
all best,
k
Kathryn,
Thanks! And thanks for not posting spoilers. I am working on the third one....trying to hurry a bit, but have to let things develop at their own pace sometimes...
While you wait...Maybe you would like this? It's a twitter novel in progress: http://russet-one-wing.blogspot.com/
Laurie,
The second one was released last week.....!!! Sacred Scars can be found in or ordered by any bookstore in the US, AU, EU, UK...
Your talk during the conference was absolutely inspirational. I can't wait to dive into the book you autographed. And I think your lively red hair looks just fine with my purple
Stephanie, thanks so much for getting in touch. Isn't SCBWI grand? I hope you like the book--and that your writing flies...
k
yay! sorry we did not get more time in LA!
Me, too, Shelli. Maybe next time? I critiqued and did a workshop and the main stage thing which I rewrote, four times, while there....until I finally thought of something to say that hadn't been said. It's hard to do at that event. SO many wonderful speakers. Sherman knocked me over!
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