As a writer of fantasy, I am thoroughly impressed with the incredible storytelling, research, and imagination that it took for Cass Morris to construct From Unseen Fire. So often, historical fantasy focuses on the machinations of men. Not so here, From Unseen Fire sings the song of powerful, ambitious women taking their due. I am so impressed by the way Morris managed to use the framework of a Roman-esque society to tell…
Cass’s Literary Debut…and it’s Incredible
From Unseen Fire is a literary blend of historical fiction and fantasy that will blow your mind. The city of Aven is so richly imagined, no detail goes unfinished. Cass has filled every corner of this world until it practically breathes. There is political intrigue, love, revenge and redemption. And while there is a strong argument to be made for Cass’s gift in writing her secondary characters so well…
Big and Beautiful: From Unseen Fire
FROM UNSEEN FIRE is a big, luscious, complex book, the kind that makes you want to wall yourself off from the world in your most comfortable pajamas with a cup of something warm and sweet to drink. Some books you skim through, racing to reach the denouement; others, like this novel, are immersion reads, so full-fledged and epic you are a bit startled to find yourself in your own world…
Happy Birthday, FROM UNSEEN FIRE!
I love that my normal posting day is Tuesday, which is the day new books come into the world. (No one knows why this is, not even Judy Blume. I know this because I was in her bookstore on a Tuesday when they were shelving new books and I asked Judy Blume why books always release on Tuesdays and she said that she had no idea. Investigative journalism at…
FROM UNSEEN FIRE Release Eve
“So tedious is this day As is the night before some festival To an impatient child that hath new robes And may not wear them” –Juliet, Romeo and Juliet So tomorrow’s the day. I’ve wanted to be a novelist since I was 11. I’ve been working on this book for six and a half years. And tomorrow, it becomes real. Really, truly real. Is it okay to admit I sort…
[News Flash] April 15, 2018
We hope you enjoyed Zoraida Cordova’s charming and fascinating interview last week. Thank you so much to yesterday’s guest, Meg Wolitzer! If you haven’t already, enter the #DebBallGiveaway to win a copy of THE FEMALE PERSUASION. You can enter by sharing our post on Facebook and/or retweeting the following tweet: Interview with Meg Wolitzer + GIVEAWAY For THE FEMALE PERSUASION https://t.co/2kLgVOISKQ pic.twitter.com/7hJeiE46DL — The Debutante Ball (@DebutanteBall) April 14, 2018 News from the…
Interview with Meg Wolitzer + GIVEAWAY For THE FEMALE PERSUASION
I met Meg Wolitzer in Iceland. (How great is an opener is that sentence? I could hardly have invented better words to pass myself off as some sort of globetrotting, namedropping force.) I am going to have to tarnish the portrayal of my image a bit by fessing up that I didn’t just serendipitously encounter her traipsing up an Icelandic glacier or pounding bourbon in a Reykjavík bar; Meg was mentoring a…
The Diminished: A Love Letter
I’ve been trying to write this post for a week, but between launch party and Book Two deadlines, I am just flat out of words. This week has been like: But, I am steeped in gratitude. I am so grateful to my husband, for letting me spend weekends behind closed doors and in another world. To my agent, for shepherding me through the wild and weird world of publishing. To…
In Which Julie Live-Texts Reading The Diminished With Kaitlyn
In a world where everyone is born a twin, Vi and Bo are the outcasts. Vi because her twin died in infancy, and Bo because he was single-born, and thus destined to rule. There is love and betrayal and fierce allies in a world that slightly ours, and yet couldn’t be more different. It’s better. Mostly. Maybe. I REALLY NEED TO READ BOOK TWO TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION. One…
The Diminished: You Cannot Put It Down
Aside from bestsellers, I rarely read Young Adult novels. So I’m not going to try to sell YA fans—especially YA fantasy fans— on The Diminished. Those readers will find this book on their own and I believe it will become an instant classic for them. You read mainstream fiction, women’s fiction, literary fiction, sci-fi? You are going to want to own this book. Kaitlyn Sage Patterson is an incredibly talented…
