Urban Fantasy Investigations: Interview + Giveaway: The Drafter by Kim Harrison

UFI welcomes Author Kim Harrison. Thanks for Joining us!!

What can you tell my readers about yourself that they might not know from looking on your bio or reading in another interview?

I spend a lot of time informally interacting with my readers with a strong internet presence through my website, FB, twitter, Instagram, and my blog. Most of what I feel comfortable sharing is already out there, but one thing that doesn’t come up much is my love for sailing. I grew up spending my summers on a 27 ft sailboat cruising the Great Lakes, and the combination of travel and security a boat give you fits me all too well. I don’t dare go to the ocean anymore, because I’m afraid I won’t come back.

What do you enjoy doing on your down time?

My family is older now, needing me less, so I find my downtime is spent more and more in my yard landscaping a very tired city lot. I’ve taken up golf recently, and while I don’t keep score, I can outdrive my mom upon occasion. In the winter, I can be found inside revamping my website or developing and designing knitted sculptures. My current project is a dragon that I just shared with the readers in a knit along. Seeing my work in other people’s hands was an unexpected joy.

What is your favorite part of writing?

I don’t have a favorite part of the process, tending to like different parts of each. I enjoy the plotting stage because I’m using pencil and paper and not on the computer. I like the rough draft stage because there’s always a surprise or two I wasn’t expecting, and I like the rewrite because of how the entire story shifts with the smallest of additions or changes. I even enjoy the copy edit and page proofs because the surety of grammar after months of playing with possibilities is refreshing.

Do you have any certain routines you must follow as you write?

I don’t have a routine apart from spending my early morning online with the readers, and my late morning and afternoon by myself with the work. Lunch is usually at my desk, and I quit when I feel I’ve accomplished my daily goal. Don’t get me wrong, though. If it’s a nice day after a week of rain, I will blow off the office for the garden in a heartbeat. Summer is too short in Michigan to rely on the weekend being sunny.

What are some of your favorite books or authors in the Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Genres?

I enjoy reading Faith Hunter, Vicki Pettersson, and Jocelyn Drake. I’ve recently found YA author Pierce Brown, and I look forward to his next novel.

How would you pitch The Drafter to someone who has not heard of it before?

Short and sweet, The Drafter is Bourne Identity meets Minority Report. While on task, special agent Peri Reed realizes her partner has put her name at the top of a list of corrupt agents. Abandoning her employer and partner both, she has only her intuition to guide her as she tries to clear her name and bring down the agency that trained her.

Can you tell us a little bit about the world that The Drafter is set in?

The Drafter is set a few years into the future in a remade, renewed, technologically-rich Detroit. I had a great time extrapolating out from current technology, and I would love to have some of the “toys” that Peri Reed gets to play with. I want her car. I want her phone. Her ex boyfriend? Not so much.

Do you have a favorite scene in The Drafter?

Not really, but I enjoyed the mental breather when Peri spends the night at her safe house apartment above the comic book shop. Much of the story is go, go, go, and the chance to slow down and see some of her past reflected in her hideaway was a needed break.

Which one character out of all your books was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about?

I truly enjoy all my main characters pretty much equally, but Silas comes back in the second book, along with Peri, Jack, and Allen, and that’s a fairly good indication that I enjoyed working with them. The hardest, again, depends upon what I’m trying to do. Action is easy. Emotional upheaval to provide realistic motivation stains my mood and is harder, no matter what character I’m currently working with.

What other projects can we look forward to reading from you?

I’m currently working on the second Peri Reed book, hopefully to be out next year about this time.

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I'm Kim Harrison, best known for penning the Hollows series though I've tried my hand at YA, traditional fantasy, graphic novels, and a one-of-a-kind world book. I grew up reading science fiction and fairytales, which means my fairy garden has Daleks in it. Recently, I've moved back to my home state of Michigan after a ten year stint down in South Carolina, and it feels good to be home--even with the snow and cold. I've been traditionally published for almost twenty years, and a good day is still one where there is nothing to distract me from my keyboard.

Find Kim and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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The Drafter
The Peri Reed Chronicles #1

Detroit 2030. Double-crossed by the person she loved and betrayed by the covert government organization that trained her to use her body as a weapon, Peri Reed is a renegade on the run.

Don’t forgive and never forget has always been Peri’s creed. But her day job makes it difficult: she is a drafter, possessed of a rare, invaluable skill for altering time, yet destined to forget both the history she changed and the history she rewrote.

When Peri discovers her name on a list of corrupt operatives, she realizes that her own life has been manipulated by the agency. She joins forces with a mysterious rogue soldier in a deadly race to piece together the truth about her final task, unable to trust even herself.

PRAISE FOR THE DRAFTER.

“The amazingly gifted Harrison is back… the multifaceted layers of this storyline will keep readers guessing—and riveted. This is going to be one truly wild wide.” –RT Book Reviews, 4 stars

“Absolute perfect anytime read. Go find a comfy spot and sit down, because Harrison has provided an afternoon of sheer fantastical suspense.” –Suspense Magazine

“In this action-packed near-future urban fantasy novel…the puzzle of piecemeal memories is intriguing, and all the action keeps things interesting.” –Locus Magazine

“Entertaining…Harrison delivers moments of lyrical intensity.” –Publishers Weekly
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