Katherine Harbour was born in Albany, NY, where she attended the Russell Sage Junior College of Albany and wrote while holding down jobs as a pizza maker, video store clerk, and housekeeper. She then attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and, after moving to Sarasota, Florida, sold her paintings in cafes and galleries. She now lives in upstate New York, where she works as a bookseller. She’s a lover of nature, folklore, and ancient things. She’s the author of the Thorn Jack series, an adult contemporary dark fantasy threaded with Celtic myth.
Harbour's new novel is the YA fantasy title, The Dark Fable.
My Q&A with the author:
How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?Visit Katherine Harbour's website.
I think the title immediately takes readers into the story with the words ‘dark’ and ‘fable.’ The Dark Fable is the name of a secret society of thieves with supernatural abilities that originated in Medieval France. They usually work in darkness. A fable is a story. And stories are an important theme in this book. The Dark Fable, La Fable Sombre, has a creed: “We are the ink spilled over the stories of tyrants,” and the members of this crew of thieves find a way to trust one another, by telling the newest recruits their histories, their stories.
What’s in a name?
I wanted the names for my thieves to evoke something in the characters’ personalities. Evie, for instance, conveys not only a sense of innocence, but danger as well. Madrigal’s nickname (Mad) reflects her chaotic personality. Dev (Devon) combines elegance with a suggestion of devil-may-care attitude. Queenie, who is all common sense but loves fashion, coined her own nickname. ‘Ciaran’ means ‘dark one’ in Gaelic, but his last name, Argent, suggests a hard, metallicsurface. As for Jason, the private eye hunting them, he was named after the hero in The Argonautica.
Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?
It’s difficult to write both. The beginning will start as a scene or an opening line, but I’ll rewrite that scene multiple times. I’m looking for something that will draw readers in, immediately. As for the ending, I’ll rewrite that also, many times. I feel it’s important that the ending has a more emotional impact, tying up loose ends and the main character’s story arc.
What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?
I’m definitely inspired by music and always have a soundtrack for my books. Each one is different for every story. The Dark Fable’s music was mostly songs that convey noir romanticism and bangers for a heist. And history is always a source of inspiration, whether it be archaeological finds or social customs and traditions from the past. My imagination is also sparked by images—photographs or artwork. And artwork is featured quite a bit in The Dark Fable!
Writers Read: Katherine Harbour (June 2014).
The Page 69 Test: Thorn Jack.
--Marshal Zeringue