The most important lesson I learned about writing gripping fiction and urban fantasy, I learned from Kim Harrison reading her Hollows series. Don’t be afraid to kill off characters, but wait until the reader loves them.
Kim Harrison (who also writes under the name Dawn Cook) is the #1 NYTimes Best Selling Author of the Hollows series, featuring a witch and bounty hunter Rachel Morgan in urban fantasy Cincinnati. The Hollows consists of one prequel, 15 urban fantasy novels (with a new one coming out this summer), eight short stories, two graphic novels, and one compendium resource.
The Hollows. This series is straight-up addicting! I was introduced to this series by my sister. I was grabbed by the title - Dead Witch Walking! What?!? Talk about a promise in a title!
That is a brave title.
A title like that better have a strong loner-type protagonist facing off with villains and society itself.
There better be clever borderline cliche one-liners that are used in just the right places, so as to not cheapen the effect.
It better be dark and gritty, like a 1970’s Clint Eastwood film.
Boy did it deliver on those promises.
Each addition to the series followed a similarly themed title. Each time Harrison kept her promises!
The Hollows Series - (Prequel) The Turn; Dead Witch Walking; The Good, The Bad, and The Undead; Every Which Way But Dead; A Fistful of Charms; For a Few Demons More; The Outlaw Demon Wails; White Witch, Black Curse; Black Magic Sanction; Pale Demon; A Perfect Blood; Ever After; The Undead Pool; The Witch with No Name; American Demon; Million Dollar Demon
Harrison was able to keep the energy and attraction to the stories, by utilizing a very powerful author tool - DEATH. Safeguard your hearts readers because this is a series that demands emotional investment. When you learn that Harrison goes there, oh my goodness. I was a hot mess! The characters are so well written that knowing they are a vampire does not affect the realness of them.
Unafraid to kill fan favorites, keeps the reader so engaged, never knowing if this witty banter is the last moment the reader gets with this character. Let me tell you it is a page-turning rush!
I actually have to force myself to wait for her to put out the next three installments before I go back in! Three novels back to back seems to satisfy my inner book addict.
Lucky for me, Harrison is also a prolific author, and fast!
Book # 16 - The Trouble with the Cursed - Coming June 14th, 2022
For the next read-through to prepare for the new release, I plan to read all the short stories and novellas that happen in between. It might take the rest of the year just to get there, but what an adventure!
To learn more about Kim Harrison and her many other works visit her website at https://www.kimharrison.net/.
Links* to where you can purchase her works on Amazon are provided by clicking on the highlighted titles in this post.
*Disclosure: Any recommended products I feature in this blog or on my site, I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This page may contain affiliate links that I may earn a small commission from at no additional cost to you. Read the full Privacy Policy on my website for further details.