Harper Audio Presents

Katy Simpson Smith discusses her debut novel THE STORY OF LAND AND SEA (on-sale: 8-26-14) with @HarperAudio_US Producer Erin Wicks. This episode also includes an excerpt from the audio edition performed by Edoardo Ballerini.

ABOUT THE STORY OF LAND AND SEA

Set in a small coastal town in North Carolina during the waning years of the American Revolution, this incandescent debut novel follows three generations of family—fathers and daughters, mother and son, master and slave, characters who yearn for redemption amidst a heady brew of war, kidnapping, slavery, and love.

Drawn to the ocean, ten-year-old Tabitha wanders the marshes of her small coastal village and listens to her father’s stories about his pirate voyages and the mother she never knew. Since the loss of his wife Helen, John has remained land-bound for their daughter, but when Tab contracts yellow fever, he turns to the sea once more. Desperate to save his daughter, he takes her aboard a sloop bound for Bermuda, hoping the salt air will heal her.

Years before, Helen herself was raised by a widowed father. Asa, the devout owner of a small plantation, gives his daughter a young slave named Moll for her tenth birthday. Left largely on their own, Helen and Moll develop a close but uneasy companionship. Helen gradually takes over the running of the plantation as the girls grow up, but when she meets John, the pirate turned Continental soldier, she flouts convention and her father’s wishes by falling in love. Moll, meanwhile, is forced into marriage with a stranger. Her only solace is her son, Davy, whom she will protect with a passion that defies the bounds of slavery.

In this elegant, evocative, and haunting debut, Katy Simpson Smith captures the singular love between parent and child, the devastation of love lost, and the lonely paths we travel in the name of renewal.

Jessie Burton discusses her new book THE MINIATURIST (HarperCollins, August 26, 2014) with Producer Erin Wicks from @HarperAudio_US. The episode also includes an excerpt from the audio edition featuring the voice of Davina Porter.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Set in seventeenth century Amsterdam—a city ruled by glittering wealth and oppressive religion—a masterful debut steeped in atmosphere and shimmering with mystery, in the tradition of Emma Donoghue, Sarah Waters, and Sarah Dunant.

”There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed . . .“

On a brisk autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives in Amsterdam to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt. But her new home, while splendorous, is not welcoming. Johannes is kind yet distant, always locked in his study or at his warehouse office—leaving Nella alone with his sister, the sharp-tongued and forbidding Marin.

But Nella’s world changes when Johannes presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. To furnish her gift, Nella engages the services of a miniaturist—an elusive and enigmatic artist whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in eerie and unexpected ways . . .

Johannes’ gift helps Nella to pierce the closed world of the Brandt household. But as she uncovers its unusual secrets, she begins to understand—and fear—the escalating dangers that await them all. In this repressively pious society where gold is worshipped second only to God, to be different is a threat to the moral fabric of society, and not even a man as rich as Johannes is safe. Only one person seems to see the fate that awaits them. Is the miniaturist the key to their salvation . . . or the architect of their destruction?

Enchanting, beautiful, and exquisitely suspenseful, The Miniaturist is a magnificent story of love and obsession, betrayal and retribution, appearance and truth.

Wally Lamb in conversation with Sean McManus, Director of Audio @HarperAudio_US. The paperback edition of Lamb's New York Times bestselling novel WE ARE WATER is on-sale from HarperCollins on August 12, 2014. This episode contains an excerpt from the audio edition of WE ARE WATER, performed by the author.

ABOUT WE ARE WATER

After twenty-seven years of marriage and three children, Annie Oh—wife, mother, and outsider artist—has fallen in love with Viveca, the Manhattan art dealer who orchestrated her professional success. Annie and Viveca plan to wed in the Oh family's hometown of Three Rivers, Connecticut, where gay marriage has recently been legalized. But the impending wedding provokes some very mixed reactions and opens a Pandora's box of toxic secrets—dark and painful truths that have festered below the surface of the Ohs' lives.

We Are Water is an intricate and layered portrait of marriage, family, and the inexorable need for understanding and connection. Set in New England and New York during the first years of the Obama presidency, it is also a portrait of modern America, exploring issues of class, changing social mores, the legacy of racial violence, and the nature of creativity and art.

Erika Johansen discusses her new book THE QUEEN OF THE TEARLING (HarperCollins, July 8, 2014) with Producer Erin Wicks from @HarperAudio_US. The episode also includes an excerpt from the audio edition featuring the voice of Katherine Kellgren.

ABOUT THE BOOK

An untested young princess must claim her throne, learn to become a queen, and combat a malevolent sorceress in an epic battle between light and darkness in this spectacular debut—the first novel in a trilogy.

Young Kelsea Raleigh was raised in hiding after the death of her mother, Queen Elyssa, far from the intrigues of the royal Keep and in the care of two devoted servants who pledged their lives to protect her. Growing up in a cottage deep in the woods, Kelsea knows little of her kingdom's haunted past . . . or that its fate will soon rest in her hands.

Long ago, Kelsea's forefathers sailed away from a decaying world to establish a new land free of modern technology. Three hundred years later, this feudal society has divided into three fearful nations who pay duties to a fourth: the powerful Mortmesne, ruled by the cunning Red Queen. Now, on Kelsea's nineteenth birthday, the tattered remnants of the Queen's Guard—loyal soldiers who protect the throne—have appeared to escort the princess on a perilous journey to the capital to ascend to her rightful place as the new Queen of the Tearling.

Though born of royal blood and in possession of the Tear sapphire, a jewel of immense power and magic, Kelsea has never felt more uncertain of her ability to rule. But the shocking evil she discovers in the heart of her realm will precipitate an act of immense daring, throwing the entire kingdom into turmoil—and unleashing the Red Queen's vengeance. A cabal of enemies with an array of deadly weapons, from crimson-caped assassins to the darkest blood magic, plots to destroy her. But Kelsea is growing in strength and stealth, her steely resolve earning her loyal allies, including the Queen's Guard, led by the enigmatic Lazarus, and the intriguing outlaw known simply as "the Fetch."

Kelsea's quest to save her kingdom and meet her destiny has only just begun. Riddled with mysteries, betrayals, and treacherous battles, Kelsea's journey is a trial by fire that will either forge a legend . . . or destroy her.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth discusses her new book FOUR: A DIVERGENT COLLECTION (HarperCollins, July 8th, 2014) with senior producer Caitlin Garing from @HarperAudio_US. The episode also includes an excerpt from the audio edition of FOUR: A DIVERGENT COLLECTION featuring the voice of Aaron Stanford.

Fans of the Divergent series by number-one New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth will be thrilled by Four: A Divergent Collection, a companion volume that includes four pre-Divergent stories told from Tobias' point of view.

Listeners first encountered Tobias as "Four" in Divergent. His voice is an integral part of Allegiant. Listeners will find more of this charismatic character's backstory told from his own perspective in Four: A Divergent Collection. When taken together, these long narrative pieces illuminate the defining moments in Tobias' life. The first three pieces in this volume - "The Transfer", "The Initiate", and "The Son" - follow Tobias's transfer from Abnegation to Dauntless, his Dauntless initiation, and the first clues that a foul plan is brewing in the leadership of two factions. The fourth story, "The Traitor", runs parallel with the events of Divergent, giving listeners a glimpse into the decisions of loyalty - and love - that Tobias makes in the weeks after he meets Tris Prior.

Exclusive scenes included!

Neil Gaiman discusses three upcoming @HarperAudio_US titles: THE TRUTH IS A CAVE IN THE BLACK MOUNTAINS (on-sale: June 17, 2014), CHU'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL (on-sale: June 24, 2014), and the full cast audio edition of THE GRAVEYARD BOOK (on-sale: September 30, 2014) with Senior Producer Caitlin Garing. This episode also includes audiobook excerpts performed by Neil Gaiman.

About The Books

You ask me if I can forgive myself? I can forgive myself...

And so begins The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains, a haunting story of family, the otherworld, and a search for hidden treasure. This audiobook is brought to vivid life by the characters and landscape of Gaiman’s award-winning story. In this volume, the talents and vision of two great creative geniuses come together in a glorious explosion of color and shadow, memory and regret, vengeance and, ultimately, love.

...for many things. For where I left him. For what I did.

Buy Link: http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062362247/the-truth-is-a-cave-in-the-black-mountains-cd

It is Chu's first day of school. Chu is nervous.

He hopes the other boys and girls will be nice. Will they like him?

What will happen at school today?

Will Chu do what Chu does best?

Buy Link: http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062355539/chus-first-day-of-school

Nobody Owens is a normal boy, except he lives in a sprawling graveyard and has been raised since infancy by ghosts and a guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the dead. There are adventures in a graveyard for a boy—an ancient Indigo Man, a gateway to the abandoned city of ghouls, and the strange and terrible Sleer. There are dangers though too, and if Bod leaves the graveyard, he may fall prey to the man Jack, who has already murdered Bod’s entire family.

Inventive, chilling, and magical, Neil Gaiman’s Newbery winning and bestselling Graveyard Book is an a classic in the making.

This special audiobook features a stunning full cast rendition of the beloved story.

Buy Link: http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062364463/the-graveyard-book-cd

Smith Henderson discusses his new book FOURTH OF JULY CREEK (HarperCollins, May 27, 2014) with producer Erin Wicks from @HarperAudio_US. The episode also includes an excerpt featuring the voice of MacLeod Andrews from the audio edition.

ABOUT THE BOOK

After trying to help Benjamin Pearl, an undernourished, nearly feral eleven-year-old boy living in the Montana wilderness, social worker Pete Snow comes face-to-face with the boy's profoundly disturbed father, Jeremiah. With courage and caution, Pete slowly earns a measure of trust from this paranoid survivalist itching for a final conflict that will signal the coming End Times.

But as Pete's own family spins out of control, Pearl's activities spark the full-blown interest of the FBI, putting Pete at the center of a massive manhunt from which no one will emerge unscathed.

In this shattering and iconic American novel, Smith Henderson explores the complexities of freedom, community, grace, suspicion, and anarchy, brilliantly depicting our nation's disquieting and violent contradictions. Fourth of July Creek is an unforgettable, unflinching debut that marks the arrival of a major literary talent.

Blake J. Harris discusses his new book CONSOLE WARS(HarperCollins, May 2014) with Sean McManus from @HarperAudio_US. This episode also includes an excerpt from the audio edition, performed by Fred Berman.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A mesmerizing, behind-the-scenes business thriller that chronicles how Sega, a small, scrappy gaming company led by an unlikely visionary and a team of rebels, took on the juggernaut Nintendo and revolutionized the videogame industry—in development as a feature film from Sony Pictures

In 1990, Nintendo had a virtual monopoly on the videogame industry. Sega, on the other hand, was just a faltering arcade company with big aspirations and even bigger personalities. But all that would change with the arrival of Tom Kalinske, a former Mattel executive who knew nothing about videogames and everything about fighting uphill battles. His unconventional tactics, combined with the blood, sweat, and bold ideas of his renegade employees, completely transformed Sega and led to a ruthless, David-and-Goliath showdown with Nintendo. Little did he realize that Sega's success would create many new enemies and, most important, make Nintendo stronger than ever.

The battle was vicious, relentless, and highly profitable, eventually sparking a global corporate war that would be fought on several fronts: from living rooms and school yards to boardrooms and Congress. It was a once-in-a-lifetime, no-holds-barred conflict that pitted brother against brother, kid against adult, Sonic against Mario, and the United States against Japan.

Based on more than two hundred interviews with former Sega and Nintendo employees, Console Wars is the tale of how Tom Kalinske miraculously turned an industry punch line into a market leader. Blake J. Harris brings into focus the warriors, the strategies, and the battles and explores how they transformed popular culture forever. Ultimately, Console Wars is the story of how a humble family man, with an extraordinary imagination and a gift for turning problems into competitive advantages, inspired a team of underdogs to slay a giant and, as a result, give birth to a sixty-billion-dollar industry.

Josh Malerman discusses his new book BIRD BOX(HarperCollins, May 2014) with Erin Wicks, Producer @HarperAudio_US. This episode also includes an excerpt from the audio edition, performed by Cassandra Campbell.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Something is out there . . .

Something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remain, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, Malorie has long dreamed of fleeing to a place where her family might be safe. But the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat—blindfolded—with nothing to rely on but Malorie's wits and the children's trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them. But is it man, animal, or monster?

Engulfed in darkness, surrounded by sounds both familiar and frightening, Malorie embarks on a harrowing odyssey—a trip that takes her into an unseen world and back into the past, to the companions who once saved her. Under the guidance of the stalwart Tom, a motley group of strangers banded together against the unseen terror, creating order from the chaos. But when supplies ran low, they were forced to venture outside—and confront the ultimate question: in a world gone mad, who can really be trusted?

Interweaving past and present, Josh Maler-man's breathtaking debut is a horrific and gripping snapshot of a world unraveled that will have you racing to the final page.