Mary Hades by Sarah Dalton(Mary Hades #1)
Publication date: June 2014
Genres: Horror, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Not many seventeen year old girls have a best friend who’s a ghost, but then Mary Hades isn’t your average teenager.
Scarred
physically and mentally from a fire, her parents decide a holiday to an
idyllic village in North Yorkshire will help her recover. Nestled in
the middle of five moors, Mary expects to have a boring week stuck in a
caravan with her parents. Little does she know, evil lurks in the
campsite…
Seth Lockwood—a local fairground worker with a dark secret—might be the key to uncovering the murky history that has blighted Nettleby. But Mary is drawn to him in a way that has her questioning her judgement.
Helped by her dead best friend and a quirky gay Goth couple, Mary must stop the unusual deaths occurring in Nettleby. But can she prevent her heart from being broken?
The first in a series of dark YA novels, Mary Hades follows on from the bestselling Kindle Single My Daylight Monsters. A spine-tingling tale with romance, readers will be shocked and entertained in equal measure.
Seth Lockwood—a local fairground worker with a dark secret—might be the key to uncovering the murky history that has blighted Nettleby. But Mary is drawn to him in a way that has her questioning her judgement.
Helped by her dead best friend and a quirky gay Goth couple, Mary must stop the unusual deaths occurring in Nettleby. But can she prevent her heart from being broken?
The first in a series of dark YA novels, Mary Hades follows on from the bestselling Kindle Single My Daylight Monsters. A spine-tingling tale with romance, readers will be shocked and entertained in equal measure.
Purchase:
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AUTHOR BIO
Sarah
grew up in the middle of nowhere in the countryside of Derbyshire and
as a result has an over-active imagination. She has been an avid reader
for most of her life, taking inspiration from the stories she read as a
child, and the novels she devoured as an adult.
Sarah mainly writes speculative fiction for a Young Adult audience and has had pieces of short fiction published in the Medulla Literary Review, PANK magazine and the British Fantasy Society publication Dark Horizons. Her short story 'Vampires Wear Chanel' is featured in the Wyvern Publication Fangtales available here:
Sarah's debut novel The Blemished is a fast paced young adult dystopia set in a fractured Britain. It follows the events of Mina Hart, a young Blemished girl who has a dangerous secret, as she tries to escape the dreaded Operation and get out of Area 14.
Sarah mainly writes speculative fiction for a Young Adult audience and has had pieces of short fiction published in the Medulla Literary Review, PANK magazine and the British Fantasy Society publication Dark Horizons. Her short story 'Vampires Wear Chanel' is featured in the Wyvern Publication Fangtales available here:
Sarah's debut novel The Blemished is a fast paced young adult dystopia set in a fractured Britain. It follows the events of Mina Hart, a young Blemished girl who has a dangerous secret, as she tries to escape the dreaded Operation and get out of Area 14.
Author links:
Five ways Mary Hades is
different to your average YA series
I'm pretty excited
about this project. I find Mary the easiest character to write
because she is such a free spirit. However, there's a part of me
that's nervous about this series. I've mixed things up. Mary Hades
doesn't follow a formula. Here are five things
you can expect, and five examples that are a little different to most
YA books.
1. It’s not a
trilogy:
At
the moment, the series is open ended, which means I’m planning to
keep it going for as long as I enjoy writing it. To me, this is
almost like a long-running television series, where each book will
focus on a specific challenge. I will be bringing in long-arc
storylines at some point, but the first few books are almost
standalones.
2. Each novel is a
snapshot:
Like the novella that
started it all—My Daylight Monsters—each novel, and each story,
is a snapshot into Mary’s life. That means that not all the books
will link on from each other. The first book has a resolution and no
cliff-hanger, but it sets up the rest of the series, because it shows
Mary what she wants to achieve with her life. This is going to
continue throughout the series. Think of them as brief instalments
into her very interesting life. Characters will come and go. Not all
of the novels will be set in the same place. There is a lot of scope
for the series. It could go on as Mary goes to University, or a spin
off with different characters could occur. There are no set rules
here. Think of it as an urban fantasy series, but more contemporary.
3. The novels are
short:
The main reason I write
Mary Hades at a shorter length is because the tone is very deep first
person POV present tense. The books are meant to be all-encompassing.
I want the reader to be drawn into Mary’s world, and that is an
intense ride. These sorts of novels are almost always short. Think of
the wonderful How I live Now, or the engrossing Never Let Me Go—they
are both short novels and that suits them very well. The first
instalment of Mary Hades will be about 280 pages. On the plus side,
shorter novels means I can write the instalments quicker, so you
won’t have to wait long for the next book. And, as the books are
shorter, I’ve decided to charge less for them, so you won’t be
paying more for a shorter novel. However, quality almost always beats
quantity. ;)
4. This is dark
fiction:
When I started writing
My Daylight Monsters, I was very influenced by Gothic literature.
That’s a very broad brush. I always loved Victorian Gothics, like
Dracula and The Picture of Dorian Grey. These novels always have a
supernatural element and always have some sort of dark, looming
presence. In My Daylight Monsters, that presence is the hospital, and
the deepest fears we harbour there. In Mary Hades, that looming
presence is the Yorkshire moors—of course, inspired by Wuthering
Heights. Other influences could include Daphne Du Maurier. I had a
few scenes from Jamaica Inn playing in my mind as I wrote this book.
Mary Hades is much more grown up than my other novels. In the past,
my books like The Blemished and White Hart have been more suited to
younger YA. Mary Hades is best for older teens and adults.
5.Horror AND Romance?
Yup, you better believe
it. In the midst of fighting a really scary ghost, Mary manages a
holiday romance. Hey, call me a romantic, but I think a girl needs to
take some time off from her ghost hunting once in a while.
In all seriousness, I
want the books to be scary AND uplifting. There’s a definite
contemporary feel to the writing, and hopefully that ties in with the
romance.
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