Kim Harrison

Dawn Cook
Born	1966[1]
Pen name	Kim Harrison
Occupation	novelist
Nationality	U.S.
Period	2002 to present
Genres	Fantasy
Influences Ray Bradbury, Clint Eastwood[2]
kimharrison.net

Kim Harrison is a nom de plume of American author Dawn Cook. Under the name of Harrison, she is best known for her Rachel Morgan urban fantasy series set in an alternate history where a worldwide pandemic caused by genetically modified tomatoes led to the death of a large portion of the world's human population. Under the name of Dawn Cook, she is best known for her Decoy Princess and Truth series, published in the first few years of the 21st century.

In 2008, Harrison was described by Harper Collins Voyager Publishing Director Jane Johnson as the best example of the urban fantasy sub-genre which she described as, "the supernatural erupting into the everyday—sexy, tongue-in-cheek, post-modern."^[3]

Early life

A self-proclaimed "former tomboy,"^[4] Kim Harrison (born and raised in the Midwest) grew up the only girl in a family of boys. She discovered her talent for writing at the age of 15, when she began writing down the stories that she conceived.^[5] Despite her love of writing, she took an unorthodox approach to writing, and claims to have avoided English courses beyond the basic requirements in high school and college.^[6]

==Career At first, Harrison tried her hand at writing traditional science fiction, but began writing contemporary fantasy after deciding to focus more on character development. She spent the better part of a decade struggling as an aspiring author before meeting her current agent at a writing convention. He then introduced her to Diana Gill, who became Harrison's editor. Together, they produced Dead Witch Walking, and her first book was published in paperback by HarperTorch in 2004. Since then, she has written eight more books in the Hollows series, also called the Rachel Morgan series, (most with titles punning off Clint Eastwood movies) and contributed to multiple anthologies, with prequels to the Hollows books, and one with a young adult story.

After the success of her first novel, Harrison was able to resign from her day job, devoting herself to writing full time. Her favorite author is Ray Bradbury. She references music as one of her strongest writing influences, providing song lists for several of her characters.^[7] In her spare time, she communicates with fans via her self-maintained website. She currently splits her time living in South Carolina and Michigan.^[8]

Harrison is a member of the Romance Writers of America and Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The first two Truth books were originally one book, which was split into two separate books for publishing.^[9] That the two are the same, and that Cook was Harrison, was disclosed in a May 2009 Locus magazine article.^[10]

"I'm glad it's out in the open, because it is hard to maintain these two separate identities, and remind your friends or family when you go out, 'I'm Kim today, so don't call me Dawn.' The division has served its purpose. I'm still going to be Kim, but now if somebody calls me Dawn I won't have to say 'Shut your mouth!'"^[10]

Bibliography as Kim Harrison

Rachel Morgan / The Hollows series

Novels

Main article: Hollows (series)

1. Dead Witch Walking (April 2004, ISBN 0-06-057296-5)
2. The Good, the Bad, and the Undead (January 2005, ISBN 0-06-057297-3)
3. Every Which Way But Dead (June 28, 2005, ISBN 0-06-057299-X)
4. A Fistful of Charms (June 27, 2006, ISBN 0-06-078819-4)
5. For a Few Demons More (March 20, 2007, ISBN 0-06-078838-0)
6. The Outlaw Demon Wails (February 26, 2008, ISBN 978-0060788704)
7. White Witch, Black Curse (February 24, 2009, ISBN 978-0061138010)
8. Black Magic Sanction (February 23, 2010, ISBN 0061138037)
9. Pale Demon (February 22, 2011, ISBN 0061138061)
10. A Perfect Blood (February 21, 2012, ISBN 0061957895)

Kim Harrison is contracted to write twelve or thirteen novels based on her prerogative. Due to future projects, Kim plans to end Rachel's story at twelve books, but she has said, "I do have a floater book, so it might be 13. I’ll know for sure come spring [2012]."^[11]

Graphic novel

• Blood Work: An Original Hollows Graphic Novel (July 12, 2011, ISBN 0345521013)

Supplement

• The Hollows Insider: New fiction, facts, maps, murders, and more in the world of Rachel Morgan (October 25, 2011, ISBN 0061974331)

Audio books

1. Dead Witch Walking (July 2007, ISBN 9781400104710)—Tantor Media, Read By Marguerite Gavin
2. The Good, the Bad, and the Undead (November 2007, ISBN 9781400104727)—Tantor Media, Read By Marguerite Gavin
3. Every Which Way But Dead (January 2008, ISBN 9781400104734)—Tantor Media, Read By Marguerite Gavin
4. A Fistful of Charms (January 2008, ISBN 9781400104741)—Tantor Media, Read By Marguerite Gavin
5. For a Few Demons More (May 2007, ISBN 9781400104536)—Tantor Media, Read By Marguerite Gavin
6. The Outlaw Demon Wails (February 2008, ISBN 9780061452987)—HarperAudio, Read By Gigi Bermingham
7. White Witch, Black Curse (February 2009, ISBN 9780061714696)—HarperAudio, Read By Marguerite Gavin
8. Black Magic Sanction (February 2010, ISBN 9780061977473)—HarperAudio, Read By Marguerite Gavin
9. Pale Demon (February 2011, ISBN 9780061138065)—HarperAudio, Read By Marguerite Gavin

Omnibus editions

• This Witch For Hire (February 2006, ISBN 0-7394-6380-2)—Science Fiction Book Club Omnibus Edition, includes Dead Witch Walking and The Good, the Bad, and the Undead
• Dead Witches Tell No Tales (July 2006, ISBN 0739470833)—Science Fiction Book Club Omnibus Edition, includes Every Which Way But Dead and A Fistful of Charms

Novellas and short stories

• Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil

A novella prequel centered on the character Ivy Tamwood, in Dates from Hell (April 1, 2006, ISBN 0-06-085409-X)—anthology with Kelley Armstrong, Lynsay Sands, and Lori Handeland.

• Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel

A novella prequel centered on the character Rachel Morgan in Holidays Are Hell (October 30, 2007, ISBN 978-0-06-123909-0)—anthology with Lynsay Sands, Marjorie M. Liu, and Vicki Pettersson.

• Dirty Magic

A short story centered around the banshee Mia in the anthology Hotter Than Hell. (June 24, 2008, ISBN 978-0061161292)—anthology with Lilith Saintcrow, Tanya Huff and others

• The Bridges of Eden Park

A short story included in the paperback edition of For a Few Demons More.

• The Bespelled

A short story about Ceri and Algaliarept, included in the paperback edition of The Outlaw Demon Wails.

• Ley Line Drifter

A short story focused on Hallows characters Jenks and Bis working together to solve a case in Unbound (August 25, 2009, ISBN 0061699934)—anthology with Melissa Marr, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson, and Jocelynn Drake.

Madison Avery trilogy

Novels

1. Once Dead, Twice Shy (May 26, 2009, ISBN 978-0061718168)
2. Early to Death, Early to Rise (May 25, 2010, ISBN 978-0061718175)
3. Something Deadly This Way Comes (May 24, 2011, ISBN 978-0061718199)

Novellas and short stories

Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper introducing Madison Avery in Prom Nights From Hell. (April 1, 2007, ISBN 0-06-125309-X, ISBN 978-0061253096) a young adult anthology

Bibliography as Dawn Cook

Truth series

1. First Truth, May 28, 2002, Ace Books, ISBN 044100945X
2. Hidden Truth, November 26, 2002, Ace Books, ISBN 0441010032
3. Forgotten Truth, November 25, 2003, Ace Books, ISBN 0441011179
4. Lost Truth, November 30, 2004, Ace Books, ISBN 0441012280

Decoy Princess series

1. The Decoy Princess, November 29, 2005, Ace Books, ISBN 0441013554
2. Princess at Sea, July 25, 2006, Ace Books, ISBN 0441014240

Short story

With Friends Like These

A story about a vampire and his roommate, in The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2 (September 22, 2009, ISBN 978-0762437962)—anthology with Jordan Summers, Deborah Cooke, Karen MacInerney, Caitlin Kittredge, Dina James, Camille Bacon-Smith, Rosemary Laurey, Patti O'Shea, Angie Fox, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Jamie Leigh Hansen, Carole Nelson Douglas, Diane Whiteside, Jaye Wells, Stacia Kane, Jennifer Ashley, Justine Musk, Jennifer St. Giles, Nancy Holder, Larissa Ione, Jeanne C. Stein, Tiffany Trent, Ann Aguirre, and Devon Monk.

See also

Children's literature portal

• Agaliarept

References

1. ^ Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2009. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com.ezproxy.hclib.org/servlet/BioRC
2. ^ "FAQs". Kim Harrison's website. May 27, 2009. http://www.kimharrison.net/FAQs.htm. Retrieved May 31, 2009. "I've always liked the characters that Clint Eastwood has played, especially the westerns where the guy comes in off the plain, able to solve the town's problems with a bully, but not all that eager to, but after some persuasion, he does.  Not only does he take care of business, but he does it in a just, not necessarily legal way.  I sort of see Rachel like that, if Clint had a pixy instead of a gun, and a convertible instead of a horse." ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Michael J. Vaughn (March 18, 2008). "The Popular Fiction Report, March 18, 2008". Writer's Digest. http://www.writersdigest.com/article/The_Popular_Fiction_Report/. 
4. ^ "Kim's Bio". Kim Harrison's website. June 10, 2007. http://kimharrison.net/KimsBio.html. Retrieved May 31, 2009. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ Farrell, Shaun (June 15, 2005). "Shaun Farrell interviews Kim Harrison". Shaun's Quadrant. http://www.farsector.com/quadrant/interview-kimharrison.htm. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
6. ^ McCune, Alisa (March 2005). "A Conversation With Kim Harrison". SF Site. http://www.sfsite.com/04a/kh197.htm. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
7. ^ "The Music". Kim Harrison's website. May 31, 2009. http://www.kimharrison.net/TTO.htm. Retrieved May 31, 2009. ^{[dead link]}
8. ^ "Kim Harrison". Kim Harrison's website. April, 11 2011. http://kimharrison.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/a-vacation-from-my-vacation/#comments. Retrieved April, 11 2011. 
9. ^ Dark Star (July 19, 2008). "Dawn Cook Interview (english)". fantasy-news.com. http://www.fantasy-news.com/2008/07/19/dawn-cook-interview-english/. Retrieved August 4, 2008. 
10. ^ ^{a b} "Kim Harrison: Secret Identity". Locus. May 2009. http://www.locusmag.com/Perspectives/2009/05/kim-harrison-secret-identity.html. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
11. ^ "Ask Kim a Pale Demon Spoiler Question". Kim Harrison's website. August 11, 2011. http://kimharrison.wordpress.com/a-third-ask-kim-a-pale-demon-spoiler-question/. Retrieved August 11, 2011. 

External links

• Kim Harrison official page
• Kim Harrison at Harper Collins
• Kim Harrison at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Persondata
Name	Cook, Dawn
Alternative names
Short description	writer
Date of birth	1966
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death