Liz Kerin is an absolute sweetheart and so supportive of other authors! She recently re-released her first novel, THE PHANTOM FOREST, which is vastly different from her other work, such as the NIGHTS EDGE DUOLOGY. It is fantasy mixed with horror and dystopian elements. My debut novel that came out my senior year of high school has similar themes, and I am re-releasing it next fall. Liz has been such a wonderful support through it, and I highly recommend checking out THE PHANTOM FOREST. It is unlike so many other books because of the genres that it crosses.
Synopsis
From Liz Kerin, the author of Night’s Edge and dark fiction’s “new rising star” (The British Fantasy Society), comes a stunning, brand new edition of her debut.
Every tree in the sacred Forest of Laida houses a soul, and each of those souls will return to the mortal world for many future lives. But not all of them deserve to.
Seycia’s father told her this story as a child-a story of the holiest place in the Underworld, the Forest of Laida, where all souls go to rest before embarking on a new life. But Seycia’s father is dead now, and his killer has put a target on her back.
After she is chosen for her village’s human sacrifice ritual, Seycia becomes the newest citizen of the Underworld, where she faces an eternity of suffering if she dares to step out of line. To survive her fate, she must join forces with Haben, the demon to whom she was sacrificed, who has a dark and sordid past inextricably linked to her own. Together, they journey to the forest where all souls grow in a quest to destroy the tree of the man who killed her . . . before he annihilates the rest of her family.
Interview
Liz, I loved your NIGHTS EDGE DUOLOGY, but there was something different and special about your re-release of THE PHANTOM FOREST. As an author who also took back rights to my first book and am re-publishing it, what made you want to release an updated version?
First of all, thank you for your kind words about TPF! I also felt there was something really different and special about it, and I’d known for some time that I was going to re-release it with updated text. As we age and grow, we naturally become better writers and find ways to solve problems we wouldn’t have discovered before. I was really excited to have that opportunity after I got my rights back. I just had to wait till the two NIGHT’S EDGE books came out so I wouldn’t be competing with myself!
When reading THE PHANTOM FOREST, I noticed some influences such as THE GIVER, THE HUNGER GAMES, and 1984. THE GIVER is one of my favorite books of all time, and I wondered if this was an intentional influence? Were there specific works that inspired you for THE PHANTOM FOREST in particular?
The Giver is also one of my favorite books of all time! I’m so thrilled you felt that influence in there. The Giver, A Wrinkle in Time, and 1984 were definitely touchstones for this. I wanted to write a dystopia that was laced with some magic and whimsy, something that had some beauty glimmering in the darkness. I also like my fantasy to be grounded and more on the speculative side than high fantasy, so this felt like an exciting way to blend all my favorite subgenres. Another series that really inspired me was the MADADAM trilogy by Margaret Atwood. If you haven’t read those, I highly recommend them.
The way that you mix fantasy with horror and some dystopian themes created such a unique story unlike any others I have read. I couldn’t put the book down! Were there specific genres that inspired you when you first wrote the manuscript for THE PHANTOM FOREST?
Yes! I was just gearing up to talk all about this! At the time I wrote this, I couldn’t find a lot of novels that combined horror (and within that, both folk horror and body horror), fantasy, and speculative dystopia. I also really wanted to include a love story with a dark, mysterious figure in need of redemption AND have there be a backstory that was rich with social commentary about our current moment. PHEW. If that feels like a lot, it was, at first. My early drafts of this were pretty crazy as I zeroed in on what the correct blend should be.
THE PHANTOM FOREST still feels like such a hidden gem, and I can’t stop talking about it! How was writing and re-writing this book different from your experience with writing the NIGHTS EDGE DUOLOGY?
Thank you, my hope is that as my career continues, more people will stumble upon it and check it out. This was mostly very different because NIGHT’S EDGE was released by a Big 5 (Tor is part of Macmillan) and TPF was originally released by a small indie press, and then I personally re-released it. So, the marketing for TPF was pretty much nonexistent, and I did not have the means to invest in it myself. So, it’s been a slow burn as people discovered it—but that’s okay! It’s what I anticipated, when I decided to put it back out there. And it seems to be working, considering awesome people like you have found it and given it a chance! That said, I’d absolutely welcome the opportunity to work with a publisher again and re-RE-release it – if anyone happens to know anyone. 😉
What can readers do to support their favorite authors in the intense and ever-changing publishing landscape?
Pre-order their books!!! 100% of the time, if you are a fan! Early preorders show the publisher they should put more oomph into the marketing plan because there’s established interest already. It all boils down to sales, even if the book got multiple starred reviews, got reviewed by the NYT, or even if the author sold movie rights… if that book didn’t sell in the marketplace, it will be an uphill climb when that author tries to get their next book set up. SO, in sum – preorder!!!! And then, once the book comes out, post your reviews to all the sites. Even if you didn’t order it on Amazon or B&N, you can leave reviews there. It really helps!
About Liz Kerin
Liz Kerin is the author of the NIGHT’S EDGE duology (Tor Nightfire, 2023-2024) and dark fantasy adventure THE PHANTOM FOREST (2019). Most recently, Liz signed a two book deal with Sourcebooks for her forthcoming horror novel HOW TO DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY and a second title TBA. In addition to her work in literary fiction, Liz is also a screenwriter and award-winning playwright. She is a graduate of the Department of Dramatic Writing at NYU Tisch and has numerous film/TV projects in active development, including adaptations of her own novels. She lives in Southern California where you can find her working in her garden or hiking in the hills with her Corgi, Clementine.
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