Lana Harper
Author Interview - Lana Harper
Author of From Bad to Cursed (Book 2 in the Witches of Thistle Grove series)
Wild child Isidora Avramov is a thrill chaser, adept demon summoner, and—despite the whole sexy-evil-sorceress vibe—also a cuddly animal lover. When she’s not designing costumes and new storylines for the Arcane Emporium’s haunted house, Issa's nursing a secret, conflicted dream of ditching her family’s witchy business to become an indie fashion designer in her own right. But when someone starts sabotaging the celebrations leading up to this year’s Beltane festival with dark, dangerous magic, a member of the rival Thorn family gets badly hurt—throwing immediate suspicion on the Avramovs. To clear the Avramov name and step up for her family when they need her the most, Issa agrees to serve as a co-investigator, helping none other than Rowan Thorn get to the bottom of things.
Rowan is the very definition of lawful good, so tragically noble and by-the-book he makes Issa’s teeth hurt. In accordance with their families’ complicated history, he and Issa have been archenemies for years. But as the unlikely duo follow a perplexing trail of clues to a stunning conclusion, Issa and Rowan discover how little they really know each other… and stumble upon a maddening attraction that becomes harder to ignore by the day.
Author Interview - Lana Harper
Author I draw inspiration from: I'm inspired by many authors across a variety of genres -- genre-bending books are a particular favorite. Naomi Novik, Jacqueline Carey, Tamsyn Muir, Seanan McGuire, Jim Butcher, and Emily Henry are all perennial favorites; from different flavors of fantasy to contemporary romance to women's fiction, I've found elements to draw on from all their brilliant books.
Author Interview - Lana Harper | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book: In bed, ideally with tea (or wine) and Trader Joe's peanut butter cups (also known as the PB Cups to Rule Them All).
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: This is a tricky one! My first thought is Phedre no Delaunay de Montreve from Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy series, because who wouldn't want to be stuck in an elevator with a brilliant, beautiful, talented courtesan and spy with all kinds of skills and stories up her sleeve? Elevators don't exist in Phedre's world, but she'd probably find a way to break us out regardless; in the alternative, maybe a makeout session to pass the time? Just a thought!
But then there's also Gideon the Ninth from Tamsyn Muir's wildly clever, bonkers, and entirely hilarious novel of the same name. Who wouldn't want to spend a few hours with a sexy, witty sword adept from a universe of space-faring necromancers? (Necromancers are, generally, my favorite.)
Author Interview - Lana Harper | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: I've written since I was little -- and composed stories before I could even write -- so in that sense I've always known I wanted to be a writer! The idea of writing as a career didn't really crystallize until I went to law school, which I hated so much that I wrote a sapphic vampire novel during my last year basically on a dare from my mother, when she challenged me to pick out an alternative path for myself. This led to a master's degree in publishing and writing from Emerson College, six years of literary agenting -- during which I also wrote and published my own books -- and the ultimate realization that I was happiest when writing full-time.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: Hardbacks will always be my favorite -- I love books as objects as well as stories, from spot-gloss covers to how it feels to flip pages -- but for practical purposes, these days I mostly read ebooks on my iPad.
The last book I read: Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka. A very difficult (and dazzling) literary suspense story.
Author Interview - Lana Harper | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer: Computer (and occasionally phone, for jotting down ideas or words in my Notes app for later).
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: I adore Nora in Emily Henry's upcoming Book Lovers! I love being friends with smart, driven women, and Nora's a sharky and very high-achieving literary agent -- the kind who gets a bad rap for being "intimidating," because patriarchy -- and she's one of the funniest, smartest, and most complex characters I've ever read.
Author Interview - Lana Harper | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: Professional cake taste-tester, maybe, if this is a thing; if not, it should be. I also love perfumes and am very intrigued by the process that goes into their design, so maybe I'd be in the fragrance industry.
Favorite decade in fashion history: The early aughts, only because I was in undergrad then, and low-rise jeans and sparkly club tops under fleece jackets will always live warmly (if questionably) in my heart.
Place I’d most like to travel: Japan.
My signature drink: Vodka gimlet.
Favorite artist: Florence + the Machine for music. I'm not sure that I have a favorite visual artist, but I do have a desperate weakness for Chihuly sculptures, so let's go with that.
Number one on my bucket list: Skydiving! I'm terrified of heights but have always wanted to do this anyway.
Anything else you'd like to add: It makes my day to hear from readers, so if you enjoy Thistle Grove and want to drop any thoughts or comments my way, please always feel free to reach out, especially on Instagram!
Find more from the author:
@lanapopoviclit (twitter)
@lanalyte (instagram)
Author Bio: Lana is the New York Times bestselling author of Payback's a Witch, and the forthcoming From Bad to Cursed from Berkley Books. Writing as Lana Popovic, she is also the author of YA novels Wicked Like a Wildfire, Fierce Like a Firestorm, Blood Countess, and Poison Priestess. Lana studied psychology and literature at Yale University, law at Boston University, and is a graduate of the Emerson College publishing and writing master's program. She was born in Serbia and lived in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania before moving to the United States, where she now lives in Chicago with her family.
