At Tundra Books, we want you to get to know and love our creators as much as you know and love their books. Our creator spotlight series will introduce you to the people behind some of your favorite titles . . . this week, say hello to E. Latimer!
About the Author:
E. LATIMER‘s breakout success on the online writing platform Wattpad has resulted in a fan base of over 100 thousand followers, with over 20 million combined reads. Her debut novel, The Strange and Deadly Portraits of Bryony Gray, was shortlisted for the OLA Red Maple Award and the Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award, and her second novel, Escape to Witch City, was called a “pulse-pounding adventure” by Publishers Weekly. A former children’s bookseller, she is focusing on her writing. She lives in British Columbia with her family.
Fast Five with E. Latimer:
If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
Probably in the Irish countryside, in a little cottage with climbing roses growing on the front. I like to imagine drinking tea in my garden while I scribble down notes for my next book. Sadly, it’s a less than idyllic scene if the roses are all dead, so I’d need to work on my black thumb before that can happen.
What’s one thing that can instantly make your day better?
A hot earl grey misto with lots of oat milk and cinnamon on top. Instantly improves the mood.
Which meal is your favorite: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
I gotta side with breakfast on this one. Get me a plate of fried eggs, bacon and sourdough toast and I’m a happy lil guy.
What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to? or What’s your “dance like nobody’s watching” song?
I’m gonna answer both here:
Weirdly, I’m not a big concert person. It’s loud and there are tons of people and I tend to get lost in the arena type venues. Halfway through the concert you’ll find me wandering around in a daze, still looking for my seat. My one exception was going to see Aerosmith live, as I’ve been a huge fan since I was a teen. I went with a friend and we hung out at the back after and met a bunch of other weird, burned-out rockers who followed the band around. It was an amazing night. We ended up at Denny’s.
My favorite song to cut loose to has got to be “Pour Some Sugar on Me” by Def Leppard. I’m talking, jumping on furniture, hairbrush as a microphone, sliding across the tile in my socks kinda thing. Good fun.
What’s your favorite scary story/myth?
How many days do you have? How do I pick just one? The wild hunt is one of them. If you know me, you know I have been known to talk at length about it. I love it because it’s so embedded in folklore that it’s taken on a life of its own. It’s ever evolving, and there are so many versions of it from all over the world. And yet, when I mention it, most people aren’t sure what it is. They’ve heard something. It’s ringing a bell, but they can’t quite remember . . . I find that fascinating.
Books by E. Latimer:
The Afterdark
By E. Latimer
400 Pages | Ages 14+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774882245 | Tundra Books
Northcroft is an elite boarding school with a deadly secret. Each night as the bell tolls and the shutters slam down, cutting off the outside world, the Afterdark descends, turning the surrounding old growth forest into a macabre copy of itself. A negative photograph crawling with horrors. Evie Laurent is certain of one thing from the moment she sees Holland Morgan on the front steps of Northcroft: she wants to know everything there is to know about her. But there are some things about Evie herself that are better kept secret. Especially the fact that she let her sister drown. And that it’s getting harder to ignore her dark impulses . . . Holland Morgan knows falling for Evie is just one more terrible choice in her long history of terrible choices. The problem is, she’s not sure she cares. As attraction turns slowly to obsession, they find themselves playing a dangerous game. Something out there is calling to each of them. Beckoning to the shadows within. Do they fight the call and protect one another, or answer and embrace the darkness?
Escape to Witch City
By E. Latimer
312 Pages | Ages 10+ | Paperback
ISBN 9781101919330 | Tundra Books
Emmaline Black has a secret. She can hear the rhythm of heartbeats. Not just her own, but others’ too. It’s a rhythm she’s learned to control, and that can only mean one thing . . . Emma’s a witch. In a world where a sentence of witchcraft comes with dire consequences and all children who have reached the age of thirteen are tested to ensure they have no witch blood, Emma must attempt to stamp out her power before her own test comes. But the more she researches, the more she begins to suspect that her radically anti-witch aunt and mother are hiding something – the truth about their sister, her Aunt Lenore, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances years ago. The day of the test comes, and Emma’s results not only pair her up with strange new friends, but set her on a course to challenge everything she’s ever been taught about magic, and reveal long-buried family secrets. It seems witches may not have been so easy to banish after all. Secret cities, untapped powers, missing family
The Strange and Deadly Portraits of Bryony Gray
By E. Latimer
336 Pages | Ages 10+ | Paperback
ISBN 9781101919309 | Tundra Books
Bryony Gray is becoming famous as a painter in London art circles. But life isn’t so grand. Her uncle keeps her locked in the attic, forcing her to paint for his rich clients . . . and now her paintings are taking on a life of their own, and customers are going missing under mysterious circumstances. When her newest painting escapes the canvas and rampages through the streets of London, Bryony digs into her family history, discovering some rather scandalous secrets her uncle has been keeping, including a deadly curse she’s inherited from her missing father. Bryony has accidentally unleashed the Gray family curse, and it’s spreading fast. With a little help from the strange-but-beautiful girl next door and her paranoid brother, Bryony sets out to break the curse, dodging bloodthirsty paintings, angry mobs and her wicked uncle along the way.
