Today’s post is for the Dread the Harvest Moon blog tour! If you’ve been around my blog for a while you’ll definitely be familiar with the incredibly talented author, Sarah Glenn Marsh. I participated in both of the blog tours for her other YA duology (Reign of the Fallen and Song of the Dead) and Sarah was also kind enough to join us here for an interview back then as well! (Fun side note: I also got to meet her in person at a book launch a couple of years ago and she is the loveliest person!)

I’m so thrilled to be part of the blog tour for Sarah’s upcoming release! Dread the Harvest Moon is a companion novel to her debut YA book, Fear the Drowning Deep, which I read in preparation for this and really enjoyed. Sarah’s writing is beautiful, and the world and characters are so enchanting. It’s a novel that’s so fun to get lost in. Both books can be read as standalone novels, so you can hop into this series wherever you want!

And for this post, to share a bit of how wonderful this series is and to get you guys excited for the upcoming release, I’ve created aesthetic boards for some of the major characters from Fear the Drowning Deep! I’ll talk a bit about why I chose the pictures I did as we go along. And make sure you check out the giveaway that is happening for copies of both Dread the Harvest Moon and Fear the Drowning Deep! I have the links for that and all the info on the novel further down this post.

Bridey

Bridey is the main character in Fear the Drowning Deep. Bridey’s favorite place to spend time is in the woods—she much prefers to wander through them and be far away from the sea. The cliffs pictured here (which are the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland) are representing the cliffs that Port Coire sits on above the dangerous, rocky parts of the sea . They play a huge part in her life and her fear of the water.

The girl in the water reminded me of the cover. And both that picture and the one of the girl walking along the beach made me think of Bridey’s journey learning to not be as scared as she is of the sea. The violin is meant to represent the mysterious fiddle music that Bridey hears—not knowing where it’s coming from—at various points in the novel. And finally, I absolutely had to depict her interest in books and reading. I always love a character who is also a book nerd like myself!

Fynn

Fynn enters the novel when Bridey finds him injured and washed up on the shore. He has curly dark hair, though it is a bit longer than the above picture shows (it’s probably an example of my incompetence when it comes to picture-finding, but I had the hardest time finding something that fit him hair-wise!).

I picked pictures to show both him swimming in the water as well as the eerie atmosphere that the sea creates throughout the whole novel. I chose the fin for…well, that’s probably pretty obvious! I will say though, it also represents the frightening dark fin that Bridey begins seeing in the sea by her town. And the final picture represents Fynn and Bridey’s relationship and deep connection.

Liss

Liss is Bridey’s second youngest sister and is also the main character we follow in Dread the Harvest Moon. For this board, I went more for the feeling Liss created in me as I was reading about her. She felt like autumn to me. She always has her hair in very neat braids. I could easily picture her in that long, gorgeous dress wandering through those woods. Like a rose, she has her thorns—she can be a bit prickly on the outside—but the more you get to know her, the more you see just how loving and beautiful a person she is.

Grayse

Grayse is Bridey’s youngest sister. I felt that these images perfectly encompassed who Grayse is and the important aspects of her life. Her three sister are very dear to her and, while they are all close, she is the force that glues them together even more securely. She is a girl who is growing and maturing—starting to discover more of the world—but who is still able to lose herself in her imagination (and host tea parties for her dolls!). For me, the tulip is the flower that I associated with her.

Morag

Morag is the town “witch” who Bridey goes to work for. Morag lives in a small, rundown cottage deep in the woods on a hill overlooking the town. I chose the picture of the spices and herbs since she sends Bridey to collect things such as herbs and plants (and occasionally sea creatures) for her to use. And Morag’s main facial feature that really stands out to Bridey is her bright blue-green eyes.

Cat

Cat is one of Bridey’s best friends. The picture of the two older girls felt to me like a good representation of that friendship. She has long, curly dark hair, which I tried to capture as best I could for this board. She also has a very beloved little sister that she is very close to. Cat feels like sunshine and happiness, so the flower that came to mind for me was a yellow daisy.

Lugh

Lugh is Bridey’s other best friend. Much like I felt about Liss, he also gave me autumnal vibes. He has short ginger hair and, in my mind, I imagined him in a suspender outfit like the one in the picture above (minus the bow tie maybe!). Finally, I chose a lion because of the type of person he is. He is brave, protective, and very loyal to those he loves. A lion is what I always associate with those qualities.

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DREAD THE HARVEST MOON

A companion novel to Fear the Drowning Deep, an NPR Great Read of 2016.

Dread the Harvest Moon by Sarah Glenn Marsh
Publisher: Ivy Press
Release Date: October 13, 2020
Format: Paperback and Ebook
ISBN-13 : 9780578751238
Page Count: 354

Three tasks. Two worlds. One deadly queen.

 Always follow the rules.

That’s what seventeen-year-old barmaid Liss Corkill does. She’s never cursed or kissed a boy, and until two years ago, when a mythical serpent kidnapped her, she was never late to anything. She knows that if she were like her free-spirited older sister Bridey who sailed to America just before the Great War, her mother would be devastated. Liss is determined to be what everyone expects, even if that means giving up her dreams.

Unless the faeries make you break them.

When Liss accidentally interferes in a fairy queen’s quest for true love, she’s pulled into the vast and dangerous world of Un-Mann, a magical realm as old as the Isle of Man itself. As punishment for her mistake, Liss must complete three tasks for the queen by the night of the Great Harvest Moonlight, the fairies’ biggest yearly celebration.

Or you find something worth dying for.

Liss’s attempts to complete her tasks are met with constant misfortune, as if someone doesn’t want her to win. But she has powerful friends: the town witch, Morag, and her sister’s best friend, Cat, who she’s secretly falling for as they hunt sea monsters by night to protect their home. Sensing a need for inspiration as the final gruesome task draws near, the queen marks Liss’s little sister for death unless Liss succeeds.

Her sister. Her town. Her dreams. If she can’t own who she is and make some new rules, Liss will lose it all.

Preorder Link: Dread the Harvest Moon

Preorder Goodies Form Link

Goodies you can get:

Signed Bookplate
Bookmark
4×6 art print
Short story taking place between the two books (emailed to you)

CLICK HERE to enter the giveaway!

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ABOUT SARAH GLENN MARSH

Sarah Glenn Marsh is an author of young adult novels including the Reign of the Fallen series and Fear the Drowning Deep, as well as children’s picture books like A Campfire Tail, Ninita’s Big World (an Amazon Best Book of 2019), Alice Across America, and many more. An avid fantasy reader from the day her dad handed her a copy of The Hobbit and promised it would change her life, she’s been making up words and worlds ever since. She lives in Virginia with her husband and their tiny zoo of four rescued sighthounds, two birds, and many fish.

When she’s not writing, she’s often found in the pottery studio, volunteering her time to sighthound rescue, raising awareness about Type 1 diabetes, or engaged in nerdy pursuits from video games to tabletop adventures. You can visit her online at www.sarahglennmarsh.com, and follow her on Twitter @SG_Marsh.

For more information about Sarah Glenn Marsh:

Website | Instagram | Twitter | Goodreads

If you’d like to check out my interview with Sarah from a few years ago, click here!

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PRAISE FOR FEAR THE DROWNING DEEP

Fear the Drowning Deep by Sarah Glenn Marsh
Publisher: Sky Pony
Release Date: October 11, 2016
Format: Hardcover, Paperback, and Ebook
ISBN-13: 9781510703483
Page Count: 312

“Haunting—gripping—beautiful. So powerful!” —Tamora Pierce, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Beka Cooper trilogy

“Fear the Drowning Deep is gorgeous. Lyrical. Atmospheric. Magical. Sarah Glenn Marsh’s debut is perfect for anyone who’s ever looked out at the sea with awe, and wondered what kind of creatures lurk in the deepest places. Utterly haunting.” —Jodi Meadows, author of the Incarnate trilogy, the Orphan Queen duology, and My Lady Jane

“Beautifully-written with mysteries and love lurking within the pages as dangerously as an ancient evil waits in the drowning deeps of Sarah’s unique setting on the Isle of Man. Don’t miss this one!” —Martina Boone, author of Compulsion and the Heirs of Watson Island trilogy

“Readers will be swept away by Bridey’s love story, every bit as thrilling and mysterious as the Isle of Man’s deep, dark sea.” —Tricia Rayburn, author of the Siren trilogy

“Sarah Glenn Marsh’s debut is a captivating tale of love and loss, fear and doubt, monsters of the sea and inside ourselves, and the strength it takes to endure and conquer them all. Hauntingly written with a richly developed setting of the Isle of Man in the early 1900s, you can smell the salt of the sea with every page you hungrily turn.” —Lori Goldstein, author of Becoming Jinn and Circle of Jinn

“Fans of folklore-influenced YA will find this to be a satisfying use of familiar material.” —NPR

“[A]tmospheric historical fantasy . . . evocative setting, memorable characters, and use of obscure folkloric elements all contribute to the novel’s strong sense of place.” —Publishers Weekly

“[T]his watery take on “Beauty and the Beast” will be catnip to paranormal-romance readers.” —Kirkus Reviews

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SARAH’S OTHER YA WORK

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