ADoW Book 5 News (SPOILERS)

While #1 New York Times bestselling author Deborah Harkness is still editing THE BLACKBIRD ORACLE, she has said that more information will be coming. And the book is COMING SOON!

Bear in mind that things may change, nevertheless I got you a preliminary sneak peek of the synopsis [below the cut], which is a “thrilling and triumphant return to the All Souls Universe”. According to Deb’s book and media agent, the book will come out summer of 2024! 

Recently, Deb has said, 

Really excited for you to know more about it. It has been really a labor of love. I think you're going to really enjoy catching up with Diana and Matthew, and the twins.

THE BLACKBIRD ORACLE (Book 5) takes place 4 years after the events of TIME’S CONVERT (Book 4) of the All Souls Series (A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, SHADOW OF NIGHT, THE BOOK OF LIFE). Exciting!!! 🤩🥳🥰

***SPOILERS ALERT***

THE BLACKBIRD ORACLE [Fiction, Summer 2024] by Deborah Harkness

A thrilling and triumphant return to the All Souls Universe about facing the darkness inside yourself—and embracing it.

Four years after the events of TIME’S CONVERT, Diana and Matthew are living in Connecticut with their seven-year-old twins preparing for a summer holiday in England. Their plans are thrown into disarray, however, when the Congregation notifies Diana that her children are scheduled to have their magic tested this autumn, bringing back painful memories of her own assessment and the chain of events it set in motion. The mail also brings a letter telling her it’s time to come home to Ravenswood—the family farm— and fulfill the prophecy the Proctors call The Blackbird Oracle. The letter is signed by Gwyneth Proctor—a great-aunt Diana didn’t know existed from a side of her family she thought dead.

Concerned for their children and curious to meet any family that remains, Diana and Matthew travel to the marshes of Ipswich, Massachusetts to meet Gwyneth. She shows Diana the higher magic that runs through her veins— and through her children’s, too—and Diana finds herself conflicted between her lifelong fear of darker magic and the tantalizing powers she could have.

Diana also discovers a collection of dusty old bottles filled with family memories captured through higher magic, including those of her mother’s. But her family’s memories aren’t just stored in Ravenswood; the Congregation holds some of the Proctor and Bishop memories along with those of other powerful witches as a means of control. As Diana learns how higher magic operates and how the Congregation withholds it for their own purposes, she’ll have to decide whether or not to embrace the darkness within her to protect her family. And whether to give her own children the chance to learn higher magic—a chance she never had—even if it means exposing them to the Congregation and their own dark sides.

SHADOW OF NIGHT and THE BOOK OF LIFE each debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list

The trilogy was adapted into a hit TV show, entitled A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, starring Teresa Palmer and Matthew GoodE.

📸 Park & Fine Literary and Media (April 2023)

“I love having my handsome professor back in place of my dangerous prince.”

The moment when Matthew shaves off his 1590′s style beard and settles back into 21st century mode.  ���The Book of Life’ Chapter 6. 

Thanks to @asgoodeasgold​ for reminding me about the Real Time Read of ‘The Book of Life’ by Deborah Harkness.  I missed the start!  Here’s the calendar from Deb - 

📷 ADOWS2:01 my edit including Sky Key Art/Deborah Harkness.com

10 Books

Thank you, @schmem14 for the tag. 

10 books to get to know me!

1. Forever by Pete Hamill

This an imperfect but beautiful story about a man granted eternal life is he stays on the island of Manhattan. Lovely writing style, and great New York history,

2. Summer Sister by Judy Blume

A long, complicated female friendship with a great cast of supporting characters. I’ve loved this one for such a long time. 

3. All Souls Trilogy by Deb Harkness

A witch and a vampire fall in love and all hell breaks loose. Rich in historical details and a strong, memorable cast of characters. What’s not to love?

4. The Omnivore’s Dilemma

A thoughtful exploration of the American diet and how food is made/distributed.

5. Angels in America

I loved seeing the play and the movie, but there was something about reading this play that stuck with me. The story and dialogue are gorgeous. 

6. Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

A YA book about drama kid Simon and his coming out journey. It’s sweet, poignant and really fun. 

7. Night by Elie Weisel

This book packs such a punch in so few pages. An honest, moving, thoughtful account of Elie’s experience in Auschwitz during the Holocaust.

8. The Outsiders by SE Hinton

I read this book so many times as I was growing up. It’s such a great story of friendship and found family and survival in the face of class differences and turf wars.

9. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

This one is such a lovely story of healing and friendship. I really loved it when I was a kid and I still love it now.

10. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I feel like there was a time when reading Little Women was a rite of passage. I don’t know if that’s still the case, but this story was popular for a long time for a reason.

I will leave this as an open tag since I’ve seen this around a bunch. 

#Repost Deborah Harkness FB page Wednesday Memories-in the run up to the release of season 2 of A Discovery of Witches, Deb took us through a series of Book to Screen Magic. I am still in awe of the dedication to detail that went into the making of season 2. Cat "Ready for their closeups--from book to screen with our fabulous hair, makeup, and wardrobe teams for A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES Series 2 on this #Book2ScreenMagicMonday As any of my readers know, I like a bit (!) of description. As a historian, I love researching hair and costume and imagining how things like the heel on a shoe or the number of undergarments someone was expected to wear might shape a character's actions and reactions. And as a reader, I love being able to fix things in my imagination be they people, places, or things. So the hair, makeup, and wardrobe teams on #ADiscoveryofWitchesS2 had a real challenge when it came to translating my words from page to screen. This was all the more difficult because we weren't doing a historical re-enactment of late 16th-century clothing for a single day or even a few days. That would have been difficult enough, given the poor rate of survival for actual clothing items and the impossibility of reconstructing clothing based solely on portraits which don't always reveal enough about undergarments and structure. But if we add those issues to the problems of consistently delivering a look over hours, days, weeks, and months--sometimes with gaps between days of shooting, sometimes with very short windows between entire costume/hair/makeup changes, and with the logistics of getting women into their costumes in a timely fashion, I think it's fair to say that our teams worked miracles to deliver a look for each of our characters that was wearable, changeable, consistent across shooting days, and period correct, as well. And that was true for not only our main cast but also every supporting artist on the streets of the Blackfriars, at the court of Elizabeth or Rudolf II, and back at Sept-Tours. They also had to perform this miracle not only for 1590, but for the modern storylines, as well I have to admit, I was an additional challenge. https://www.instagram.com/p/CmuALPCIR3x/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Okay I would absolutely LOVE to know more about Discovery of Witches! Do you prefer the books or show? Or are they kind of their own separate thing? Also I kinda want to come in here and scream about the latest update to both of your stories!!!!!! Aaaaaaahhh! I’ll also do a full reblog on my side log but damn they have me feeling so many emotions! And I especially want to knock Dieter and reader’s head together!

OKAY In order!

I think the ADOW books and the show both have their own merits, and I think that if you love one you'll probably love the other because they go hand in hand. This is (in my opinion) largely due to the fact that author Deborah Harkness had a huge influence on the show (even appearing briefly in a cameo in the first episode). There are some things in the show that Deb has said were cut from the novels for pacing by her editor and the character portrayals are top notch in my opinion. That being said, there are some differences in appearance (for instance, Marcus Whitmore is a blonde surfer type in the books but a brunette with more of a rocker vibe in the show) that bother some people but I have no issue with it.

Dieter and his soulmate make me feel a hell of a lot of things. Their difficulties with communication come from places of deep pain on both sides of things, and they both have such insecurities. They still have a ways to go together - but it's going to be a very eventful summer!

Matthew Goode is in Los Angeles right now. Teresa Palmer is in Los Angeles. Deb Harkness is in Los Angeles. Their schedules probably don’t allow them to get together, and we might not ever know if they did, but I feel like there is a group chat happening with these three that is more than likely quite crude and hilarious.

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭, 𝐕𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞.

Something to look forward to in 2024!

ADoW Fans: Update from Deb...

From Deborah Harkness Facebook

Update from Deb…. Lots going on in my writing shed: preventive bilateral mastectomy recovery, editing THE BLACKBIRD ORACLE, cat naps, welcoming the summer sun, celebrating being a 🐝-cup, anniversaries, and more! 🎥@/debharkness on Instagram Have a great day. Cat

Rosalyn51 Note: Deb has been working on Book 5 of the All Souls Series. (See below). She printed the complete first draft before her surgery earlier. She has just finished editing Chapter 1 with her editors. Exciting news! They have also talked about the book cover. 

Really excited for you to know more about it. It has been really a labor of love. I think you're going to really enjoy catching up with Diana and Matthew, and the twins.

Stay tuned!!!

From Deborah Harkness Website

Yes! I am working on Book #5 which now has a working title: THE BLACKBIRD ORACLE.

It is set within the All Souls world (and, before you ask, it is not focused on Gallowglass’s story).  I am still writing so we don’t have any information about publication dates yet but rest assured that I will share that information here and on Twitter and Facebook and in my newsletter as soon as it’s available.

x Deb

So happy Deb is doing well! ❤️❤️❤️

GIF: mine

So, whilst i may appear to be reacting to this news slightly over the top i would just like to clarify:

Im a HARDCORE TMI and TDI book reader, and when the film flopped (i liked it, but whatever) i was GUTTED. Then, (dont hate me if you dont agree) i didnt like the TV show. There were aspects i loved (mainly just Malec) but overall hated it. So that was upsetting, since the shadowhunter world is so beautiful.

I do not need to say anymore other then "nail" and "Dean" and "Supernatural" to make that point.

Then, there was Game of Thrones. Arguably, one of the best things ive seen in so long and then ALL THAT happened

Veronica Mars reboot, they KILLED OFF LOGAN? what the actual fuck?

CANCELLING JESSICA JONES & DAREDEVIL 😭

Ive had a shit past few years personally, and one of the things that has bought me joy since 2018 has been ADOW. I did not read the books till last year, and once i did i couldnt get enough. It is one of the most beautifully written, constructed and thought out series ive ever read. And ive read alot.

The TV show has been outstanding. Any of the additions made or changes have improved the show and even given the readers a better look i to things not mentioned in the book (such as S1 congregation).

I was so hopeful about this show. Friends who arent usually interested in that type of genere LOVE IT and that makes me a happy little nerd.

It is no secret, that not only do i love Baldwin but the actor playing him. In my mind, there is noone else and when i found out HE MIGHT be replaced i honestly just wanted to cry.

HOW could this happen AGAIN? I had such high hopes AND NOW SOME IRISH BLOKE NAMED PETER HAS DESTROYED THEM

I KNOW THERE IS NOONE TO BLAME OTHER THEN COVID

I KNOW IM BEING IRRATIONAL

BUT IM TRAUMATISED FROM OTHER LET DOWNS

AND I WANT TO CRY

Thankyou for coming to my Ted Talk

number 5, 38 and 44 for the book asking game!

hope you’re having a lovely day<3

Hello! Thanks for the ask.

5. something in fiction that reads like poetry

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo is written both in prose and verse, and is a beautiful coming of age story. You can't always tell where the verse ends and the prose begins because the fusion is so seamless.

38. your favorite series

Besides the obvious? lol. I do love HP but my other favorite series is The All Souls Trilogy by Deb Harkness. Diana, an accomplished historian and witch meets Matthew, a vampire and bond over a mysterious manuscript. There's magic, science, history, vampires and a love story. What more could we want?

44. your favorite fantasy novel

Hmm, I don't know if I really read straight up fantasy. I tend to read realistic stories with fantasy elements, if that makes sense. But the aforementioned All Souls Trilogy is a favorite, and is Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. That one also has magic and vampires. I think you can sense a trend.

#Repost Deborah Harkness FB page Happy Birthday to Matthew Gabriel Philippe Bertrand Sébastien de Clermont. 🍷🎂🎁🎉 Flashback Post- Deb posted this birthday message to Matthew in 2016: “On this day, All Souls Day, around the year 500 AD, a boy named Matthew was born. He lived in difficult times, and tried to die, only to live again. For more than 1500 years, Matthew has struggled with his personal demons and has represented humanity at its best and worst. He is selfish and selfless, capable of bitter hatred and unconditional love, anger and tenderness, passion and prejudice. He is still, after all these years, a work in progress--just as we all are. Matthew shows us that immortality and wealth are not the answers to any of life's problems. Absence and desire, blood and fear--they spellbind us all, and make us act against the better angels of our nature. If you feel so moved, light a candle today in honor not only of Matthew, but of all the generations of your family who lived and died. You are unique and at the same time contain the sum of their experiences and histories. Even a single pinpoint of candlelight in the darkness is a beacon forward into the rest of your life, and the lives of those who will come after. Happy Birthday, Matthew Clairmont. May you live long and continue to teach us about the power of forgiveness, redemption, and change.” -Deb Cat Photo by Simon Ridgway, from season 2 of A Discovery of Witches https://www.instagram.com/p/Ckd73VSIh-a/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

The Book of Life only 99p on Kindle.

Deb Harkness writing a book 5 for All Souls series is the HIGHLIGHT of my day