Two o'clock was missing. In an alternate Victorian world controlled by clock towers, a damaged clock can fracture time--and a destroyed one can stop it completely. It's a truth that seventeen-year-old clock mechanic Danny Hart knows all too well; his father has been trapped in a Stopped town east of London for three years. Though Danny is a prodigy who can repair not only clockwork, but the very fabric of time, his fixation with staging a rescue is quickly becoming a concern to his superiors. And so they assign him to Enfield, a town where the tower seems to be forever plagued with problems. Danny's new apprentice both annoys and intrigues him, and though the boy is eager to work, he maintains a secretive distance. Danny soon discovers why: he is the tower's clock spirit, a mythical being that oversees Enfield's time. Though the boys are drawn together by their loneliness, Danny knows falling in love with a clock spirit is forbidden, and means risking everything he's fought to achieve. But when a series of bombings at nearby towers threaten to Stop more cities, Danny must race to prevent Enfield from becoming the next target or he'll not only lose his father, but the boy he loves, forever. The stunning first novel in a new trilogy by debut author Tara Sim, Timekeeper is perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare and Victoria Schwab. |
About the Author
Tara Sim is a YA author found in the wilds of the Bay Area, California. When she's not writing about magic, clocks, and boys, she drinks tea, wrangles cats, and sings opera. Tara grew up in California, but braved the elements of Virginia to study English/Creative Writing at Hollins University. Half-Indian and full geek, she eats too many samosas and awkwardly dances to Bhangra music. TIMEKEEPER (Sky Pony Press, Fall '16) is her debut YA novel. |
Interview
Do you write any characters you hate?
Oh yeah, definitely. Most of these tend to be “I love to hate them” characters, like certain types of villains, but the characters I tend to really hate are the bullies. The antagonists who put other characters down for no good reason.
What song do you sing in the shower?
What songs don’t I sing in the shower? I sing pretty much anything, although I do tend to gravitate towards Broadway music and Disney songs. Phantom of the Opera is a particular favorite of mine.
Have you learned anything during the process of publishing this book that you wished you'd known beforehand?
I wish I’d known how to schedule my time better! A lot of publishing is “hurry up and wait,” which means I’m hectically busy for a couple of months followed by a couple of months of silence. It’s a quick way to burn yourself out.
We are supporters of #WeNeedDiverseBooks, a campaign to get readers to read and writers to write more diverse books. Did you originally intend to write a book that features diverse characters or did it just happen to go that way?
It was always intentional. All of my books show diversity in some way, shape, or form. It isn’t so much a matter of sitting down and going “okay, this is going to be diverse.” Rather, I just want to show a cast of characters who reflect my experience/the people in my life.
Are you #TeamChocolateChip or #OatmealRaisin4Lyf?
#TeamChocolateChip, no contest!
What do you enjoy, outside of writing?
I enjoy singing and music, generally. Also movies, video games, Netflix, and traveling. And cake. Always cake.
Which author has influenced your work the most?
I really can’t narrow this down to one author, so I’m going to break this up. A huge early influence for me was Tamora Pierce; she showed me that girls can kick ass, and I’m pretty sure that’s where my love of magic and fantasy romance comes from. Around the same time, J.K. Rowling taught me how to write dynamic characters and snappy dialogue, as well as handling a big cast of characters. Another huge influence down the road was J.R.R. Tolkien; he taught me worldbuilding, and how to sprawl out an entire world with culture, myths, food, etc.
Do you have a character that is your favorite?
I have a lot of favorite characters! Just a few from that list: Frodo, Aragorn, and Pippin from The Lord of the Rings; Sirius Black from Harry Potter; Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender; Nikolai Lantsov from the Grisha Trilogy; Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean; literally everyone in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, etc.
I don’t think I have a specific favorite character from Timekeeper (I love all my children!), but if I HAD to pick just one, it might be Colton.
There's a lot of distractions with social media, how do you block it all out and write?
I’m usually working and on Twitter simultaneously. But when I really need to focus, I’ll put my phone on silent and try not to look at my open tabs as I work. I know I’m in the zone when people message me and I put off responding until later.
Last, and most important of all, would you ever consider putting a platypire in one of your future books?
I will definitely consider it!