Monette, Sarah

PERSONAL:

Born in Oak Ridge, TN; married. Education: University of Wisconsin—Madison, Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—Jack Byrne, Sternig & Byrne Literary Agency, 2370 S. 107th St., Ste. 4, Milwaukee, WI 53227-2036. E-mail—labyrinthine@sarahmonette.com.

CAREER:

Writer, novelist, and short-story writer.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Spectrum Award for short fiction.

WRITINGS:

The Bone Key (short stories), Prime Books (Rockville, MD), 2007.

(With Elizabeth Bear) A Companion to Wolves (fantasy novel), Tor Books (New York, NY), 2007.

"MÉLUSINE" SERIES; FANTASY NOVELS

Mélusine, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2005.

The Virtu, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2006.

The Mirador, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor to books and anthologies, including The Queen in Winter, Berkley Trade (New York, NY), 2002; and Best New Romantic Fantasy, edited by Paula Guran, Juno Books (Rockville, MD), 2007.

Contributor to periodicals, including Alchemy, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, and Strange Horizons. Author of blog, Notes from the Labyrinth.

SIDELIGHTS:

Sarah Monette is a novelist and short-story writer who focuses on stories within the fantasy genre. Her debut book, Mélusine, is an "extraordinary first fantasy novel" that tells the story of two radically different characters from opposite ends of the social and political spectrum in the city of Mélusine, according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Mildmay the Fox is a citizen of the city's lower regions, a burglar and professional assassin who survives a rough, impoverished world deep within the city. Though Mildmay sometimes kills for a living, he still tries to live an honorable life. One of his past targets, however, may have been a mistake: a wizard, or hocus, whose death has made Mildmay hated by magic-users in the city. He is now outcast by a death curse that would activate if he ever again comes near Mirador, the city's upper-class area of concentrated magical power.

In counterpoint to Mildmay is the aristocratic Felix Harrowgate, an elegant, well-known Mirador resident who associates with the nobility and with those who hold extravagant wealth and power. The schemer behind Felix's stylish and powerful exterior is Malkar, who raised Felix from his lower-class beginnings to his upper-crust celebrity status. Felix's training was brutal, however, and he still feels the effects of his past when he occasionally falls uncontrollably into a bout of madness. When Felix is exposed by the scheming Robert of Hermione as being a former slave and prostitute, his status is shattered. Remarkably, he simply walks away from the life he once knew. Meanwhile, Mildmay commits a burglary-for-hire, but he cannot escape the feeling that he has been caught within a wizard's spell.

Brought together while fleeing from their respective ill fortunes, Felix and Mildmay join forces in order to survive the downturn in their luck. As they travel together, they learn that their pasts are unexpectedly interwoven, and that they have more in common that either suspected. They encounter the strange magic that has recently infiltrated the city and come to suspect Robert of Hermione of plotting to destroy Mélusine. A rugged journey far from the familiar confines of the city brings them both into confrontation with a mutually held enemy.

The story's narrative shifts between Felix and Mildmay, until the two main characters meet in the latter part of the book. A reviewer on the GLBT Fantasy Fiction Web site noted that the "two protagonists are built up in our minds with painstaking care." The reviewer continued: "The texture of the narrative itself, no matter whose head we were in, was lush and mesmerizing, so carefully constructed that I often found myself rereading passages as if letting the smoky flavors of a good red wine roll over my tongue." Paula Luedtke, writing in Booklist, commented that "While Monette's story engages, her characters deserve a standing ovation." A reviewer in Library Bookwatch called the novel an "outstanding story which focuses on close ties and alienation alike."

Monette returns to the world of the Mélusine in The Virtu, the second book in the series. In the aftermath of the first novel, Felix continues to recover from the trauma he suffered when his former master, Malkar Gennadion, used him as the means to destroy the Virtu, the magical crystalline structure that served as the focus of the magical powers of all the wizards and magic users in Mélusine. Felix's own magical abilities were violently stripped from him in the turmoil, and he was driven almost completely mad by his experiences with his former master and the Virtu. Perhaps worse, he was driven out of Mélusine and branded a heretic and outcast. Now, Felix and half-brother Mildmay have found themselves far from the city of Mélusine, where the former wizard has begun to regain his physical and mental health. With his faculties returning, Felix decides he wants to regain his magical abilities, and with them the return of the status he enjoyed in his previous life. To do so, he plots the difficult task of returning to Mélusine and restoring the Virtu, thereby reactivating the magic and regaining the city's favor. Joined by a trio of companions, a governess and two wizards they rescued from execution, Felix and Mildmay return to the city that almost destroyed them. Their plan seems likely to work, until they again encounter the devious and dangerous Malkar, who is determined to let the Virtu remain demolished.

"This sequel is every bit as original and satisfying as its predecessor," remarked a Publishers Weekly critic. Library Journal critic Jackie Cassada called the book an "engagingly intelligent fantasy." Booklist reviewer Paula Luedtke commented favorably on many aspects of the novel, including the fact that Monette ties up plotlines from the previous novel. Luedtke concluded: "Perhaps best of all is Monette's authorial voice, abundantly blessed with originality, sophistication, and artistry."

The Mirador, the third in Monette's "Mélusine" series, finds Felix restored to health and once again in charge of his faculties, enjoying his status as a formidable wizard within Mélusine. He has regained his membership in the prestigious Curia, the group that serves as advisors to the city's rulers. In the Mirador, a fortress within the city, Felix and other wizards work to aggregate and increase their power and influence. Elsewhere, Mildmay, a lower-born citizen, still finds himself struggling against the prejudices of Wizards and others around him in the city. Once again, the city experiences trouble as the political stability is threatened by the lack of a legitimate royal heir, and the general peace is troubled by a number of unsolved murders. When Mildmay's lover, actress Mehitabel Parr, becomes an unwitting spy for Felix's enemies, the wizards of the Bastion, all of Felix's careful reconstruction work is threatened. Monette "continues to evoke the wonders of an ancient and mysterious city and its memorable" characters and residents, commented Jackie Cassada in a Library Journal review. In this installment of the series, Monette offers "virtuoso narratives of theatrical, political and magical intrigues," commented a reviewer in Publishers Weekly.

A Companion to Wolves is a stand-alone fantasy novel, written with Elizabeth Bear. The book is set in a harsh and violent northern land, reminiscent of the snowbound and mountain-lined homeland of the ancient Norse and Germanic peoples. There, vicious trolls and wyverns from the north lands threaten the land and its inhabitants. To combat these threats, the population relies on the strength and combat skills of the wolfcarls, violent warriors telepathically bonded to ferocious fighting trellwolves. These hardened men and giant wolves are the main line of defense against invaders and creatures who sweep down from the north and leave death and destruction in their wake. When the attacks intensify, more wolfcarls are needed to provide defense. Njall, son of a village jarl, is chosen over his father's objections to become one of the newest wolfcarls. Soon after arriving at the wolfheall, where training and bonding take place, Njall is chosen by Viradechtis, a formidable wolf queen who is destined to one day become the powerful matriarch of her own wolfpack. When the man and animal bond, Njall takes on a new name, Isolfr, and finds himself in an unfamiliar world where loyalty is critical, violence is an everyday occurrence, and ritual forms the fabric of a strange but deeply honorable society. Monette and Bear describe a social structure in which common human customs no longer apply; in which the bond between man and wolf is everything; and in which sex becomes a critical part of the connection between the men and their animal companions. "The world they depict is fraught with a sense of wonder rare even in fantasy," remarked Booklist reviewer Regina Schroeder. Monette and Bear "have boldly created a fascinating world that begs further exploration," commented a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Jackie Cassada, in another Library Journal reviewer, named the novel a "well-written and emotionally powerful quasi-Nordic fantasy."

The Bone Key is Monette's collection of interconnected short stories presented in the elegantly mannered gothic tradition of largely forgotten ghost and horror writers such as M.R. James, Algernon Blackwood, and H.P. Lovecraft. The stories follow narrator Kyle Murchison Booth, a curator at the Samuel Mather Parrington Museum, as he interacts with patrons of the museum and some of the more unusual items within the archives and collections. In "Bringing Helena Back," Booth agrees to help an old friend resurrect his beloved wife from the dead, with terrible results. "Elegy for a Demon Lover" describes Booth's romantic entanglements with a seductive supernatural entity. In the title story, Booth encounters some previously unknown but repulsive relatives and learns unpleasant facts about his parents and ancestry. "Monette's gift for vivid descriptions couched in elegant but not overwrought prose definitely shines in these stories," commented Schroeder in a Booklist critique. "Cerebral, ethereal and stylishly understated," Monette's "entrancing" collection of stories are directed at connoisseurs of "literary horror, dark fantasy and supernatural mystery," noted a Publishers Weekly reviewer.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, August, 2005, Paula Luedtke, review of Mélusine, p. 2009; July 1, 2006, Paul Luedtke, review of The Virtu, p. 43; September 1, 2007, Regina Schroeder, review of A Companion to Wolves, p. 65; December 15, 2007, Regina Schroeder, review of The Bone Key, p. 32.

Library Bookwatch, October, 2005, review of Mélusine.

Library Journal, June 15, 2006, Jackie Cassada, review of The Virtu, p. 63; July 1, 2007, Jackie Cassada, review of The Mirador, p. 82; September 15, 2007, Jackie Cassada, review of A Companion to Wolves, p. 54.

Publishers Weekly, July 11, 2005, review of Mélusine, p. 67; May 15, 2006, review of The Virtu, p. 53; June 25, 2007, review of The Mirador, p. 39; August 20, 2007, review of A Companion to Wolves, p. 52; November 19, 2007, review of The Bone Key, p. 42.

Washington Post Book World, January 27, 2008, Paul Di Filippo, review of A Companion to Wolves, p. 11.

ONLINE

Best Reviews,http://www.thebestreviews.com/ (June 10, 2008), Harriet Klausner, review of Mélusine.

BookLoons,http://www.bookloons.com/ (June 10, 2008), Hilary Williamson, review of A Companion to Wolves.

Fantasy Book Spot,http://www.fantasybookspot.com/ (June 10, 2008), review of The Virtu.

GLBT Fantasy Fiction,http://www.glbtfantasy.com/ (June 10, 2008), review of Mélusine.

Green Man Review,http://www.greenmanreview.com/ (June 10, 2008), Robert M. Tilendis, review of A Companion to Wolves.

MIT Science Fiction Society Web site,http://www.mit.edu/~mitsfs/ (June 10, 2008), review of A Companion to Wolves.

Monsters and Critics,http://www.monstersandcritics.com/ (June 10, 2008), Sandy Amazeen, review of The Queen in Winter.

OF Blog of the Fallen,http://ofblog.blogspot.com/ (August 3, 2007), "Interview with Sarah Monette, Part I"; (August 7, 2007), "Interview with Sarah Monette, Part II."

Romantic Times Online,http://www.romantictimes.com/ (June 10, 2008), review of The Mirador; Natalie A. Luhrs, review of The Virtu.

Roundtable Reviews,http://www.roundtablereviews.com/ (June 10, 2008), Wendall Sexton, review of The Queen in Winter.

Sarah Monette Home Page,http://www.sarahmonette.com (June 10, 2008).

SFF Net Web site,http://www.sff.net/ (June 10, 2008), biography of Sarah Monette.

SF Site,http://www.sfsite.com/ (June 10, 2008), Alma A. Hromic, review of A Companion to Wolves.

Strange Horizons,http://www.strangehorizons.com/ (April 7, 2008), L. Timmel Duchamp, review of The Bone Key.

Writer Unboxed,http://writerunboxed.com/ (February 23, 2007), Kathleen Bolton, "Author Interview: Sarah Monette, Part One"; (March 2, 2007), Kathleen Bolton, "Author Interview: Sarah Monette, Part Two."