A couple of years ago, when the idea of Playlist Fiction re-releasing Glass Girl and publishing Perfect Glass had just become reality, I met the woman who would become my valued friend and critique partner. Kathrese McKee, the force behind a blog I admired called MomsRead.com, had just posted a thoughtful and thorough review of the original edition of Glass Girl. I liked her sense of my book and an idea formed in my head that maybe she was the one I’d been searching for.
Not one to make the first move in relationships, I surprised myself by emailing her and laying it all out–something along the lines of I NEED A CRITIQUE PARTNER AND I THINK YOU’RE THE ONE! Amazingly, she was just embarking on her own writing journey, having recently left a career in education and making the decision she wanted to write full time. She accepted the mission.
The relationship between critique partners is built on trust and the ability to be honest and vulnerable at all times. It moves slowly at first while you figure each other out. (How sensitive is she? How thick is her skin?) But once you get a feel for one another, you hold nothing back. She was a Godsend for me, and I had the supreme honor of reading her early manuscript of Mardan’s Mark and watching her writing take off.
I’m thrilled to say her debut novel releases TOMORROW! You guys will love it! It’s full of adventure and fantasy and romance and mystery!
Review of Mardan’s Mark by Kathrese McKee
Debut author Kathrese McKee has delivered a genuinely original work of imaginative fiction in Mardan’s Mark. The historical setting, a world with elements of our own world’s past, feels familiar, but McKee’s gifted touch creates enough distinction that readers get to view history objectively.
The plot of Mardan’s Mark weaves together elements of mystery, political intrigue, supernatural insight, romance, and adventure, and transports readers to a place where greed and deception have created an imbalance so firmly established it will take an epic battle to right the wrongs.
Enter a band of warriors with as many weaknesses as strengths, made of two types of people who couldn’t be more different—the children of a royal family and young men who have lived the majority of their lives aboard a pirate ship. Thrown together by cruel captors acting on forces set in motion many years before, McKee’s heroes are my favorite kind—fully flawed with a great deal of heart. As quickly as Aldan frustrated me, he redeems himself by finding courage in a dark place. As bullheaded as Srilani could be, she also melted my heart with her loyalty.
The book stands out from similar works by virtue of McKee’s superbly developed characters. Even minor ones are wholly realized and developed to the point of living and breathing on the pages. Readers get to travel with Aldan and his two “brothers,” and Srilani and her three siblings as they realize the magnitude of their journey and purpose. Relational dynamics run the gamut.
Perhaps the most thrilling aspect of Mardan’s Mark, though, is how deftly McKee treats the growth and maturation of Aldan and Srilani. Readers are treated to many pure moments of how heroes are made, broken, and made again. We get to take the baby steps along with her characters, giving valuable insight into our own potential for greatness and courage as we face difficulties in life.
The book will appeal to all ages, but most especially to middle grade and high school readers who love a great adventure story with plenty of detail to sink the teeth into. This is a clean read, full of weighty issues of the conscience to consider—the kind of issues that reinforce character. I’m looking forward book two in the series.
