Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Sabitha: We’re so excited to have Claris Lam back to tell us about her third mystery in the Harlow Mystery series. Winner Takes All and Engagement to Die For were great, so I can’t wait to hear what Bloody Fantasia has in store for us! Claris, can you introduce us to the book?

Claris: In Bloody Fantasia; Aubri Harlow and her friends believe that their days of investigating murders are over. However, when Aubri’s sister, Aria, moves into her new music school, the Da Capo Music Institution, the school’s acting president suddenly dies during the welcoming ceremonies.

However, the acting president’s death is far from the first murder committed on campus. A string of past murders haunt the school’s reputation and its students. It doesn’t take long before new corpses start piling up, and Aubri, Aria, and their friends realize they must take up the mystery-solving mantle once more and find out who the murderer is.

Will they figure out the person responsible for causing these new tragedies, or will they become part of its bloody history? Find out by reading Bloody Fantasia!

Sabitha: You’re on a roll with the Harlow Mystery Series … what inspired this third book?

Claris: Fun fact: Bloody Fantasia was initially supposed to be a crossover between the Harlow  Mystery series and a different standalone book I had planned years ago!

The other standalone book would have featured the events of what happened at the Da Capo Institution prior to the current events of Bloody Fantasia. That book, and Bloody Fantasia, were both inspired by a fusion of La Corda D’Oro (a manga series) and The Secret History by Donna Tartt, and elements from several other mystery books set in school settings.

However, I ended up dropping the standalone book idea, and Bloody Fantasia became this project that was still influenced by La Corda D’Oro and The Secret History. I had to significantly simplify the story since I didn’t have the other standalone book (which took place before the events of Bloody Fantasia) to provide context for the story to make complete sense.

Sabitha: Do you have a playlist for your book? Can you tell us why you picked a couple of the songs?

Claris: I have playlists for all the main characters! I’ll link to each of them below.

Aubri Harlow: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3BXi63oe0OFdmi24HltNhk?si=a30a0685c2b64fa2

Bastian Faulkner: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1tzPptocq3hD9wA6WNkBIs?si=91052ffc89e64627

Aria Hawthorn: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4umEcteGfZ4lTnt2nm6KO2?si=4044368c94b846bd

Nick: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2AvgBWVf9QOBhjo71jrTj5?si=238f145183d547a6

I hope to share playlists featuring the antagonists/murderers of each book and a playlist for the whole Harlow Mystery series (or separate playlists for each book) in the future.

Sabitha: I can’t wait for that! As a prolific author, do you have any tips to help people become better writers?

Claris: Please give yourself some regular breaks and take care of yourself.

I’ve gone through burnout as a writer back in 2023. Despite taking time to recover from said burnout, I kept going through an unhealthy cycle of getting everything writing-related done as fast as possible. I felt this pressure to keep producing content at such a fast pace to be a “successful” writer, especially when seeing other authors who published multiple books in a year with high sales and rankings.

It’s only recently (early July 2024 onwards) that I’ve decided to slow down a bit and take my time with writing. I find that by doing so, it gives me more opportunities to enjoy the actual process of writing again. I’ve missed that for a long time, and I’m glad to rediscover joy in the process again.

Also, figure out what your definition of “success” as a writer is.

Everyone’s definition of how they want to reach “success” as a writer will be different. Mine has changed drastically in the past few months so I can have a writing journey that gives me more joy regardless of how fast or slow I am with having new work published. It’s really important that when you figure out your definition of success, it’s because it’s something you genuinely strive for versus doing it because everyone else seems to be working for that same type of goal.

Sabitha: That is solid, hard-won wisdom. Taking that into account, what’s your next writing project?

Claris: I’m currently writing two poetry chapbooks and several fantasy books. They’re drastically different from the Harlow Mystery series but writing in these genres brings me the most joy right now. I also want to write more short stories and individual poems, and experiment with those forms more.

Sabitha: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

Claris: Want to check out my website, socials, & newsletter? Check out all the links in my Carrd: https://clarislam.carrd.co. Currently I’m more active with my newsletter than anything else, so I’d highly recommend that you subscribe to it! I send newsletters every 2nd and 4th Tuesday each month.
Here’s the link for where you can find Bloody Fantasia: https://books2read.com/u/38veQa