Magical realism novel The Unwritten Rules of Magic by Harper Ross has hit the shelves.
The story follows Emerson Clarke, a ghostwriter haunted by the shadow of her father, a celebrated author who was largely absent from her life.
The troubled protagonist has never felt in control of her world – except when she is at her typewriter, where she can dictate exactly what happens on the page. Her life takes a surreal turn when she steals her father’s vintage typewriter. Testing its keys, she types out a frivolous wish, only to be stunned when it comes true the very next day.
As her written words continue to spring to life, Emerson becomes obsessed with using the machine to engineer the perfect future for herself and her daughter.
In an interview, author Harper described her experience writing the novel to be therapeutic, as she took inspiration from her own life, and it helped her reevaluate her parenting values.
“A few months before I started plotting this story, my dad passed away following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease,” she explained.
“We had a complicated relationship, and so my grief was laced with the need to reconcile the parts of him I loved with the parts that I didn’t.
“This book is fiction, and while the main characters are not replicas of my father and me, there are aspects of Emerson’s emotional journey that mirror my own. As such, writing this story turned out to be strangely healing.
“If this story helps someone else let go of perfectionism or guilt just a little bit, I’ll call that a win,” she added.
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