TOANO — Pamela N. Harris, a local author from Toano, is set to release her new Young Adult Novel, “Through Our Teeth,” Sept. 16.
Born in Newport News, Harris’s background is in school counseling. She is currently a professor at William & Mary, where she is part of the graduate counseling program for school counselors and clinical mental health counselors.
Harris knew she wanted to be a writer since she was a small child. Growing up as an only child and her father in the military, she says books were her best friends — particularly those by Judy Bloom and Beverly Cleary.
“It got to the point where I just figured, ‘oh well, that could never be me,’ because at the time, especially when I was growing up, there weren’t a lot of book characters that looked like me. So, I just assumed that, oh yeah, well, people like me don’t write books,” Harris explained. “But it was interesting, because as I got older and I became a school counselor, I noticed a lot of my students were complaining about lack of diversity in some of the stories that they had available at the time, as well.”
Harris realized through her work as a counselor, she was encouraging students to follow their dreams and goals, while she had been putting her own on the back burner. So she started to write again to tell stories that her students and her childhood self would have resonated with.
“I’m following my dreams for my students, because I also want to model following dreams,” Harris added.
“Through Our Teeth” is a Young Adult thriller about three former friends who suspect that their mutual best friend’s boyfriend killed her. But as the characters start searching for justice and seeking revenge, it starts to become clear that each of them is hiding their own secrets about their dead friend. The publisher describes the novel as “Mean Girls” meets “Gone Girl,” with the author adding that it’s twisty and fast-paced, and asks the question: “how well do you ever really know your friends?”
Harris is working with Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, where she will be doing a book launch Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. With her debut launching during the COVID-19 pandemic, it will also be her first in-person event. She will be discussing the new book with fellow YA author Lamar Giles. Register for the event here.
There is also a pre-order campaign through Fountain Books, with the first buyers receiving a free infinity pendant necklace similar to the cover of the book while supplies last.
While “Through Our Teeth” is her third novel, it was her first story idea. The novel underwent several revisions as she worked to update the story over the years, but she said the bones never changed much.
“It means a lot that I’m finally getting this story out, because I thought it was one of my stories that I had to put in a drawer and never look at again,” Harris said.
After the launch, the book will be available at a variety of book retailers. Harris has also said for anyone teaching young adults, children’s creative writing, or clinical mental health, the story has a lot of mental health themes, and she is available to chat, speak, and have book club discussions.
To learn more about Harris and her other novels, visit her official webpage.
