In the Labyrinth, we had a saying: keep silent, keep still, keep safe.

In a city of walls and secrets, where only one man is supposed to possess magic, seventeen-year-old Kai struggles to keep hidden her own secret—she can manipulate the threads of time. When Kai was eight, she was found by Reev on the riverbank, and her “brother” has taken care of her ever since. Kai doesn’t know where her ability comes from—or where she came from. All that matters is that she and Reev stay together, and maybe one day move out of the freight container they call home, away from the metal walls of the Labyrinth. Kai’s only friend is Avan, the shopkeeper’s son with the scandalous reputation that both frightens and intrigues her.

Then Reev disappears. When keeping silent and safe means losing him forever, Kai vows to do whatever it takes to find him. She will leave the only home she’s ever known and risk getting caught up in a revolution centuries in the making. But to save Reev, Kai must unravel the threads of her past and face shocking truths about her brother, her friendship with Avan, and her unique power.

Lori M. Lee makes her debut with this captivating YA fantasy.

Amazon.com Review
Q&A with author Lori M. Lee

In Gates of Thread & Stone, Kai struggles to keep her special abilities hidden while trying to find her “brother” Reev. What do you like most about Kai? Least?
I like that she lives in the moment. Yes, she has questions about her past and her brother, and she worries about their future, but she’s learned not to dwell on questions that have no answers. Like she says in the book, there’s no point torturing herself. Instead, she prefers to focus on things she can control which allows her to find humor and happiness in her day-to-day life.

I don’t particularly dislike anything about Kai. She’s not perfect. She can be quick to judge and a bit selfish sometimes but I suppose one of her qualities that I find most questionable is her utter devotion to Reev. Her love for him edges into the territory of hero worship, and it often blinds her to his faults or causes her to too easily excuse them.

What inspired the city of Ninurta?
What came first wasn’t Ninurta but the Labyrinth, which resides in Ninurta’s East Quarter. The Labyrinth was inspired by a documentary about the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong. I knew immediately that that was where Kai lived. After that, I asked, “In what sort of city would this place exist?”

Was there any point in the story that was particularly difficult to write? Why?
The ending was both the most fun and the most difficult to write. As much as I enjoy torturing my characters, I do love them and I have to remind myself not to take it easy on them.

The sequel to Gates of Thread & Stone releases in 2015. How did that factor into your writing Book One? Can you tell us a little bit about Kai’s future?
I only had a vague idea of what Kai’s future would hold beyond the first book, so I let myself write freely. I didn’t want to tie myself to any one direction. As to what Kai might face in the sequel…let’s just say there will be repercussions to what she does at the end of Book One :)