Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Sinless
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: sarahtarkoff.com
CITY: Los Angeles
STATE: CA
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Female.
EDUCATION:Received degree in screenwriting from University of Southern California.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author; script coordinator for television series, including Arrow, Gossip Girl, Jane the Virgin, and Mistresses.
WRITINGS
Also author, with others, of “The Club Fair,” Birnkrant 616 (TV series), 2007; also author and director, Break up Day (short), 2013. Author of screen adaptation of The Love That Split the World, by Emily Henry, Lionsgate.
The television rights to Sinless have been acquired by MarVista Entrtainment.
SIDELIGHTS
Television scriptwriter Sarah Tarkoff made her debut as a novelist with the science-fiction dystopia novel Sinless. Tarkoff, who has worked on significant television programs (including the hit series Arrow) has a long history with science fiction. “I love big sci-fi worlds, grounded relationship stories, and anything that combines the two,” she declared in an autobiographical statement appearing on her home page, the Sarah Tarkoff Website. After graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in filmmaking Tarkoff began her career working as a production assistant. By 2014 she had moved on, contributing stories to the sci-fi fantasy series Witches of East End. In 2016 she authored a script for the ABC series Mistresses, and in the same year she began working as a screenwriter for two different superhero series: the animated Vixen (featuring Mari McCabe, an African woman who has the ability to draw on the qualities of animals) and Arrow.
Sinless is the story of a woman named Grace Luther and how she becomes disillusioned with the dominant religion of her world. Sinless, explained Dino-Ray Ramos in Deadline, “is set in a near future, dystopian society in which `right’ and `wrong’ are manifested by beauty and ugliness.” Grace is the daughter of a prominent pastor who has embraced the Revelation predicted by the Prophet Joshua. Joshua foresaw the coming of the Great Spirit, whose power inflicts ugliness on sinners. Grace never questioned the Spirit’s teaching, but “her life is turned upside-down,” wrote a Publishers Weekly reviewer, “when a man attempts to rape her and never suffers divine consequences.” “His actions,” said Booklist reviewer Lucy Lockley, “called her convictions into question, leading her toward doubt, defiance, and eventual imprisonment.” “What began as girl-meets-boy,” observed a Kirkus Reviews contributor, “escalates to geopolitical intrigue, espionage, daring rescues, and Grace’s growing, bittersweet self-awareness of what it really means to be a good person.”
Tarkoff draws on her experience as a screenwriter in her debut novel. “Writing for television helped Tarkoff develop the fast-paced and breathless style of Sinless,” stated Rege Behe in an interview with the author appearing in Trib Live. “`Screenwriting is the basic fundamentals of storytelling,” she says. “So the way you translate it is you want to have characters who want something very badly, and there are obstacles and the stakes are high. You build from there.’” “The plot for `Sinless,’” Behe said, “grew out of a pitch Tarkoff worked on for a company that specializes in changing people’s appearances in effects-heavy films. She reworked that concept to a religion where appearances change depending on fidelity to the Great Spirit.”
Critics found much to ponder both in Sinless‘s premise and in the way the author presents it. “Tarkoff is attempting to make some pretty salient points here. `What is beauty? What is faith?’ the back of the book explicitly asks,” wrote Cheryl Wassenaar in Culturess. “At the end of the day I’m still not sure if I necessarily liked Sinless, but I am intrigued, and that might be the goal anyway.” “Tarkoff’s writing flows beautifully and the world building is exceptional,” opined a Qwillery reviewer. “The advent of the Great Spirit and the resulting world is very well done. There are some terrific and surprising reveals about the Great Spirit. A world where everyone behaves well because of immediate fear of disfigurement or death sounds peaceful and wonderful but it is not. As Grace learns more about a world she was so certain of so do we. The cracks in the surface of this peaceful world are there. Tarkoff has created a true dystopia…. There is a lot more to learn about this new world.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, November 15, 2017, Lucy Lockley, review of Sinless, p. 35.
Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2017, review of Sinless.
Publishers Weekly, November 27, 2017, review of Sinless, p. 42.
ONLINE
Culturess, https://culturess.com/ (January 14, 2018), Cheryl Wassenaar, review of Sinless.
Deadline, http://deadline.com/ (January 17, 2018), Dino-Ray Ramos, “MarVista Acquires Rights to Dystopian Novel ‘Sinless’ for TV Series.”
Internet Movie Database, http://www.imdb.com/ (May 9, 2018), author profile.
Qwillery, http://qwillery.blogspot.com/ (January 9, 2018), review of Sinless.
Sarah Tarkoff Website, https://www.sarahtarkoff.com (May 9, 2018), author profile.
Trib Live, http://triblive.com/ (December 29, 2017), Rege Behe, “Wexford Native Sarah Tarkoff’s Debut Novel Pulls No Punches.”
Sarah Tarkoff currently writes for the CW series Arrow. Other TV writing credits include ABC’s Mistresses, Lifetime’s Witches of East End, and the animated series Vixen and Freedom Fighters: The Ray. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in screenwriting (hence all the screenwriting), and currently lives in Los Angeles. Sinless is her debut novel.
MarVista Acquires Rights To Dystopian Novel ‘Sinless’ For TV Series
by Dino-Ray Ramos
January 17, 2018 5:46pm
1
TV
BREAKING NEWS
MARVISTA ENTERTAINMENT
SARAH TARKOFF
SINLESS
MarVista Entertainment
EXCLUSIVE: MarVista Entertainment announced today that they have acquired the rights to the new book Sinless from Sarah Tarkoff for a new television series. The novel is the first in the author’s Eye of the Beholder series.
RelatedMarVista Entertainment Sets Theatrical Release For Lea Thompson's Helming Debut
The series is set in a near future, dystopian society in which “right” and “wrong” are manifested by beauty and ugliness. Those who are “good” are blessed with beauty, while those who are not suffer horrifying consequences—disfigurement, or even death. When a cleric’s daughter named stumbles onto information that proves her world is more complicated than it seems, she finds herself at the center of an epic battle where good and evil are not so easily distinguished. Despite all her efforts to live a normal life, she is faced with a series of decisions that will risk the lives of everyone she loves—and, ultimately, her own.
Tarkoff is also adapting Emily Henry’s The Love That Split The World as a feature for Lionsgate. MarVista’s Julianna Hays and Michael McGahey will oversee the project.
Tarkoff is repped by APA, Foundry Literary + Media, and Lichter Grossman Nichols Adler & Feldman.
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy
Wexford native Sarah Tarkoff's debut novel pulls no punches
REGE BEHE | Friday, Dec. 29, 2017, 8:57 p.m.
The fantastic 5 book recommendations
“The Largesse of the Sea Maiden: Stories,” by Denis Johnson (Random House, $27) A posthumous short-story collection by Johnson, the author of “Tree of Smoke” and “Jesus' Son,” who died in May.
“Gnomon” by Nick Harkaway (Knopf, $28.95) A chilling, futuristic novel about a society in which everything is surveilled and recorded. By the author of “The Gone-Away World.”
“Heart Spring Mountain” by Robin MacArthur (Ecco, $25.99) After Tropical Storm Irene hits Vermont, a woman returns home after eight years to look for her estranged mother. By the author of “Half Wild: Stories.”
“Robicheaux” by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster, $27.99) Dave Robicheaux is Burke's most beloved character, a Louisiana sheriff and Vietnam veteran who is also an alcoholic. In the new book Robicheaux starts to investigate a murder, then realizes he may be the culprit.
“The Gone World” by Thomas Sweterlitsch (Putnam, $26) The Pittsburgh-based author of “Tomorrow and Tomorrow” returns with another visionary blend of science fiction and mystery. Set in Western Pennsylvania, an NCIS special agent is called on to solve a mass murder, only to be caught up in a time-travel vortex of deceit and intrigue.
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Sarah Tarkoff didn't shy away from contentious ideas for her debut novel.
“Sinless,” (Harper Voyager, $15.99) explores the intersection between science and religion by way of a young girl, Grace Luther, who finds herself in the middle of an ethical dilemma in the year 2031: Does Grace follow the Great Spirit, a catch-all designation that has united the world's religions and made its followers perfect human specimens? Or does she join an underground movement that defies the status quo?
Tarkoff, a Wexford native who lives in Los Angeles and writes for the TV show “Arrow,” was inspired by a modern literary master.
“I've always been a big fan of Kurt Vonnegut and 'Cat's Cradle' specifically,” Tarkoff says. “I love how he just created this new religion in it. He's super-detailed, it feels real and from the very beginning he tells you it isn't real. And yet you're saying ‘I really like that, I want to buy into that.' ”
Tarkoff, a 2005 graduate of North Allegheny High School, attended the University of Southern California where she studied screenwriting. After graduating from USC, she worked as personal assistant for production companies in Los Angeles “getting coffee,” before being employed as a script coordinator for television series including “Gossip Girl,” “Jane the Virgin,” “Mistresses” and “Arrow.” Tarkoff parlayed those experiences into full-time writing gigs with the animated series “Vixen” and “The Ray” and “Mistresses” and “Arrow,” where she now works.
Writing for television helped Tarkoff develop the fast-paced and breathless style of “Sinless.”
“Screenwriting is the basic fundamentals of storytelling,” she says. “So the way you translate it is you want to have characters who want something very badly, and there are obstacles and the stakes are high. You build from there.”
The plot for “Sinless” grew out of a pitch Tarkoff worked on for a company that specializes in changing people's appearances in effects-heavy films. She reworked that concept to a religion where appearances change depending on fidelity to the Great Spirit; the faithful are beautiful, the unbelievers are misshapen and deformed.
“Sinless” also explores how science and theology are often pitted against each other.
“I feel like it's a pretty new idea that you can't do both (science and religion),” Tarkoff says. “Isaac Newton spent more time with the Bible than he did with his scientific theories. There is, I think, a history of being able to have both. … The divide now is huge. People are afraid now of what will happen if religion goes away. Religion gives you comforting answers. There's a place to go after you die. People who you love might still be there. Anything that threatens that, people are afraid of.”
“Sinless,” the first book in the “Eye of the Beholder” series, has a dystopian aspect that might have seemed atypical 10 to 15 years ago. But the success of Suzanne Collins' “The Hunger Games” opened the gates for science fiction written by women.
Tarkoff thinks the sci-fi genre, which originally featured male perspectives and ideas save for rare exceptions such as Ursula K. Le Guin and Anne McCaffrey, offers countless opportunities for storytelling.
“To me there's so much more you can do with science fiction,” Tarkoff says. “There are more kinds of stories that you can tell. Stories that are based on relationships, stories that are based on science, and I think those stories are more attractive to young women. There's a huge resurgence in female driven science fiction like 'The Hunger Games' Three's so much being done in that space, specifically for young women. I hope that this next generation is going to grow up with an appreciation for the genre.”
Rege Behe is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.
Literary events
Jan. 13: Stephen Coleman, author of “Discovering Gettysburg,” an unconventional look at the grounds of the Civil War battle. 1 p.m., Andrew Carnegie Free Library, Carnegie. 412-276-3456, carnegiecarnegie.org
Jan. 16: Marie Benedict (Heather Terrell) book launch for “Carnegie's Maid,” a fictionalized account of Clara Kelley, who worked as Andrew Carnegie's maid. 6:30 p.m., Penguin Bookshop, Sewickley. 412-741-3838, penguinbookshop.com
Jan. 18: Rebecca Drake book launch for “Just Between Us,” a thriller about domestic violence in an affluent suburb. 6:30 p.m., Riverstone Books, McCandless. 412-366-1001, riverstonebookstore.com
Jan. 18: Black Futures, discussion featuring photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier and writer Fred Moten. Sponsored by Center for African-American Poetry and Poetics. 7:30 p.m., Heinz Chapel, University of Pittsburgh Campus. caapp.pitt.edu
Jan. 21: Nicola Yoon, YA author of “The Sun is Also a Star” and “Everything, Everything.” Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures Words & Pictures series. 2:30 p.m., Carnegie Library Lecture Hall, Oakland. $11. 412-622-8866, pittsburghlectures.org
Jan. 29: Paul Beatty, Man Book Prize winner of the “The Sellout” in 2016, the first American to win the esteemed literary prize. Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures Ten Evening series. 7:30 p.m., Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland. $35-$15. 412-622-8866, pittsburghlectures.org
All events free except where noted.
Fantastic Five Book Recommendations
“The Largesse of the Sea Maiden: Stories,” by Denis Johnson (Random House, $27) A posthumous short-story collection by Johnson, the author of “Tree of Smoke” and “Jesus' Son,” who died in May.
“Gnomon” by Nick Harkaway (Knopf, $28.95) A chilling, futuristic novel about a society in which everything is surveilled and recorded. By the author of “The Gone-Away World.”
“Heart Spring Mountain” by Robin MacArthur (Ecco, $25.99) After Tropical Storm Irene hits Vermont, a woman returns home after eight years to look for her estranged mother. By the author of “Half Wild: Stories.”
“Robicheaux” by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster, $27.99) Dave Robicheaux is Burke's most beloved character, a Louisiana sheriff and Vietnam veteran who is also an alcoholic. In the new book Robicheaux starts to investigate a murder, then realizes he may be the culprit.
“The Gone World” by Thomas Sweterlitsch (Putnam, $26) The Pittsburgh-based author of “Tomorrow and Tomorrow” returns with another visionary blend of science fiction and mystery. Set in Western Pennsylvania, an NCIS special agent is called on to solve a mass murder, only to be caught up in a time-travel vortex of deceit and intrigue.
I don't really like talking about myself, but here I went and published some books so now I have to. Here goes!
I love big sci-fi worlds, grounded relationship stories, and anything that combines the two. I started off in TV/film, and currently write for the show Arrow. Other TV credits include: Mistresses, Witches of East End, and the animated series Vixen and The Ray. I graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in screenwriting (hence all the screenwriting). While there, I made some student films that are kind of embarrassing, but thankfully they were stolen in a break-in. I'm originally from Pittsburgh and currently live in Los Angeles.
Fun personal facts: My cat is named Maya Angelou, and though she was once feral, I've slowly Stockholm Syndromed her into loving me. I'd never seen an avocado that hadn't been guacamole'd until I was 18. I'm about 55% confident we're living in the Matrix, but I'm open to exploring other worldviews.
Sinless
Publishers Weekly. 264.48 (Nov. 27, 2017): p42.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Sinless
Sarah Tarkoff. Harper Voyager, $15.99 trade
paper (304p) ISBN 978-0-06-245638-0
TV writer Tarkoff's debut novel, a by-the-numbers dystopian near-future YA story (inexplicably being marketed to adults) set in a world in which "good" or "bad" actions result in divine punishments of beauty or disfigurement, boasts little that's new or interesting. Grace Luther, as gorgeous as her name is ludicrous, is the daughter of a cleric--an earthbound representative of the Great Spirit who has taken over the entire planet, eliminating all traditional religions as actual divine punishment for good and bad behavior becomes manifest. Grace's mother died when the Revelation hit, and her best friend, Jude, was taken by the clerics after he caused a car accident. Her life is turned upside-down when a man attempts to rape her and never suffers divine consequences, and again when she learns that Jude is alive, both incidents revealing that the world is more complicated than she'd thought. Tarkoff's work vanishes in the large recent corpus of dystopian works mixing social commentary and teen angst, with nothing to recommend it over its peers. (Jan.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Sinless." Publishers Weekly, 27 Nov. 2017, p. 42. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A517575659/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=7c47b5e9. Accessed 12 Apr. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A517575659
Tarkoff, Sarah: SINLESS
Kirkus Reviews. (Nov. 15, 2017):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Tarkoff, Sarah SINLESS Harper Voyager (Adult Fiction) $15.99 1, 9 ISBN: 978-0-06-245638-0
Tarkoff's debut novel follows a young woman's coming-of-age in a dystopic near future where moral character and physical beauty go hand in hand...or do they?
The world has been transformed by the judgment of God, known as the Great Spirit in the global religion that dominates Earth by 2031. "Faith" is no longer the evidence of things not seen: instead, it's starkly visible, as committing a sin leads to instantaneous physical degradation, illness, and even death. A handsome man is by default a good person; a disfigured woman did something to deserve it. The world is at peace--the peace of a people obsessed with piety and desperate to avoid the Great Spirit's divine justice. But Grace Luther, teenage daughter of an influential pastor, learns that faith is never so simple when she meets a gorgeous young man whose good looks turn out to be deceiving. The riddle of how this is even possible leads Grace to face the ghosts of her own past--a dead best friend, her own mother--and to question whether divine justice is really just, or even divine at all. Grace's questions bring her to the attention of powerful factions and dangerous people; what began as girl-meets-boy escalates to geopolitical intrigue, espionage, daring rescues, and Grace's growing, bittersweet self-awareness of what it really means to be a good person. What will Grace do with her epiphanies, and what sort of person will she become? That's for the next book in the series to answer, of course.
Clever worldbuilding elevates the story above its occasional moral ham-handedness, and the plot is juicy enough to carry readers to the sequel.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Tarkoff, Sarah: SINLESS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Nov. 2017. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A514267851/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=5a2942f6. Accessed 12 Apr. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A514267851
Sinless
Lucy Lockley
Booklist. 114.6 (Nov. 15, 2017): p35.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
Sinless.
By Sarah Tarkoff.
Jan. 2018.304p. Harper Voyager, paper, $15.99 (9780062456380).
"Where were you when you were Converted?" Everyone remembers the spiritual release that manifested itself in the saved as perfect physical beauty and vibrant health. Seventeen-year-old Grace Luther was one of those, the pious daughter of a cleric on a first-name basis with the Prophet Joshua, the man who predicted the exact date and time of the Revelation. From a federal penitentiary, Grace recalls her youthful experiences of the years after 2025, relaying the story with her adolescent naivete and teenage rebellion intact. She firmly believed beauty reflected truth and those who lied, committed a crime, or disbelieved would be punished by losing their beauty--and in extreme cases might even die. Then she met Ciaran, a handsome teen who could do whatever he liked without being punished. His actions called her convictions into question, leading her toward doubt, defiance, and eventual imprisonment. But how did she get there? Tarkoff's debut and the first in her Eye of the Beholder series challenges the reality of what it means to be beautiful.--Lucy Lockley
YA: Teens will likely identify with Grace as she struggles to understand her faults and her belief. LL.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Lockley, Lucy. "Sinless." Booklist, 15 Nov. 2017, p. 35. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A517441786/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=27770edf. Accessed 12 Apr. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A517441786
Review: Sinless, Sarah Tarkoff
by Cheryl Wassenaar2 months agoFollow @haegorgeous
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Sarah Tarkoff’s Sinless has some wonderful points, but at the same time, it’s hard to get through without some mixed reactions.
At the end of the day, this reviewer is still not sure what to make of Sarah Tarkoff’s Sinless, sent my way by Harper Voyager. The Arrow writer is making the jump into literature with this debut, and it seems fairly obvious that Tarkoff took cues from TV in the structure of her novel, just in how the book is divided into chapters and so on. That’s not a problem, really. In fact, the concept she’s working with — a religiously-oriented dystopia, just not as flat-out horrifying as The Handmaid’s Tale — is an intriguing one.
It’s just that the defining note of this dystopia is that if you do something bad, your Punishment (which is said to be divine, and yes, it’s capitalized) is pretty much instantaneous, and it makes you less physically attractive. Ergo, if you look good, you are therefore a good person.
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Which is … mildly thorny, to say the least. And this isn’t to say that Tarkoff’s main character, Grace Luther, doesn’t wrestle with the horrendous possibility that pretty people could be bad. She does. Tarkoff is even presumably attempting to make a point about this and coming from a TV writer who works on a show where the lead is, well, Stephen Amell, who can do things like this, it feels particularly pointed.
But before Grace starts to figure out what’s going on in the world, it’s particularly hard to get through her story. Perhaps it’s just that it took me about five seconds to pick out where Grace’s name came from: her father is a former minister (all religions have been replaced, at least officially, by Great Spirit, no The necessary, which is a minor fault, but it’s just so awkward), so grace is about the most obvious name you could give. Then Tarkoff appears to have made a shout-out to Martin Luther and his most famous namesake, Martin Luther King Jr., both of whom were Christians. And theologically speaking, Great Spirit owes a lot to the dominant Western religions. I don’t think we’re supposed to like Grace, necessarily, and that’s fine.
It just doesn’t make the experience any more enjoyable. As I said, I think Tarkoff is attempting to make some pretty salient points here. “What is beauty? What is faith?” the back of the book explicitly asks. Tarkoff’s answers end up being a bit muddled.
And yet there’s some tantalizing bits here, particularly in the form of the conceit than an older Grace is looking back and is writing from prison. (It’s literally right before the prologue; ergo, it’s not a spoiler.)
NEXT: 30 books to watch for in the first half of 20118
So yes, at the end of the day I’m still not sure if I necessarily liked Sinless, but I am intrigued, and that might be the goal anyway.
Tuesday, January 09, 2018
Review and Giveaway - Sinless by Sarah Tarkoff
Sinless
Author: Sarah Tarkoff
Series: Eye of the Beholder 1
Publisher: Harper Voyager, January 9, 2018
Format: Trade Paperback and eBook, 304 pages
List Price: US$15.99 (print); US$9.99 (eBook)
ISBN: 9780062456380 (print); 9780062456397 (ebook)
With shades of Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies and Ally Condie’s Matched, this cinematic dystopian novel—the first in the thrilling Eye of the Beholder series—is set in a near future society in which "right" and "wrong" are manifested by beauty and ugliness.
In Grace Luther’s world, morality is physically enforced. Those who are "good" are blessed with beauty, while those who are not suffer horrifying consequences—disfigurement or even death. The daughter of a cleric, Grace has always had faith in the higher power that governs her world. But when she stumbles onto information that leaves her questioning whether there are more complicated—and dangerous—forces manipulating the people around her, she finds herself at the center of an epic battle, where good and evil are not easily distinguished. Despite all her efforts to live a normal teenage life, Grace is faced with a series of decisions that will risk the lives of everyone she loves—and, ultimately, her own.
With each page in this electrifying debut novel, Sarah Tarkoff masterfully plunges us into a nightmarish vision of the future. Full of high drama and pulsating tension, Sinless explores the essential questions teenagers wrestle with every day—What is beauty? What is faith? Do we take our surroundings at face value and accept all that we have been taught, or do we question the mores of the society into which we are born?—and places them in the context of a dark, dystopian world where appearances are most definitely deceiving.
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Qwill's Thoughts
Sinless by Sarah Tarkoff is the first novel in the Eye of the Beholder trilogy. This is a YA novel with very strong adult crossover appeal. The story is told from the point of view of Grace Luther, the teenage daughter of a cleric. The setting is the near future America after the Revelation when the Great Spirit revealed itself to humanity. Belief in the Great Spirit has become universal. All other faiths have faded in the overwhelming onslaught of this new god. People are Punished if they do something wrong - their looks are affected. The ultimate punishment is death. But in between the religious and the pure of heart/thought and death via Punishment for a moral failing are the Outcasts. These are people who are disfigured by their sins. The Great Spirit makes it easy to see who is good and who is evil. Stay on the straight and narrow, avoid sins, believe in and follow the rules of the Great Spirit and you are beautiful. Stray and you are disfigured or dead.
Grace is the daughter of a leading cleric in the new religion. She was young when the Great Spirit appeared. Now she is a very well-behaved and pure teenager who believes in the Great Spirit thoroughly. Sinless deals with the gradual (and not so gradual) unraveling of her beliefs. This is Grace's story. I did not initially like Grace. She changes her thoughts and feelings so much that the reader could at times get whiplash. In other words, I found her to be a very credible teenager. I think my problems with Grace stem form Tarkoff spending too little time making the initial changes in Grace's thinking believable. I found that process too abrupt which for me made almost everything she did from that point suspect. Grace is being pulled in so many directions. What and who should she believe? Who is telling the truth? I found her internal monologue at times illuminating but did not really enjoy being in her brain so much. I came to like her though. She struggled with everything and like most people made good and bad decisions. In Sinless she is looking back on the events of those teenage years. It is made very clear in the beginning that Grace is telling her story from a federal prison. How she ended up in prison is not revealed in Sinless.
Tarkoff's writing flows beautifully and the world building is exceptional. The advent of the Great Spirit and the resulting world is very well done. There are some terrific and surprising reveals about the Great Spirit. A world where everyone behaves well because of immediate fear of disfigurement or death sounds peaceful and wonderful but it is not. As Grace learns more about a world she was so certain of so do we. The cracks in the surface of this peaceful world are there. Tarkoff has created a true dystopia.
The supporting cast was interesting. We don't get much background on many of them but then Sinless is not really about them. What is important about them, at least in Sinless, is their interactions and influences on Grace. From her father to the Prophet Joshua, we see them through Grace's eyes.
There is a lot more to learn about this new world of the Great Spirit and many questions that need to be answered. Fortunately there are 2 more novels upcoming in the series. Tarkoff gives the reader a lot to think about - faith, beauty, guilt, and what are you willing to give up to live in an apparently perfect world? Sinless is an engaging and entertaining debut.
The Giveaway
What: 2 copies of Sinless (Trade Paperback) by Sarah Tarkoff. 2 books - 2 winners - 1 book each US ONLY
How:
Send an email to theqwillery . contests @ gmail.com [remove the spaces]
In the subject line, enter “Sinless“ with or without the quote marks.
In the body of the email, please provide your name and full mailing address. The winning address is used only to mail the novel(s) and is provided The Qwillery only for that purpose. All other address information will be deleted by The Qwillery once the giveaway ends.
Who: The giveaway is open to all humans on the planet earth with a United States mailing address.
When: The giveaway ends at 11:59 PM US Eastern Time on January 18, 2018. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.
*Giveaway rules and duration are subject to change without any notice.*
Sarah Tarkoff
Writer | Miscellaneous Crew | Director
Sarah Tarkoff is known for her work on Arrow (2012), Video Game High School (2012) and Break Up Day (2013). See full bio »
Known For
Arrow
Writer
(2016-2018)
Video Game High School
Writer
(2012)
Break Up Day
Writer
(2013)
Mistresses
Writer
(2016)
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Filmography
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Writer (9 credits)
Arrow (TV Series) (story editor - 21 episodes, 2017 - 2018) (written by - 9 episodes, 2016 - 2018)
- Docket No. 11-19-41-73 (2018) ... (story editor)
- Shifting Allegiances (2018) ... (story editor)
- The Dragon (2018) ... (story editor)
- Fundamentals (2018) ... (story editor)
- Brothers in Arms (2018) ... (story editor) / (written by)
- The Thanatos Guild (2018) ... (story editor)
- Doppelgänger (2018) ... (story editor)
- Collision Course (2018) ... (story editor)
- The Devil's Greatest Trick (2018) ... (story editor) / (written by)
- All for Nothing (2018) ... (story editor)
- We Fall (2018) ... (story editor)
- Divided (2018) ... (story editor)
- Irreconcilable Differences (2017) ... (story editor) / (written by)
- Crisis on Earth-X, Part 2 (2017) ... (story editor)
- Thanksgiving (2017) ... (story editor)
- Promises Kept (2017) ... (story editor)
- Deathstroke Returns (2017) ... (story editor)
- Reversal (2017) ... (story editor) / (written by)
- Next of Kin (2017) ... (story editor)
- Tribute (2017) ... (story editor)
- Fallout (2017) ... (story editor)
- Honor Thy Fathers (2017) ... (written by)
- Checkmate (2017) ... (written by)
- Second Chances (2017) ... (written by)
- Human Target (2016) ... (written by)
- Blood Debts (2016) ... (written by)
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Freedom Fighters: The Ray (TV Series) (2 episodes, 2017) (written by - 4 episodes, 2017)
- Episode #1.6 (2017)
- Episode #1.5 (2017)
- Episode #1.4 (2017) ... (written by)
- Episode #1.3 (2017) ... (written by)
- Episode #1.2 (2017) ... (written by)
Show all 6 episodes
2017
Vixen: The Movie (TV Movie) (written by)
2016
Vixen (TV Series short) (written by - 6 episodes)
- Episode #2.6 (2016) ... (written by)
- Episode #2.5 (2016) ... (written by)
- Episode #2.4 (2016) ... (written by)
- Episode #2.3 (2016) ... (written by)
- Episode #2.2 (2016) ... (written by)
Show all 6 episodes
2016
Mistresses (TV Series) (written by - 1 episode)
- Survival of the Fittest (2016) ... (written by)
2014
Witches of East End (TV Series) (story by - 1 episode)
- Sex, Lies, and Birthday Cake (2014) ... (story by)
2013
Break Up Day (Short) (story) / (writer)
2012
Video Game High School (TV Series) (based on a story by - 9 episodes)
- It's All About the Game (2012) ... (based on a story by)
- Locked in the System (2012) ... (based on a story by)
- Sign Up to Sign Out (2012) ... (based on a story by)
- Carpe Diem (2012) ... (based on a story by)
- And Then... The Law (2012) ... (based on a story by)
Show all 9 episodes
2007
Birnkrant 616 (TV Series) (staff writer - 1 episode)
- The Club Fair (2007) ... (staff writer)
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Miscellaneous Crew (3 credits)
2014-2015
Jane the Virgin (TV Series) (script coordinator - 16 episodes)
- Chapter Twenty-Two (2015) ... (script coordinator)
- Chapter Twenty-One (2015) ... (script coordinator)
- Chapter Twenty (2015) ... (script coordinator)
- Chapter Nineteen (2015) ... (script coordinator)
- Chapter Eighteen (2015) ... (script coordinator)
Show all 16 episodes
2010-2011
Gossip Girl (TV Series) (script coordinator - 12 episodes)
- Shattered Bass (2011) ... (script coordinator)
- The Princesses and the Frog (2011) ... (script coordinator)
- Petty in Pink (2011) ... (script coordinator)
- The Kids Stay in the Picture (2011) ... (script coordinator)
- Empire of the Son (2011) ... (script coordinator)
Show all 12 episodes
2009-2010
Eastwick (TV Series) (writers production assistant - 10 episodes)
- Pampered and Tampered (2010) ... (writers production assistant)
- Red Bath and Beyond (2010) ... (writers production assistant)
- Magic Snow and Creepy Gene (2009) ... (writers production assistant)
- Tea and Psychopathy (2009) ... (writers production assistant)
- Tasers and Mind Erasers (2009) ... (writers production assistant)
Show all 10 episodes
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Director (2 credits)
2013
F#Cker of the Month (TV Series) (1 episode)
- Keeping Your Promises (2013)
2013
Break Up Day (Short)
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Producer (1 credit)
2013
Break Up Day (Short) (executive producer)
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Actress (1 credit)
2006
Birnkrant 616 (TV Series)
Kim
- Astrid (2006) ... Kim
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Art department (1 credit)
2007
Jay and Seth Versus the Apocalypse (Short) (set dresser)
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Thanks (1 credit)
2016
Let's Be Evil (special thanks)
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