For this weeks Ask the Author I'm bringing you the amazing Kendare Blake, author of the Anna Dulogy. I've read Anna Dressed in Blood a while back and enjoyed it quite a lot so of course I had to reach out to Kendare Blake and ask her about an interview. Luckily she agreed to do it.
Here's her book and her A's for my Q's:
Published: July 5th 2012 by Orchard Books
Pages: 373 Pages (Paperback UK)
Series: Yes, #1
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
Yet she spares Cas's life. (goodreads.com)
Interview with Kendare Blake
1 – Describe Anna Dressed in Blood with a haiku.
Anna Dressed in Blood
She kills all who enter here
Yet she spares his life
2 – What sparked the idea for Anna Dressed in Blood? Was it the simple idea of a boy who is something like a ghost hunter or something else entirely?
Honestly I just wanted to write something that featured blood and guts. I wanted to write about decaying bodies and stuff. I hadn't written about that in a long time. I'd been doing mostly literary, in my MA programme. Plus, I wanted to play Silent Hill, but no one would play with me.
3 – Was there a scene in the book you specifically remember writing because it stuck out to you, either in a positive or negative way?
I remember writing the scene where Cas and his mom are trapped in his bedroom, listening to something approaching. That one was a lot of fun. It was the only scene that scared me while writing it.
4 – What do you think makes Anna Dressed in Blood stand out?
I don't know exactly. I really don't. I mean, I'm very glad that it does, and that people seem to enjoy it. I hope people continue to, because the movie project is still in the works!
5 – In retrospective, is there anything that you’d change about the story or are you happy with the way it turned out in the end?
I would never change anything! Now, that it's out, that's the way Cas told it, and that's the way it happened. If I changed anything now, I'd be making him lie.
6 - How long did it take you from first idea until publishing deal?
I can't exactly remember. I had the idea in the fall of 2008, and started writing in early 2009. I think I signed my agent in late 2009 and had a publishing offer in late winter, 2010. So, about two years from idea to deal. And another year and a half from deal to published book.
7 - How did you feel when you first realized that this story you had written would soon be read by thousands of people and how do you feel now, years later, before your next book will be released? Did the feeling change or is it still the same?
The feeling is a bit different, because now I know what to reasonably expect. That first time, I had no idea. It was all awe and wonder, and the culmination of over a decade of dreams and work. But it still feels great. Every single time, it still feels great.
8 – What do you think about the cover of Anna Dressed in Blood? Is it anything like you imagined it being?
I hardly ever imagine my covers. I'm just not a designer. When I saw Anna's cover, even the first draft of it, which had a vastly different hairstyle, I was blown away. I loved it. I still love it. Sometimes I wish it wasn't quite so fricken awesome, because lots of books I know get cool new foreign covers, but pretty much every foreign edition of Anna Dressed in Blood has had the same cover, just slightly tweaked. I think the only countries that changed it so far were Taiwan, Turkey, and maybe Indonesia.
9 – Green or blue?
Blue. But green is very nice.
10 – What advice could you give aspiring authors?
Read! It's the most important thing. And Write! It's also the most important thing. And it's harder than it sounds, just to finish something. Learn to finish things. Don't have a bunch of shiny ideas and only write the first three chapters. Finish it! Get it on the page. Even if it sucks, you can fix it later. But if it stays in your head, there's nothing to fix, nothing to work on.
11 – If you were forced to participate in The Hunger Games, as female from District 12, what would be your strategy? Fight or flight?
Probably similar to Katniss'. Flight first, then trap and fight when pressed. I wouldn't ally with anybody. Unless I planned on dying from the start. Like, to make a statement or to save someone else or something.
About the Author
There's more coming soon like Slasher Girls and Monster Boys and Ungodly in 2015, so don't waste another minute on your cryin. We're nowhere near the end.
My likes include animals, food, and nostalgia. I mean, whatever happened to predictability? The milkman, the paperboy, the evening TV? Used to be everywhere you look, there's a heart, a hand to hold on to.
Anyway, I love to hear from readers so drop me a line here or at my website and we'll talk about friends to know, and ways to grow, and great authors to be in charge of our days, and our nights.
We can also talk about all the sitcom theme songs in this bio. Sha la la la.
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