Today we’re excited to chat with Kendare Blake,
author of Three Dark Crowns!
Below you’ll find more about Kendare and her new book!!
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
A bee swarm. There was one in a tree at a book event I was doing, and I learned from a beekeeper that the queen bee snug inside had left her old hive. But before she left, she laid four or so queen eggs that would hatch and one would murder the rest in order to take over. I loved that idea, and came up with the concept for Three Dark Crowns on the drive home!
YABC: Who is your favorite character in the book?
There are three queens in this book, plus supporting characters and I love them all. So I’ll say my favorite characters are the naturalists’ familiars: Hank the rooster, Camden the Mountain Cat, Aria and Eva the ravens, and Jake, the white spaniel dog.
YABC: What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
I’m pretty pleased with the whole Beltane festival actually. That was a really fun sequence to write.
YABC: Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
That it’s true what Harlan Ellison said. The hard part isn’t becoming a writer, it’s staying a writer. I mean, it’s not all true. Becoming is hard as hell. But in the beginning, I had such a hard time becoming, that it seemed that there could be nothing as hard as that. But staying a writer is just as challenging, in many ways. And I don’t mind if the aspiring writers out there reading this don’t believe me. I didn’t believe Harlan either. But trust me when I say you’ll know someday. You’ll get there, and you’ll know.
YABC: What do you like most about the cover of the book?
The snakes! All of the crowns are beautiful, but I love those perky snakes.
YABC: What was your favorite book in 2015?
WINK, POPPY, MIDNIGHT by April Genevieve Tucholke. That’s a cheat because it actually came out in 2016, but I read it in 2015, so that’s what it is for me! It’s incredible. A beautiful, magical, wicked fairy tale.
YABC: Which part of the writing process do you enjoy more: Drafting or Revising?
Both! Well, I don’t enjoy the idea of revising. But once I’m actually in the thick of it, I enjoy revising a lot. Strengthening things. Deepening things. Discovering new things about the story.
YABC: What would you say is your superpower?
Eating, I guess. I can toss down a large deep dish pizza without too much trouble.
YABC: Is there an organization or cause that is close to your heart?
The welfare and protection of animals, both wild and domestic is close to my heart. I try to give to animal shelters as often as I can. We’re in process of adopting a little dog named Patty for my mom, and one of our own dogs (Agent Scully!) is a rescue. And I try to limit the harm I do to the wild. I greatly dislike the thought of animals suffering for human convenience.
Feminism is also pretty close to my heart, but I really wish it didn’t need to be.
Meet Three Dark Crowns!!
Every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.
But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown.
If only it was that simple. Katharine is unable to tolerate the weakest poison, and Arsinoe, no matter how hard she tries, can’t make even a weed grow. The two queens have been shamefully faking their powers, taking care to keep each other, the island, and their powerful sister Mirabella none the wiser. But with alliances being formed, betrayals taking shape, and ruthless revenge haunting the queens’ every move, one thing is certain: the last queen standing might not be the strongest…but she may be the darkest.
Amazon * B & N * Indiebound
Meet Kendare Blake!!
Kendare Blake is the author of several novels and short stories, most of which you can find information about via the links above. Her work is sort of dark, always violent, and features passages describing food from when she writes while hungry. She was born in July (for those of you doing book reports) in Seoul, South Korea, but doesn’t speak a lick of Korean, as she was packed off at a very early age to her adoptive parents in the United States. That might be just an excuse, though, as she is pretty bad at learning foreign languages. She enjoys the work of Milan Kundera, Caitlin R Kiernan, Bret Easton Ellis, Richard Linklater, and the late, great Michael Jackson, I mean, come on, he gave us Thriller.
She lives and writes in Kent, Washington, with her husband, their two cat sons (Tybalt and Tyrion Cattister) and their red Doberman dog son, Obi Dog Kenobi.
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads
Three Dark Crowns
By: Kendare Blake
Release Date: September 20, 2016
Publisher: Harper Teen
