Christine Lynn Herman is back with an epic conclusion to The Devouring Gray duology, The Deck of Omens! And we were lucky enough to chat with her about this heart-shattering finale! From writing this duology that’s interlaced with magic, sacrifice, and power, to sorting her characters into Hogwarts Houses and future projects, we discussed it all in today’s interview! Keep on reading for an awesome interview with the one and only Christine Lynn Herman and don’t forget to add The Deck of Omens to your April TBR! You don’t want to miss this one!
Hi, Christine! Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hi! So happy to be doing this interview. Honestly, I’m still not very good at talking about myself (I think that’s part of why I write books about fictional people for a living), but I will say that I’m a lifelong voracious reader who has always planned on writing books of my own. I moved a great deal as a child, and I found comfort in being able to take the same stories with me and revisit them no matter where I was. I tend to write about characters who have fragmented ideas of home and who have to learn how to put down roots and open up to people because that was the guiding theme of my adolescence and young adulthood.
The Deck of Omens concludes your debut duology The Devouring Gray. If you had to describe it in three words, what would they be?
Complex. Atmospheric. Rewarding.
Now tell us a little more! What can readers expect from this magical conclusion that will finally reveal all the secrets of Four Paths?
Answers. Lots and lots of answers. I love endings—they’re so difficult to pull off, but that’s what makes them so interesting for me as both a reader and a writer. It’s very challenging to simultaneously tie up loose ends, show the way characters have grown and changed and bring plot elements to an organic conclusion. But it’s also quite a rewarding process when you get that balance right. I’m hopeful that readers will connect with my ending—I’ve had it in mind since I got the idea for this duology five years ago.
What was your favourite part of writing The Deck of Omens? Would you ever consider returning to this world?
My favorite part of writing The Deck of Omens was definitely several climactic character scenes later in the book. Without spoiling anything, there’s just something really special about being able to write an emotional payoff that a character has been working toward for a long time. And in this book, that happens several times over.
I’ve toyed with writing a short story or a novella about some of the characters as bonus content, but we’ll see if that ever comes to fruition.
This duology deals with a lot of important themes such as political power (and abuse of said power), the price of secrets, love and even self-discovery. How would you say The Deck of Omens reflects real-life issues we’re facing today?
For many teens, coming of age is a time of immense growth and reassessment of the world around them. In Four Paths, my characters have to handle the responsibility of a magical destiny they didn’t ask for—but their real-world concerns, from family obligations to exploring queer identity to unravelling trauma and grief, come straight from my own adolescence. Writing about teenagers who must learn to break a cycle of generational trauma before it can break them was certainly intended to reflect real-life issues many teens and young adults face today, my younger self included.
Which character perspective did you love writing most? And if we may be a bit cheeky here, which of the The Devouring Gray characters is your favourite and why?
I love writing all of them, but a highlight was definitely finally getting to write a plotline from Isaac’s POV after many years of planning for it. I can’t possibly pick a favorite character from the teenagers, but I have a massive soft spot for Juniper and Augusta. Their story has always felt like one of the lodestones of the duology to me—the way they are sometimes mentors, sometimes villains, and sometimes cautionary tales.
Are there any characters or parts of the story that didn’t make it into the final version of The Deck of Omens? Did you make any changes to the characters you’d like to share with us?
There is a certain scene involving a piano that was almost cut three or four times during the editorial process, but I was determined to find a way to save it. Finally, my editor and I found the right place for it, and it stayed in the book. Not every scene is so lucky—there was a narrative thread between May and Harper that I had to cut and still miss a little bit, but it was the right thing to do for the pacing. The characters themselves don’t feel like they changed so much as evolved with every revision. It felt like I was asking them over and over how their story was meant to end until they finally gave me the right answer.
Time to get geeky! If the cast of The Deck of Omens put on the Sorting Hat, which Hogwarts houses would they be sorted in?
Violet and Juniper: Gryffindor
Isaac: hat-stall between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw
Justin: Hufflepuff
Harper, May, Augusta: Slytherin
If The Devouring Gray duology were to be adapted, are there any dream casting options you’d like to share?
I plead the fifth on this one—but I hope I get to talk about why someday. J
With this duology finished and a very new book, The Drowning Summer, coming out in 2021, what is next for you after that?
I have some future projects coming up that haven’t been announced yet. I’m pretty excited to be able to talk about them, but alas I cannot do so just yet. Just know there are more books coming!
And last but not least, do you have any book recommendations for our readers? Any 2020 releases we should add to our TBRs?
Absolutely! There are so many incredible YA releases coming out this year. I highly recommend Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power, Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles, Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas, Queen of Volts by Amanda Foody, As the Shadow Rises by Katy Rose Pool, and Beyond the Ruby Veil by Mara Fitzgerald, to name just a few!
On the adult side, I’m extremely excited for Naomi Novik’s A Deadly Education and V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.
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Born in New York City but raised around the world, Christine Lynn Herman subscribes to the firm philosophy that home is where her books are. Currently, Christine and her books reside in Cambridge, MA, along with her partner and their extremely spoiled cat. You can find her in the nearest forest trying to figure out how to become a tree, at www.christinelynnherman.com, or on Twitter and Instagram @christineexists. You can learn more about her latest book, The Deck of Omens, here.
Readers can pre-order copies of The Deck of Omens from Christine’s local independent bookstore, Brookline Booksmith, along with other national retailers.
