We chat with author Kara McDowell about Heir, Apparently, which follows an American teen who learns she may have accidentally married the King of England, only to end up stranded on a tropical island with him in this highly-anticipated sequel to The Prince & The Apocalypse.
Hi, Kara! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello! I live in the Arizona desert and most of the time I wish I didn’t because I love rain, cold weather, and changing seasons. I’m overly competitive and always have a half-messy house. I make the best cinnamon rolls. I love chips and salsa, homemade bread and butter, Chinese takeout, peanut butter m&ms, and most kinds of ice cream. I love to travel and I live for creating itineraries. I’m a mom to three boys, and you can’t convince me that there’s higher stakes sports than a little league baseball game. Finally, I love writing stories and hope to do it for the rest of my life.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Shout out to Albert Chapman Elementary in Powell, Ohio. The school had a “publishing shop,” and when I finished my classroom work, I could take my stories down to the shop, bind them together, and decorate the covers. Those books were my pride and joy (I still have them) and it really demystified the concept of being an author. I always knew it was an attainable goal because I’d been doing it since I was literally 10 years old.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: No Tooth, No Quarter by Jon Buller (The book that made me mildly afraid of tooth fairies.)
- The one that made you want to become an author: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. More specifically, this is the book that made me realize the type of book I wanted to write. Swoony, teenage love stories set abroad? Sign me all the way up!
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle. Just casually the funniest book I’ve ever read. It’s a perfect book for me specifically, and maybe my favorite contemporary romance of all time.
Heir, Apparently is the sequel to The Prince & The Apocalypse and it’s out July 9th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Tropical Island
Impossible circumstances
Fate
What can readers expect from the sequel?
The same high stakes, high adrenaline rush of the first book, but now with added complications, including meddling siblings, a beautiful tropical island that has dangers lurking in the shadows, and that pesky little marriage certificate that Wren can’t seem to forget about.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?
Yes! I’m really excited for readers to meet Theo’s siblings, Princess Victoria and Prince Henry. The first book is really all about Theo and Wren surviving together and falling in love, which was incredibly fun to write but left little room for other characters. In this book, however, Victoria and Henry refused to be ignored. They both provide wickedly fun complications for the island survival party.
Were there any challenges you faced whilst writing?
Heir, Apparently is my first sequel, and while I always knew there would be a book 2, it was tough to figure out where to go after literally writing about the apocalypse! What could feel as important as that? I figured out pretty quickly, however, that when you’re nineteen and in love and trying to make descisions that will drastically impact the rest of your life, it does feel like the end of the world.
What’s next for you?
Nothing I can discuss publicly yet, but I’ll keep writing love stories (in multiple age categories) as long as they’ll let me.
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
I really enjoyed The Ballad of Darcy and Russell by Morgan Matson! I’m such a sucker for a book with a tight timeline, and this book takes place over the course of 24 hours. Next up on my TBR is Royal Heirs Academy by Lindsey Duga. It doesn’t come out until 2025 but I’m lucky enough to have an early copy and I can’t wait to dive in.
