With novels centred around horror and food – she’s always hungry so why not make her characters the same – Kendare Blake has a writing style similar to none. Full of bloody deaths and sweet friendships, Blake is currently a staple within the always expanding world of Young Adult fiction. Having published novels, short stories, and even contributed to a horror anthology alongside publishing powerhouses Jay Kristoff and Leigh Bardugo, Blake is a publishing tour de force.
In 2010, she entered the world of publishing with her novel, Sleepwalk Society, and since then she has gone from strength to strength. Not long after her debut, Blake released her Anna Dressed in Blood series, a duology of novels centred around a dead girl with a grudge and a ghost killer with a heart; a personal favourite of this reviewer. Next came her Goddess of War novels in 2013 before 2016’s Three Dark Crowns became a worldwide sensation. This tale of sister Queen’s with a destiny to die continues this year with Five Dark Fates, the fourth and final full length novel of the series.
Nerd Daily contributor Tasha Leigh had the honour of asking Kendare some burning questions relating to her Three Dark Crowns series and how her writing has evolved over the years.
So Five Dark Fates is the final novel in the Three Dark Crowns series. Was it a difficult task to write a conclusion that is likely (and hopefully) going to keep your audience happy?
It was difficult to write a conclusion at all, because I love these characters, and this island, and I wasn’t ready to leave them behind. I wrote slowly, and cringed when I realized where this or that plotline was headed; I wrote with a grimace, muttering “Arsinoe, what are you doing” or “Mira, don’t” or, “Kat, what the f?”
But I couldn’t write it with an aim to keep the audience happy. I had to let the characters do what they would. And since it seems that the audience is very split on favorites, I knew there was no pleasing everyone. And knowing that was a little bit freeing, to be honest.
Where did your inspiration initially come from when you started this series?
Oh, that’s a long story. To make that long story shorter: bees. A ball of bees, and a helpful beekeeper who told me about queen bees, and how they will lay several queen eggs, and the baby queens will hatch and kill each other.
Has the plot stayed the same as you originally envisaged it? Or did it take its own course as you got further through the writing process?
I didn’t plot Three Dark Crowns. I knew who the characters were, and had gotten to know them over a long period before writing. I knew the situation they were in, and I knew the Arsinoe wrinkle. Beyond that, I had no idea how it would go, where they would take it. But I’m pretty pleased with all of these young women. I really love them.
The character of Katherine seems to elicit polar responses from readers whereby they absolutely despise her or they think she is the most marvellous villain. Was she always destined to be humanised in this final instalment?
Katharine is who she is. She went through one of the wildest arcs, I think, from timid victim to wrathful renegade, to a Poisoner Queen who is doing her best. I’ve never thought of her as a villain, not even when she was at her worst in One Dark Throne. She had her reasons. And she was raised an Arron. A poisoner. Severity is a part of their culture.
Did you draw inspiration from anywhere for Kat’s epic Gave Noir feast?
Um, yeah, I read a lot of books on poison and I wanted to write about poisoned food. I love to write about food. I’m pretty much constantly hungry.
Previous deaths in the Three Dark Crowns series were extremely tame compared to some of your other novels, specifically Anna Dressed In Blood’s bloody endings and the epic battle/island vengeance scenes of Five Dark Fates. Do you have a process you work through when writing character deaths? Or do you simply let the narrative steer the mode of a characters demise?
The narrative is always steering. I remember the first hard final moment I had to write in Girl of Nightmares, the ending where spoiler alert Cas leaves Anna behind. I kept trying to write a way around it. But it wouldn’t go. The story does what it wants. What it is supposed to do. Natalia’s death in One Dark Throne was very hard for me, and though it was less gruesome, I found the manner of it (strangling at the hands of a male lover) far more disturbing. I saved her in one draft. I really wanted to save her. But it didn’t work.
You contributed to the horror anthology Slasher Girls and Monster Boys in 2015 alongside other Young Adult powerhouses such as Jay Kristoff and Leigh Bardugo. Does your process for writing short stories differ from writing full length novels?
Yes! Sort of. Short stories still require a similar amount of lead-up time (sometimes they spend several years in my head) but once I sit down to write I finish within a few days, and have never needed to redraft or heavily revise. I love short stories. They are perfect, crystallized moments. Snapshots of life. And speaking of Jay Kristoff and Leigh Bardugo I would love to see full, fat, short story collections from both of them.
How has your writing changed since you wrote and released your debut novel Sleepwalk Society in 2010?
In some aspects it’s changed a lot, and some not at all. I could still channel that sarcastic, pessimistic voice (because honestly that’s MY voice) but the scope of my writing has expanded. I’ve done things in different tenses, different perspectives, with larger casts and fantastical settings. I want to continue to push myself higher, further, faster…Captain Marvel style, I guess? Except not faster. I do not write fast. Not by choice, anyway.
If you could have any of your novels adapted for the screen, what form would it take and who would be your dream cast?
This is kind of difficult to respond to, since Three Dark Crowns and Anna Dressed in Blood are in development, along with my short story from Slasher Girls & Monster Boys. So to say any one of them feels like jinxing them? Three Dark Crowns and the short story “On the I-5” are in development for film, and Anna is going for TV. I love the creative and production teams behind both (21laps and Fickle Fish Films, respectively) so I will be over the moon if any move forward.
But that’s not an answer, so lets say that my Goddess War trilogy was adapted for some strange reason. I would want it to be a short form series like American Gods, 10 eps or less a season, and with similarly excellent funky imagery. For the cast: Zendaya as Athena, Joe Keery as Odysseus, Anna Torv as Hera, a young Asian newcomer as Andie, and a big, mean, black-haired hunk as Ares.
Where can we expect to see you in the coming months?
I’ll be on the road with the Epic Reads Tour, along with Shelby Mahurin (SERPENT & DOVE), Sara Raasch (THESE DIVIDED SHORES), and Rena Barron (KINGDOM OF SOULS)! Starting September 10th we’ll be in Connecticut, then North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, and San Diego. And after that I have some festivals. Check my website for full details, I try to keep it updated.
Final question! If you could tell your younger self anything about your journey in publishing, what would it be?
Don’t sweat what you can’t control. It’s not really going to get easier, but it will still be awesome. Maybe get medication for your anxiety sooooner? But my younger self would never have listened to me. She was a real little shit.
QUICKFIRE ROUND
Fiction or nonfiction? Fiction!
Plotter or pantser? (Do you plot out your entire story to the smallest detail or just have a vague idea + major occurrences and let the characters guide you?) Pantser, leaning into plotter as I move along.
Favourite bookish trope? Fish out of water time travel.
Least favourite bookish trope? Damsel in distress.
Coffee or tea? Tea.
Pizza or pasta? I’m not choosing, this question is mean.
Beach holiday or hiking in the bush? Hiking. Only in what kind of bush? Hiking in really pretty, safe, clearly-marked bush.
Convention crowds or smaller signings? I enjoy both.
Sunny or rainy? Rainy mornings with sunny afternoons.
If you could pick a single holiday destination for the rest of your life, where would it be? London.
Music, books or Netflix – you can only pick 2? Books and Netflix.
