We chat with #1 New York Times bestselling author Kendare Blake about Champion of Fate, which is the start to an epic duology that follows a young woman training to join a fabled order as she attempts to lead a hero to his critical first victory.
Hi Kendare! Can you tell the readers a little about yourself?
Hi Zoe! Sure! Let’s see… I like animals. All sorts. Wild, domestic, little snakes in hats. I love food—trying new restaurants and menus and fancy cocktails. Cooking is good too, except for the pan scrubbing that follows.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I learned to read with picture books from my mom and the Sunday funnies with my dad, and I’ve been writing stories since seventh grade. But I’ve gotten better at it since then.
Your next novel, Champion of Fate, is about to release! If you could describe it in five words, what would they be?
Heroes, horses, glory, immortals, master/apprentice.
The master/apprentice part is cheating with two words. I’m not going to pick one; I just want you to know that I know.
Champion of Fate has the feel of an ancient myth, did you take any inspiration from any tales in particular?
Not any one in particular but the whole vibe of the time period of ancient battles was a big inspiration. Achilles and Hector, Alexander the Great. The Amazons. The ancient culture that valued glory and honor and placed those values a tad too high on the scale to be practical. But I love those ideas. There’s something so romantic about them, heroes racing into certain death, just for the glory of it.
Champion of Fate and Three Dark Crowns series are fantasy, The Anna Dressed in Blood duo is horror, and The Goddess War trilogy is mythology. What has been your favourite genre to write so far, and why?
I can’t choose between them. And I think I end up co-mingling them all anyway. Champion of Fate has some mythological elements. Three Dark Crowns got a little horrifying at times. And Anna Dressed in Blood was touched with the fantastic.
Who was your favourite character to write and explore from Champion of Fate, and why?
Reed, the young woman who is training to join the order, was the heart of the story. It is HER story. But one side character who was a particular delight was Aethiel, the character who was once a Queen of Fennbirn Island (from Three Dark Crowns) and is now an Aristene. She was supposed to be a cameo appearance and instead busted through the door and said, “No. I will be in this story. And the next one. Yes, this is good.”
Fennbirn Queens. They don’t do as they’re told.
How do you think, or hope, that readers will react to Champion of Fate?
I hope they’ll find a new fantasy world to love. I love fantasy: the groups of varied allies that band together on a quest, the mysterious orders, the monsters that rise and threaten it all—and I tried to put those elements that I loved in this book.
Can you tell us if you have anything upcoming in the works?
Champion of Fate 2: Champions Reloaded! That’s not the real title, but it comes out next year. The Anna Dressed in Blood Anniversary Edition is also out now, with a brand new cover and an all-new novella set ten years later. Readers often ask for an ANNA 3, and the novella is the closest I’ve come to it!
And in April, the conclusion of the Buffy: The Next Generation trilogy comes out, which will conclude my time in the Buffyverse. And I will weep.
And perhaps a teaser for the sequel to Champion of Fate? 😉
Reed and Silco are back in Champion of Fate 2: Champion of Fatier! That’s also not the real title, but they are back, and so are the Aristene. An Aristene warrior will guide many heroes over their long, immortal lives, and Reed’s new hero is a sticky situation…which only gets worse when her first hero shows up to make things worse.
Do you have any advice for any budding writers out there?
WRITE! That’s the most obvious advice, and the most important. Get the words on the page. Daydreaming is great, outlining might be part of your process, but eventually, the pre-work is over and you just need to get those words out. Don’t get stuck in phase zero. Once you move into phase one: first draft, anything can happen.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
Of course! Anything by Erin Craig: SMALL FAVORS, The Sisters of the Salt series…Anything by Courtney Summers, if you’re looking for some gritty reality through the feminine lens. And how about some Halloweenie reads: Mister Magic by Kiersten White, Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons, anything by Joe Hill or his dad Stephen King obviously. Tiffany Jackson’s White Smoke or The Weight of Blood.
I’ll stop now but there are no shortage of good reads. Get thee to a bookstore and browse!
You can find Kendare at her website and on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads.
