Kendare Blake is the August, author in the spotlight here on Booksnob and she has graciously agreed to answer some questions about her life and her best-selling young adult horror books, Anna Dressed in Blood and recently released, Girl of Nightmares.
Welcome Kendare:
- Tell us a little bit about yourself? A little about myself…I was adopted from South Korea when I was 7 months old. My least favorite class ever was Statistics, because even though I understood it, I seemed to suck on the tests. Ridiculous. I have a horse named Lassie who was recently dressed as an Indian pony, and I’m pretty fond of fried foods.
- What inspired you to write Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares? I wanted to write something gory and dark. Somewhere in the back of my mind, Cas Lowood raised his hand and said, “I got this.”
- Usually
an author puts some of his own life experiences in the book. Did you do that? Do you have anything in common with your
characters? In common with my characters? Yes, I frequently kill and stuff
bodies in my basement. No wait. I don’t even have a basement. Truthfully,
not really. Cas and I share a sense of humor, but that’s about it. Thomas
has my best friend’s car.
- Do you believe that ghosts are real or
are they the work of a creative imagination? I don’t know. I’m not willing
to fully believe or disbelieve. If they do exist, it’s sort of sad, unless
hauntings are like ghost vacations. Like, they’re somewhere really cool
most of the time, but they can come back to jerk us around if they want
to.
- Why
did you set the books in Thunder Bay, Canada and places in and around
Minnesota? What is your MN
connection? I grew up in Minnesota, and lived there while I wrote Anna
Dressed in Blood. Thunder Bay was close enough to drive to for location
research, and had the best ghost stories. I also lived in London, which is
featured in Girl of Nightmares.
- Do you
like to read? What authors or books
influence you? Of course I read. I read a lot. But sort of slowly. Just
about everything influences me somehow. I was really taken by Milan
Kundera and Bret Easton Ellis when I was young. And Caitlin R Kiernan
always rocks my socks.
- When
will the 3rd book in the Anna series be released? Do you have a title yet? There is no third book in the Anna
series. Girl of Nightmares is the end. Next summer, I’ve got a new trilogy
featuring Greek Mythology, called ANTIGODDESS. If you enjoy girls who can
tear things apart with their bare hands (which I do), you might like it.
- Tell
us in one sentence why we should read the Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares? Uh…because
you need something to read and like entrails?
Thanks Kendare!
If you are interested in winning a copy of Anna Dressed in Blood, click here: Anna Contest
If you are interested in winning a copy of Girl of Nightmares click here: Nightmares contest
