Interview with Kendare Blake

Today I'm pleased to welcome Kendare Blake author of Anna Dressed in Blood (my review), just in time for Halloween! Let's get started!

Hi Kendare, thanks for stopping by!

Kendare Blake: Thanks for having me, Benji!

Besides Anna Dressed in Blood, what do you recommend to readers this Halloween?

Kendare Blake: I recommend some old school Stephen King. Like Pet Sematary. Or IT. I recommend some new school Joe Hill, like Heart Shaped Box. I recommend some of Holly Black's short stories. I recommend The Near Witch, by Victoria Schwab.

Do you have any spooky experience to share?

Kendare Blake: I wish. Nothing cool ever happens to me. However, there may be a ghost hunt in the works for me. I recently heard about a Ouija board experience involving the victim of a 19th Century fire. I think I might go check it out.

What did you think when you saw that cover?

Kendare Blake: I thought....HOLY CRAP! And then I thought other things. More coherent things. Like how much I liked Anna's dress. And how delightfully ominous the house looked. And the longer I stared, the more I noticed. The cover grew through a few versions, so it was fun to watch it evolve. When the blood showed up on her legs, and the veins popped in at her shoulder, I was a happy, happy person.

Would you be generous enough to tell us something about the sequel, Girl of Nightmares (please keep it spoiler free for those who haven't read Anna)?

Kendare Blake: Something about the sequel. Hm. Expect to see a host of familiar characters. And to learn more about Gideon Palmer.

Describe Anna Dressed in Blood in three words

Kendare Blake: Murderous Ghost Convention.

Boom! You can suddenly have one monster from the classic monster movies come in and join the party in Anna Dressed in Blood, who would it be and why?

Kendare Blake: Frankenstein's monster. And not Robert De Niro. The green guy with the bolts. Preferably he would be Phil Hartman and only say "fire bad". Because I feel like he'd be a good pal to have. And if you'd just be nice to him, and lay off the fire, he'd be pretty useful.

If Anna was in one of the different houses in Harry Potter, which one would she be in?

Kendare Blake: When she was alive? Or now? Alive, I'd say...Ravenclaw. She was pretty disciplined and sharp. Now? Well, now she wouldn't be in a house at all. She'd be the thing guarding the Sorcerer's Stone.

Thanks for chatting with us Kendare! And for giving us such a great spooky read! I'm anxious for more!

Kendare Blake: So glad you liked it, Benji! Thank you for having me by the blog. Maybe I can stop by again for GIRL OF NIGHTMARES next year. Happy Halloween, everyone! Get thee into a costume!

Author Bio:I tire of writing these things in the third person. So. I write fiction, apparently mostly YA. I didn't know this, but like Stephen King says, writers are the last ones to know what it is they've written. My first novel,Sleepwalk Society is the story of four college age friends coming of age post 9/11, stumbling through friendships and love, trying desperately not to screw themselves over. My next two, Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares are teen horror. My short fiction can be found online in numerous places.

But enough about that. When I am not writing or reading, you can generally find me sitting around wondering what the hell I'm going to do with my life. That, or being a gastronome, plotting a new recipe. Perhaps on a run or hike, playing tennis or watching Big Cat Diaries with my feline. This summer I have saved a total of three turtles during attempted road crossings.