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.

Anna Dressed in Blood

It's time to get your spooky on with my review of Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake.

Summary:Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

My review: This is one of the scariest books I've read. Ever. It shocked me. It horrified me. And I loved every minute! It was wicked awesome!

First things first, I love ghost stories! They are freaking awesome. And there has been so much buzz about this, I just knew it would be great! And, I was (for once) not wrong. If you're looking for a scare this Halloween, this book is #1!

One of my favorite parts of this novel was the characters. Cas was pretty badass and cool, and his narrative was hilarious! He was perfect at putting things in perspective.

But if Cas was cool, Anna was godly. She was so awesome! Blake did a very good job of making you feel her pain and understand why she murdered people. Though she was a killer, it was clear she was no villain. She was such a great character though, and I need to know what happens, thankfully there is a sequel in the works!

Besides Anna and Cas, Caramel and Thomas, the two side characters added a lot to the story, and I liked them a lot. Basically all the characters in this book are awesome!

The setting in this story is very vivid. And I loved each lush little detail. Blake paints a picture like few others can. I can't believe this is her debut!

Anna Dressed in Blood is an extraordinary novel that will make you sleep with the lights on, and grown men jump at things like the telephone and alarm clocks. The best book to read this Halloween!

5/5

Cover Comments: Best. Cover. Ever. So. Freaking. Awesome. And. Scary.

Source: Bought from Amazon.

Reading Challenges:

October Paranormal Reading Challenge: 4

111 in 2011: 87