Author Interview: Sarah Beth Durst

I'm so happy to be chatting with Sarah Beth Durst today because I loved The Queen of Blood. It's a fantastic story, you can read my review here - but trust me, it's amazing! It comes out tomorrow, so be sure to get your hands on a copy and ask your library if they have it or will be getting it.

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Sarah's Website

Which of the spirits would you like to interact most with?

 I'd choose the air spirit that Daleina, an idealistic student who wants to be queen, flies on in THE QUEEN OF BLOOD.  It's basically an enormous ermine with bat wings -- I picture it looking like Falcor from The Neverending Story.  Granted, it would rather eat me than carry me...  In fact, it's unlikely that I'd survive more than ten minutes in Renthia.

For my new epic fantasy series, THE QUEENS OF RENTHIA, I created the most beautiful world I could imagine, full of extremes of nature: towering trees, endless glaciers, and sky-piercing mountains.  And I populated it with bloodthirsty nature spirits who want to kill all humans.

Would you rather travel for miles on foot or in the air with ziplines?

 I'd like to say ziplines, because I'd love to be the kind of person who would bravely zoom through the forest, hundreds of feet above the ground.  But I'd probably be a whimpering mess.  So I should stick to traveling on foot.

Part of the reason that I love to write (and read!) is that in books, I can be brave.  I can go on adventures.  I can defeat the massive evil.  I can travel to places I'd never dare go or that don't exist.  All without ever leaving my chair!

Would you rather be good at one skill or mediocre in several skills?

 Good at one skill, please.  It would be a nice bonus if I could choose what the skill was, but really, any skill could be a superpower if one were sufficiently amazing at it.  I admit that I'm not sure what I'd do if I had a skill like "really great at making animal sounds" or "can wiggle her ears independently," but I'd think of something...

 How many books are planned in this series?

 There are three books planned: THE QUEEN OF BLOOD, THE RELUCTANT QUEEN, and THE QUEEN OF SORROW.  I am loving writing these books so much!  It's been such an immersive experience.  Every day when I sit down to write, it feels like walking through the wardrobe into another world.

When does the next one come out because I need it!!!

 Book two will be out in July.  And book three will be out ten months after that.  So you won't need to wait a full year!  These books are on an accelerated publishing schedule, which makes me very happy.

Anything I didn't ask?

 My favorite foods are chocolate-covered strawberries, fresh raspberries, and pizza.  My favorite snack is Raisinets.  My favorite movie is Star Wars Force Awakens.  (It used to be New Hope, but Rey!!!)  My writing partner is Gwen.  She's a cat.  She contributes by stepping on the Caps Lock key and sleeping on print-outs of my manuscripts.  And that's pretty much everything there is to know about me.  Oh, I also have really, really curly hair that repels water like a duck.