Blog Tour: The Descent - Alma Katsu

I have a great guest post today from Alma Katsu, author of 'The Descent' which was published in the UK by Arrow on 2nd January.  I can't believe this wonderful series is finally over!

 

 

 

The Immortal Trilogy is the story of one woman’s long and difficult journey to understand the true meaning of the mysterious thing we call love. In The Descent, we come to the end of her story—or do we?

A Day in the Life of Lanore McIlvrae

Massive spoilers ahead! If you haven’t read The Descent yet, do not read on if you want to be surprised by the book’s ending.

A bit of time has passed since the events of The Descent. We’re still on the island, Adair and I. We’ve been joined by a fellow named Dante. If he were a woman you’d call him a maid of all work. I don’t know what the equivalent is for a man. He’s become indispensible here.

Usually we’re awake early on the island. Dante will get me up by seven a.m. if I’m not already awake, bringing in a tray with a bowl of café au lait. Adair has usually been up for at least an hour by now and is downstairs, keeping the children occupied.

Yes, that’s the big surprise I have for you: we have two children now. A daughter, Isabella, three years old, and a son, Nym, who is about to turn one. Isabella takes after her father. She has his curly dark hair and green-gold eyes but more than that, she is like him in so many ways. A hellion, that one, and it’s more than a little fitting that a man who was such a horrible womanizer in his time should have a daughter. I wouldn’t say Nym takes after me as he is a real angel, my little man, and we all know that I am not. At the very least, he has my coloring and my blonde curls, though his are as soft as gossamer. I couldn’t believe it when I found out I was pregnant the first time, after so many years of thinking I would never have a child. It really is quite a miracle, when you think about it.

We’ve decided to stay in the fortress for now. I’ve reconciled myself to its mysterious tricks and resolved to keep a close eye on the children, not to let them go wandering. As far as staying on the island, well, it seems like a safe place to raise children as long as you teach them a healthy respect for the water. This is where Dante comes in handy as he’s nimble as a mountain goat and there’s no place the children can get to that he can’t follow them. I figure we’ll stay here a little while longer but eventually we’ll need to move to the mainland so the children can have a more normal upbringing.

Adair is a good father. He usually spends the entire morning with the children and, after lunch, leaves the rest of us to go to his study. Lately he’s been working on translations of the old tomes left behind by the previous occupant. Yes, those old books of occult philosophy, as Adair likes to call them. I imagine he wants to publish them someday.

The past four years have been quiet. Serene, almost. But you know, I can’t help worrying. Looking over my shoulder. It’s because of the island. What Adair had said is true: it’s the spot where this world and the underworld are at their closest. I can’t help worrying that the forces in the next world, the ones we put behind us at the end of The Descent, will come looking for Adair day. I’m afraid that they’ll want him back. The love of my life, the father of my children. I try not to think about it but after everything we went through in this house, I can’t put it out of my mind. And if that happened, I don’t know what I would do. I really don’t.

Blog tour: The Reckoning - Alma Katsu

Today I'm hosting a stop on the blog tour for Alma Katsu's new book 'The Reckoning'.  Alma very kindly answered some of my questions about her book which is the sequel to 2011's hit 'The Taker.

What inspired you to write The Taker trilogy?

I love big sweeping dark stories. I love very bad men and the women who despair of them. I love history and the never-ending mystery of life. I wanted to see if I could write a story that had all these elements, because it seems there were not enough of them.

Was it always planned as a trilogy or did you ever think about it being a standalone novel?

It actually started as a standalone. I worked on The Taker, the first book, for ten years and by the time it was sold to publishers, I’d started missing the characters. They are an endearing, if headstrong, bunch! I thought of a way to continue their story—there were some unanswered questions—and luckily the publishers felt the same way.

In The Reckoning, the main character Lanore meets Lord Byron in 1822. If you could go back to any period in time and meet a famous figure who would it be and why?

It might very well be Lord Byron—mad, bad and dangerous to know! By writing him into the book, I created an opportunity I’d always wanted. It was a lot of fun, too.

The are some wonderful characters in the series. Who is your favourite character to write and why?

It has to be Adair. It is always interesting to be inside his head. Not always pleasant, but interesting. He is so unlike everyone else, so singular in his rationales, it’s like getting to study a psychopath close up. A very charismatic and seductive psychopath.

How much research did you have to do for the series considering all the different time periods and locations that the characters visit? Is this something that you enjoy doing?

I think a writer ends up drawing on things that are already bouncing around in her head. A lot of what ended up in the books has to do with things I’ve found interesting at some point in my life: the dark ages, the British Colonial period (Kipling! The Flashman series!), magic. I did a strange amount of research on castles and life in medieval times, for some reason I’ve forgotten. Luckily it came in handy for writing these novels!

As for the first book, The Taker, which was set mostly in 1820s New England, I didn’t have to do too much specialized research as I grew up in an area that had been settled in the 1700s (I like to call in Colonial ground zeo). I seem to have learned a lot through osmosis. I had to do more research on the early history of the state of Maine since that was more obscure (but fascinating) and a lot of what I learned ended up in the book in one way or another.

Can you tell me anything about what is in store for readers in the concluding instalment?

It picks up a few years after the end of The Reckoning. Lanny seeks out Adair to ask him to help her with something that only he can do: she wants to ask the Queen of the Underworld to release Jonathan. Of course, Adair fears the next plane of existence because he is afraid of being held accountable for his many sins and by sending Lanny into the underworld, he may come to the queen’s attention. Will Adair refuse Lanny’s request? What will happen when Lanny goes into the underworld? Will she be reunited with Jonathan or will her world—and Adair’s—come crashing down? We’ll finally learn the source of Adair’s mysterious powers, too. It’s not what you think it is!

Do you have any plans you can share for future writing projects?

Think I might have to defer on this question. It’s a tricky time, wrapping up one series and thinking about what comes next. I don’t want to jinx myself!

Which other books would you recommend for people who have enjoyed The Taker trilogy?

Readers might be interested in this post I wrote for Heroes and Heartbreakers listing some dark historical novels that I loved. They don’t have the supernatural element but otherwise might be a good fit for Taker fans. The ultimate is Interview With The Vampire, of course!