YA Horror/Thriller Spooktacular Day 13 - Mortal Gods + Giveaway

I have wrangled another YA horror/thriller veteran into doing an interview with me today, and even better she lives in my state! (Well, better for me, and all of you who live in Washington around Seattle!)  Who is it?  Well I will give you a hint.  She wrote a two-book series with a Supernatural-eque plot but had never actually seen the show until the book was published.  Any guesses?  If you guessed Kendare Blake you are correct!  

Peace, Love, Teen Fiction: We’ll start off with the cliché, describe the Antigoddess series in 15 words or less.

Kendare Blake:  Fifteen words? Ok. So. These gods are dying, see, and they’re real pissed about it, see, and chaos ensues badum bum ching! I’m counting the sound effects as one word.

PLTF:  First ghosts and now gods, you seem to like writing about things that shouldn’t be able to die but do anyway.  How come?

KB:  Maybe I’m saying something deep about our own fragile nature. Maybe I’m secretly afraid of my own soft, mortal underbelly. Or maybe I just like writing about things that don’t go down easy.

PLTF:  In this new series gods are dying and you’ve come up with some pretty inventive ways to do so.  What has been your favorite god to kill and how did they die/how are they dying?

KB:  My favorite dying god is probably Poseidon, just because he gives the best image. His hulking, diseased form, waiting at the bottom of the sea and run through with oil and slivers of kelp…it just makes me so happy.

PLTF:  What’s going through your mind as you kill one of your characters?

KB:  Depends on who it is. Sometimes it’s tough. Others, it’s more of a general. Huh. Bummer. And then there are those where I just say, sucks to be you, dude.

PLTF:  What’s next?

KB:  After MORTAL GODS comes the final book in the trilogy, UNGODLY. It should be out in fall 2015! Also that year I’ve got a story I really like coming out in SLASHER GIRLS & MONSTER BOYS. And then, in 2016, THREE DARK CROWNS should kick off from HarperTeen. It’s about three queens, triplets, who rule a remote magical island. But only one can have the crown, and on the island, that means the last queen standing.

Lightning round
1.     On a scale of 1 to 10 how scary is your book? 2. I don’t think The Goddess War is that scary. Of course, I don’t think much is that scary.
2.     If you were a character in your book would you survive? Of course! Unless I was a main character. Then perhaps not.
3.     Favorite scary movie? Nightmare on Elm Street. 4?
4.     Favorite Halloween candy? Individual Hershey Kisses.
5.     What were you last year for Halloween or what do you plan on being this year? Last year I was nothing. I wanted to be Kato but I couldn’t find a Green Hornet. This year, I will be on tour, so I will probably be nothing again.

This or that
1.     Ghosts or gods? To have in your house? Ghosts. Gods would trash the joint. To party with? Gods. I think you know why.
2.     Fight the curse or make use of the time you have left? Why not do both?
3.     Forgiveness or revenge? A little bit of revenge, then a whole lot of forgiveness.
4.     Knives or hand to hand combat? Hand to hand. Unless we’re talking practicalities, because I am small, and would need knives.
5.     Tricks or treats? Treats! For me! While I watch people be tricked. 

1. 
   

                                                                                                        ANTIGODDESS

Old Gods never die…

Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.

Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra—an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god. 

These days, Cassandra doesn’t involve herself in the business of gods—in fact, she doesn’t even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning. 

Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out. 

Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath.

The Goddess War is about to begin.

MORTAL GODS  (Highlight for synopsis as it contains spoilers for ANTIGODDESS)

Ares, God of War, is leading the other dying gods into battle. Which is just fine with Athena. She's ready to wage a war of her own, and she's never liked him anyway. If Athena is lucky, the winning gods will have their immortality restored. If not, at least she'll have killed the bloody lot of them, and she and Hermes can die in peace.

Cassandra Weaver is a weapon of fate. The girl who kills gods. But all she wants is for the god she loved and lost to return to life. If she can't have that, then the other gods will burn, starting with his murderer, Aphrodite.

The alliance between Cassandra and Athena is fragile. Cassandra suspects Athena lacks the will to truly kill her own family. And Athena fears that Cassandra's hate will get them ALL killed.

The war takes them across the globe, searching for lost gods, old enemies, and Achilles, the greatest warrior the world has ever seen. As the struggle escalates, Athena and Cassandra must find a way to work together. Because if they can't, fates far worse than death await.

Find Antigoddess on

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Find Mortal Gods on

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Kendare Blake is an import from South Korea who was raised in the United States by caucasian parents. You know, that old chestnut. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Ithaca College and a Master’s degree in Writing from Middlesex University in London. She brakes for animals, the largest of which was a deer, which sadly didn’t make it, and the smallest of which was a mouse, which did, but it took forever. Amongst her likes are Greek Mythology, rare red meat and veganism. She also enjoys girls who can think with the boys like Ayn Rand, and boys who scare the morality into people, like Bret Easton Ellis.

Find Kendare on

Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Her Website

I am going to Kendare's home launch party for Mortal Gods and decided that I would do a giveaway for a signed copy of one of her books.  Fill out the rafflecopter form below by the 28th for a chance to win a signed copy of ANY of her published books out now which include Anna Dressed in Blood, Girl of Nightmares, Antigoddess, and Mortal Gods.  Please check and make sure the name you write in the personalization box is correct because I am not responsible for any mistakes you make.  The giveaway will be open internationally!  PLEASE make sure to check you email/back to see if you've won!

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