Get ready to learn more about the book The Demon’s Guide to the Apocalypse in this discussion with sapphic author Karen Frost.
Join us for an exclusive peek behind the scenes as we quiz Karen Frost about The Demon’s Guide to the Apocalypse, writing, reading, and more.
This book is part of the Action & Adventure category in the 2024 IHS Reading Challenge.
Why did you write The Demon’s Guide to the Apocalypse?
I wrote this book after watching “Gunpowder Milkshake.” I thought there was a lot of wasted potential in that movie because it took some absolute acting legends…and only gave them a few fight scenes. The most interesting characters in that movie were the middle-aged women, and I felt like there was a story to be told about older women in an action-type genre. If Hollywood wouldn’t give them a story, I would.
Who is your favorite character in the book?
My favorite character is Theodora, because she has the funniest lines. She’s not at all like me, most of all because she carries so much anger at the world. Something was taken from her as a girl, and she’s never really been able to get past that.
What was the biggest challenge writing The Demon’s Guide to the Apocalypse?
The biggest challenge in this book was actually not writing overly long action scenes. Readers like a good fight, but you can’t have ten pages of fighting or they’ll get bored. So there’s a balance between action and moving the plot along.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
Coming up with a title for this book was awful. I asked everyone who read it whether they had a better title. No one did. So this was the best I could do. Sometimes titles come easily, sometimes they don’t…
If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?
Something I learned when writing my YA fantasy quartet was that each book in a series loses about 25% of its readership. While it would be fun to write a sequel to The Demon’s Guide to the Apocalypse, there’s not enough readership at present to support it. I bring this up because I think it’s important for readers to understand the economy of book publication. Sometimes it’s really not up to the authors as to whether there will be a sequel or not. So if you LOVED a book and want there to be a sequel, shout it from the rooftops. Tell everyone about the book. Help that author get readership up, THEN they might be able to write a sequel.
If you could spend a day with another popular author, whom would you choose?
I would be very interested in understanding how Laini Taylor’s mind works. Taylor is a YA fantasy writer who is one of the most imaginative writers I’ve ever encountered. So I’m curious whether she has a binder of ideas where she writes down thoughts as they come to her or what. How does she do it?
How do you celebrate when you finish your book?
I don’t celebrate when I finish writing a book, because normally I’m already off and running on writing the next one. I think a better celebration would be if you get a really positive review. The greatest compliment that I can receive as an author is when a reader understands what I was trying to do, the themes I’ve woven into a story, and enjoys what they read.
What do you do to get inside your character’s heads?
I think this is my biggest weakness as a writer. I’m not necessarily in my character’s heads. I don’t stop to ask myself why they do the things they do, I just let them do it. This is also probably why I could never write in the romance genre. I think fantasy is, in general, much more about actions than emotions.
Have you ever fallen in love with one of your characters?
Trivia: I actually used two TV pairings as the inspiration for two of the couples in my books. I won’t say which pairings they were here, but I wanted to use the dynamic that I saw on-screen and translate it to the page. Was I in love with those characters? That’s a strong word, but I did really like some of those characters.
What book do you wish you had written?
There are so many epic books that I think could benefit from a Sapphic retelling. For example, my wife’s favorite book is “Gone With the Wind.” I’m not the one to re-write it, but who’s re-writing that one? If someone’s done it, let me know and I’ll buy it for her.
Describe your favorite reading spot.
I live a few hundred yards from the beach, and the best thing in the world is to sit on my deck under the shade, reading with a very light sea breeze.
