K.A. Linde is the number one Sunday Times bestselling author of The Oak and Holly Cycle. Their new series, The Royal Houses, launched to an excited fan base and is currently grabbing the attentions of fantasy fans all over the world. We caught up with them to find out more.
How would you pitch House of Dragons and House of Shadows to someone who was a fan of Dungeons and Dragons?
For anyone who enjoys Dungeons and Dragons, my Royal Houses series would be a fun adventure. The main characters, Kerrigan and Fordham, go on many quests throughout the books to discover who murdered Kerrigan’s friend as well as entering into a dragon tournament. And in the second book they travel to a new land that has been forbidden entry for a thousand years and the spell around it is weakening and Kerrigan may be their salvation or their doom.
Why should I read this book?
The Royal Houses appeals to anyone who loves a good dragon story, a good slow burn romance, and good magic learning. There’s also fights for the rights of those who are not Fae. There’s an underground fighting ring, dragon tournaments, spies, a magical academy type setting, regency era Season events with dancing, an arranged marriage, a murder mystery, and so much more. It has a little bit of everything for those who love the fantasy genre.
Why has fantasy and romance suddenly become huge as genre?
While romantasy itself is a new term, it has been big for a long time. We can look back at Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series, Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series, and C. L. Wilson’s Tairen Soul series which were all massive New York Times bestselling series. They were already out there in the 90s and early 00s. Then with the rise of Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer L. Armentrout, we could see the shift that more readers wanted it. And it really boomed with Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.
Part of that is because for so long most women were relegated to writing young adult, because if there was romance in your fantasy then it wasn’t for adults. Partly it is because readers demanded it. The self publishing boom helped shape what readers wanted more of and romantasy became it!
What is the most interesting fantasy element in your books? Why?
I have a personal love for magical artifacts. The book opens on an underground magic fight where the heroine beats someone who shouldn’t and he comes after her in retribution. He gets away with it by using a magical artifact that would knock her out. Throughout the books you get introduced to new artifacts like the Ring of Endings which is immune to magic and the Collector which can take a trace of magic from every user who touches it and then used by other people. And all the artifacts build up each other as you read.
How long does it take you to get to a first draft?
I’ve been a fulltime writer since 2012 and have always been very fast at drafting. I can write more first drafts in 6 weeks.
What’s your favourite joke or pun in the book?
In House of Shadows, Kerrigan and her dragon, Tieran, don’t get along. So the entire book they are overly sarcastic and poking at one another. Tieran’s sense of humor is so clever and witty. But most of it makes sense in context.
What sort of fantasy setting do you enjoy?
Personally I love almost all of them when I’m reading. But I really loved getting to explore writing in a city in the Royal Houses. I have another series, Ascension, which was a typical journey fantasy, where each book is a different country or city they go through. But the majority of the Royal Houses are set in the city of Kinkadia. It was interesting to see how much more you had to dig deep into one world rather than getting fun new things to play with every book.
Dragons or Kobolds?
Dragon
Star Trek or Star Wars?
Star Wars
Truth or Beauty?
Truth
You can find out more here and pick up a copy of the book here.
