T. Kingfisher is the author of the new novel Snake-Eater. Her other books include What Feasts at Night. She lives in New Mexico, and she also writes under the name Ursula Vernon.
Q: What inspired you to write Snake-Eater, and how did you create your character Selena?
A: I had always wanted to write a book in a desert setting, which isn’t common in fantasy novels. I started Snake-Eater years ago but got only so far and no farther. It wasn’t until I learned about roadrunners being terrifying little monsters that the rest of the story clicked into place.
Q: What inspired the world in which the novel is set?
A: I spent four years in Arizona as a kid and imprinted hard on the desert there. Even though I moved away and traveled all over the country, it was always the landscape of my heart. I finally moved to New Mexico recently, and that was really the catalyst to finish writing it.
Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: Honestly, I never have any idea, beyond a broad outline of “the good guys win.” I admire people who have a clear outline and can work from that—I just kinda start and plow forward and find out what happens along the way.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: Mostly I hope they enjoy it! Life being what it is, I want my readers to have an escape for a little while and to go somewhere where people are generally kind and trying their best.
If some readers see themselves in Selena and come away feeling validated or understood, that’s wonderful, but mostly I write so that my readers have somewhere to go for a little while.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Too many projects! The fifth paladin book, a weird little story about an angel and devil solving a murder, some other books…there’s a lot!
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Roadrunners are absolutely nothing like they are in the cartoons with the coyote.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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