I was pretty much sold on The Wicker King by K. Ancrum from the cover alone. I read the synopsis and loved it and even though I haven’t gotten a chance to read the book yet, I couldn’t sign up for the blog tour fast enough.
Before we get to Kayla’s interview, let’s check out the book.
Title: The Wicker King
Author: K. Ancrum
Pages: 320
Pub Date: 10/31/17
Publisher: Imprint
Find it: Fierce Reads | Indiebound | B&N | Amazon | GoodreadsWhen August learns that his best friend, Jack, shows signs of degenerative hallucinatory disorder, he is determined to help Jack cope. Jack’s vivid and long-term visions take the form of an elaborate fantasy world layered over our own—a world ruled by the Wicker King. As Jack leads them on a quest to fulfill a dark prophecy in this alternate world, even August begins to question what is real or not.
August and Jack struggle to keep afloat as they teeter between fantasy and their own emotions. In the end, each must choose his own truth.
Sounds good, right?
1. Please give the elevator pitch for The Wicker King.
My original query letter for this book started like this:
“Seventeen year old August Bateman definitely burned down the abandoned toy factory in the middle of the woods. He doused the entire thing in gasoline and vodka, then stood there as it went up in flames.
And, he is not sorry at all.”
2. What sparked the idea?
I stumbled upon the disorder Jack has while on a Wikipedia binge. Its called Peduncular Hallucinosis and it’s one of the most fascinating conditions. It produces hallucinations that are incredibly realistic, yet it isn’t tied to any psychological disorder. Sufferers are aware they are hallucinations and fixing the condition is generally very straightforward. Visions seen while having the condition largely affect perception of animals, people, size and proportion and the general landscape. It’s such a good set up for the creation of a fantasy reality that I’m surprised no one else has written anything about it. I tried to keep the disorder as close to textbook accurate while portraying it because in all honesty, taking creative liberties with a real condition seemed disrespectful. That said, it is cinematic enough on its own without adjustments.
3. Why do you love August and Jack and why should we root for them?
I love August and Jack because they are both so painfully selfless when it comes to each other. They are also incredibly vulnerable in so many ways and they honestly just need protection.
4. What was the weirdest thing you googled while researching?
When I was originally designing the multimedia interior, I had to find some police forms from the early 2000s. So I looked up something like “Police booking form sample 2003, fingerprints” or “Blank police forms and mugshots” and a bunch of other similar queries. Then, suddenly Google blocked my IP. from searching anything else unless I filled out a small form with my personal information. I kid you not. I was so scared y’all.
5. Without spoilers, what was your favorite scene to write?
I liked all of the scenes with the character Rina. She’s so lovely and bold. I particularly like the scene where Rina and Jack are holding hands and August realizes he doesn’t dislike it.
Speed {ish} round:
1. You find out that you’re being published for the first time. Describe the next 5 minutes.
I was at work, so I went and sat down at my desk quietly and had a psychological crisis because I wanted to scream but couldn’t.
2. What three things would you take to a desert island?
Cellphone, saltwater filter and a boat.
3. You can only read one book for the rest of your life. What is it?
Enders Game. I’m convinced Orson Scott Card poured all his humanity in to it like was some sort of Horcrux. And yes, I am aware of and firm on all nuances that this statement implies about OSC.
4. What book character would you want to date and who would you want to be your BFF?
The last time I had a crush on a book character was nearly a full decade ago and it was Remus Lupin. For my BFF, lets stick in the same universe and I’ll pick Luna Lovegood.
5. What is the one thing about publishing you wish someone would have told you?
This is going to sound dumb, but I couldn’t truly fathom the length of time involved. I finished writing The Wicker King when I was 21 and I’m 26 now. I got signed with my agent a couple months later at 22. I would honestly say that my journey to where I am now went much smoother and quicker than it could have and it still took 5 years from the last keystroke to shelves. Looking back on it, I consider myself lucky that it went that quickly.
6. You wake up and discover you are Bella in Twilight. You know how it plays out. What do you do differently.
I think I would be so alarmed by Edward’s initial behavior that I wouldn’t have enough time to fall in love with him or get to know him. No stranger is nice or attractive enough to get away with half of the dodgy stuff he does just within the first couple of chapters. Once I’d gotten past that initial scene where I’m trying to google what he could be and I vaguely figure it out. My first thought wouldn’t be open minded mild attraction. It would be “Oh great, now I have to fight off vampires.” Then “How do I prove to enough strong and smart people that they are vampires so that we can work together to kill them.” And then “How do I coordinate this attack while I’m being stalked.” And finally “Alternatively, how can I convince my dad to move with me somewhere else so I can wash my hands of this whole affair without having to learn how to stab anyone.”
And now here’s an awesome gif from the cover shoot:
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Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
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Huge thanks to Macmillan for the invite and to Kayla for taking the time. Make sure you’re checking the rest of the blog tour for extra goodies.
The Wicker King releases 10/31/17.
Blog tour
Seeing Double in NeverLand | 10-22 | Interview with author |
Novel Novice | 10-23 | Styled by Books |
A Backwards Story | 10-24 | Playlist |
Take Me Away to a Great Read | 10-25 | Mood Board |
Love is Not a Triangle | 10-26 | Would You Rather Q’s |
Undeniably Book Nerdy | 10-27 | Guest Post: Creating August and Jack’s Characters: Inspirations and Challenges |
It Starts at Midnight | 10-28 | Guest Post: top ten favorite stories with alternate worlds and/or realities |
Book Briefs | 10-29 | Guest Post: Top 10 Things we didn’t know about Kayla! |
Adventures of a Book Junkie | 10-30 | Interview |
Across the Words | 10-31 | Character Cast |
It sounds so interesting! I love that pitch.
Cora ❤ http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
I love the pitch too! I can’t wait to get into this book.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Ah, yesss. This cover is pretty awesome looking :D Maaaybe not a book for me.. but sort of curious about it even so :) I hope you will end up loving it lots when you get to read it Stacee. <3 As always, awesome interview post :D
Thanks for sharing the interview! The idea sparking answer was fascinating. I did’t know Google did that IP blocking thing, wow, and that’s really not that much of an out there thing to be looking up, in my opinion, ha ha. Anyway, I had no interest in reading this title before, but now I am going to add it to Goodreads. Mission accomplished.