After helping edit Unholy for Emma Russell, I asked if they would be happy to answer some questions about their book for my blog. As on this moment, I haven’t read the finished version of Unholy, however, as there was some extra changes made after I last edited the manuscript, but I am excited to read it. In the meantime, I am sharing my first interview on my blog with the lovely Emma Russell.
What inspired you to write Unholy?
Unholy actually started out as a vampire story! I am a D&D nerd and was looking into a lot of Curse of Strahd stuff, and I had the idea of a paladin befriending a vampire. The story kind of evolved from there, influenced by my ideas around religion and trusting in something beyond our comprehension. It always started with Mallory, Klaus and Simon, then Lovett and Ysabell were added in to the second draft and their own story developed as I was writing.
It was also really fun to write people who are inherently flawed, there was something grounding that was refreshing compared to my past works. For the first time, I was working in the messy grey area. I really enjoyed that. I’ve written good people and bad people, and it was nice to have a new angle in Unholy.
What do you hope people take away from your book?
That people are messy, and are not going to necessarily make decisions you agree with, and that we all do what we must to protect the people we love. Also, I think especially with Mallory’s story, that the will to live is a powerful thing. Considering my own personal struggles with mental health, writing some of Mallory’s scenes was incredibly healing. If nothing else, I want people to find some hope in her arc. And also that everyone should eat more sorbet, if not for the drama, for the taste.
The characters in Unholy are mostly morally grey, who is your favourite?
How dare you ask such a thing. They are all my sweet beautiful babies and I cannot believe you’re making me choose. To answer your question seriously, there’s something I like about all of them. There’s Mallory’s stubbornness, Simon’s devotion, Klaus’ hunger to fix the world, Lovett’s search for a purpose and Ysabell’s trust in the divine all make them so interesting. And that’s only the fun buzzwords, there’s more to them. It was fun writing for each of them and finding their perspective on the world they live in. They’re all so different, I couldn’t possibly decide who I liked writing for the most.
If you had to live in the world of Unholy, where would you live and what would you do?
You would find me in one of the coastal towns, baking bread, tending to my garden and not getting involved in any of the drama. A lot of drama happens in this book, there’s a whole conflict going on with the Tainted and the Damned and you know what? Not for me. I will happily sit back and let the paladins handle this. That’s why the Sanctuary exists! I would be the most boring perspective to follow if I was in Unholy.
Are there any more plans for stories set within the world of Unholy?
I don’t tend to write sequels or continuations to my stories. BUT. There was SO MUCH that got cut from Unholy. I had to be so ruthless. It broke my heart. I’ve had to make an exception to my rule, because I could not let my dear thralls be sidelined. They’re getting their own novella, since I had an idea on how to expand on their small appearances in Unholy. It will continue on from the events at the end of Unholy, focussing on the character of Nadia. I won’t say more—got to build up the hype!
Conclusion of the interview with Emma Russell
Overall, I think there’s some interesting topic explored in Unholy, especially with all of the morally gray characters and the examination of religion and faith withing that world. Though, I am biased.
The interview with Emma Russell was very fun to do for me, and I hope I can interview more indie authors about their books. If you are an indie author who wants to be interviews, let me know!
Otherwise, you can check out Emma Russell’s Instagram @intheeyesofapixie, buy Unholy as a paperback here, or check out the rest of their stuff here. Or, if you want to find out about my own book coming out this autumn, click here.