The time it was about The King Slayer

I read The Witch Hunter on a whim and really enjoyed it.  When I went into it, I was expecting a trilogy, so imagine my surprise when I got to the end of The King Slayer and there wasn’t a wicked cliffhanger! Of course when it came time for the blog tour, I couldn’t sign up fast enough.

Before we get to Virginia’s interview, let’s check out the book!

An action-packed and suspenseful sequel to The Witch Hunter, perfect for fans of Graceling and the Grisha Trilogy.

“I think, in time, you’ll either be my greatest mistake or my greatest victory.”

Former witch hunter Elizabeth Grey is hiding within the magically protected village of Harrow, evading the price put on her head by Lord Blackwell, the usurper king of Anglia. Their last encounter left Blackwell ruined, but his thirst for power grows stronger every day. He’s readying for a war against those who would resist his rule–namely Elizabeth and the witches and wizards she now calls her allies.

Having lost her stigma, a magical source of protection and healing, Elizabeth’s strength is tested both physically and emotionally. War always means sacrifice, and as the lines between good and evil blur once more, Elizabeth must decide just how far she’ll go to save those she loves.

“Filled with everything a good fantasy book needs: swords, poison, black magic, and betrayal.”–April Tucholke, author of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, on The Witch Hunter

IndieBound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks

Sounds good, right?

1. Please give the elevator pitch for The Witch Hunter series.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets The Tudors. This is unofficial, of course, but it’s how I originally pitched the story to my agent and I think it captures the spirit of the book, the characters, and the humor perfectly.

2. Where did the idea come from?

THE WITCH HUNTER was a collision of ideas and experiences that included (but are not limited to): having just moved back to the States from London, coming off a Joss Whedon Firefly/Buffy Netflix binge, and being deeply obsessed with Phillipa Gregory’s THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL and THE BOLEYN INHERITANCE. Those are the major influences. Minor influences also include reverse culture shock, a failed career, an early mid-life crisis, and an unwavering desire to do something about it all.

3. Why do you love Elizabeth and why should we root for her?

Elizabeth is not the kind of girl who believes she’s inherently special. She knows she’s not. She’s an ordinary girl put into extraordinary circumstances, she makes mistakes—repeatedly—and she learns from them. I like that about her. But what I like most is that no matter what happens to her, she is never the victim. She takes her hits and keeps on going, never casting blame on others or making excuses for herself. She’s too good for that.

4. What makes a good villain and how did you incorporate that into the story?

I think the best type of villain is not someone who is necessarily inherently evil, but someone who never believes they’re wrong. Because if you never believe you’re wrong, you cannot ever learn from your mistakes (you didn’t make any, see?). Over time this makes someone stubborn, intractable, uncompromising, hard; it makes someone blind to the truth of things and often, they become their own worst enemy.

5. What was the weirdest thing you had to google while doing research?

“Tudor underwear.” I can tell you all about 16^th century underthings for both boys and girls, what they wear and in which order they go on and come off. Knowledge like this makes me good at trivia, and also an entertaining party guest.

Speed [ish] round:

1. You get the call/email/letter that says you’re being published for the first time. Describe the next 5 minutes.

What happened was this: I was in London with my husband, and I was deathly ill with the flu. So when I got off the phone with the news, I took a dose of Lemsip (the UK version of Theraflu), dragged myself to a pub to meet some friends, and celebrated.

2. What three things would you take to a desert island?

I guess I can’t say “my cellphone with a solar battery charger”, so I’ll say Chapstick, my running shoes, and THE CAPTIVE PRINCE trilogy (and if the “trilogy” bit is a cheat, then I’ll take the last book in the series, KING’S RISING.)

3. You can only read one book for the rest of your life. What is it?

It’s a toss up between KING’S RISING by CS Pascat, UPROOTED by Naomi Novik, or SCORPIO RACES by Maggie Steifvater.

4. Who is your favorite book boyfriend and book BFF?

Sean Kendrick from THE SCORPIO RACES will always be my book boyfriend. My book BFF is Echo from Melissa Grey’s THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT.

5. What is the one thing about publishing you wish someone would have told you?

I have heard from more than one person that if you stay in publishing long enough, you will experience everything it has to offer, both the highs and the lows. I like the idea of this, and I hope it’s true—I want to be kept guessing.

6. You wake up and discover you are Bella in Twilight. You know how it plays out. What do you do differently? {Huge thanks to Bookish Broads for letting me use this question}

Understand that I don’t have to marry my boyfriend in order to sleep with him. It’s okay. (Really.) Live my life first before bringing children into it. Travel! See the world. Experience things. Date other boys! Know that my older self will thank me for it. Profusely.

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Virginia Boecker recently spent four years in London obsessing over English medieval history, which formed the basis of The Witch Hunter. She now lives in the Bay Area, California with her husband and spends her days writing, reading, running, and chasing around her two children and a dog named George.

In addition to English kings, nine-day queens, and Protestant princesses, her other obsessions include The Smiths, art museums, champagne, and Chapstick. She is represented by the incomparable Kathleen Ortiz at New Leaf Literary & Media.

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Huge thanks to the ladies at Rockstar Book Tours for the invite and to Virginia for taking the time.  Make sure you’re checking out Virginia’s website, following her on Twitter, liking her Facebook page, and adding all of her books to your Goodreads TBR.

Definitely check out the rest of the tour stops for extra goodies and keep scrolling for a giveaway!!

**Good Luck!!**

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