Holly Black is back, with her highly anticipated and jaw-dropping finale to The Folk of the Air trilogy.
[audiobook title=”The Queen of Nothing” isbn=”9781549150173″ author=”Holly Black” narrator=”Caitlin Kelly”][/audiobook]
Holly told us about her inspiration, the audiobook, and what independent bookstores have meant in her life.
Please tell us a little bit about what inspired you to write this book and how this story took shape for you.
I started with the idea of a reverse changeling story. Jude is a human girl raised in Faerie by the murderer of her parents, who has become kind of like a father to her. She’s trying to find her place in Faerie and is thwarted by the youngest — and some would say the worst — of the princes of Elfhame, Prince Cardan. All the Folk of the Air books, and in particular The Queen of Nothing, are about Jude’s rise to power and the question of how far she’ll go to keep that power. How much like Madoc will she become?
In two sentences or less, what’s something that might surprise listeners about your audiobook?
There is a particular much-remarked upon passage in which the audio narrator has to repeat something over and over again that is very different to listen to, than to look at!
Have you listened to your own audiobook? If so, what struck you about the narration?
I always listen to a little bit of the beginning to hear how the narrator reads, but I can’t listen to the whole thing, because I would become gripped with the desire to edit it! Caitlin Kelly is a wonderful reader!
Are you an audiobook listener? If so, what are some of your favorite audiobooks?
I like to listen to audiobooks on long car drives, often nonfiction audiobooks—the Brene Brown books are great!
What have independent bookstores and/or booksellers meant to you personally and professionally?
I’m immensely grateful to independent booksellers for having my books on their shelves and supporting my work over the years. They’re the tastemakers and influencers who connect books with readers. I didn’t grow up with a local indie, and living in Amherst with lot of great independent bookstores near me, I have gotten to see all the ways they’re wonderful. I have a six-year-old who gets to play in the basement of Odyssey Books in South Hadley where there’s a little slide and a magnet letter board and tons of picture books to look through. The last time we came in, they remembered his obsession with black holes and had put aside a book just for him.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with us about the audiobook?
Thank you for listening!