An Interview with Katy Rose Pool, Author of There Will Come a Darkness

September 3, 2019 | 3:00 PM

An Interview with Katy Rose Pool, Author of There Will Come a Darkness

By Team Fierce Reads

We cannot believe There Will Come a Darkness is finally here!

We feel like we’ve been waiting forever to share this incredible debut fantasy with everyone, and now that we can, we almost don’t have the words for how good it is. So instead of us trying to convince you of There Will Come a Darkness’s greatness, we’ll let this interview with the author, Katy Rose Pool, give you a taste for this masterfully crafted, phenomenal new book.

There are FIVE protagonists in There Will Come a Darkness—who's the fiercest and why?

Definitely Ephyra! I mean, she has tremendous power, doesn’t put up with crap, and she’ll go toe-to-toe with just about anyone, especially to protect her sister.

If you could give each of your five main characters one piece of advice, what would it be?

Hassan: Believe in yourself.
Jude: It’s ok to want things!
Anton: Bud. Make a friend. An ACTUAL friend.
Ephyra: Sometimes you gotta let things go.
Beru: You’re doing amazing sweetie!

What's the most interesting thing you learned while researching There Will Come a Darkness?

I did a lot of research into ancient technology, although my book has some magical technology that was definitely not present at that time! But I did learn that ancient Greeks had a way to open doors automatically using smoke. Not quite the kind of automatic doors we have now, but still pretty astonishing.

If you'd met Ephyra, Anton, Jude, Hassan, and Beru as a teen, which of the five would be your BFF?

I think Ephyra and Anton would intimidate me, Hassan would be my study buddy, and Beru and I would be friendly, but not friends because neither of us open up well to others, so my bestie would be Jude. We’d be in all the same AP classes and sit around listening to Sufjan Stevens and talking about our unrequited crushes.

What's your favorite part of being an author?

My favorite part has been working with an amazing team! When you’re writing your first book, you’re really all by yourself, figuring it out on your own. But once you get an agent, and the book sells, there are suddenly a lot of people in your corner. I’ve been so grateful for that, and it makes every good piece of news even better because I get to share it.

What's the most challenging part of being an author?

The most challenging part of it has probably been balancing the hole-up-in-a-cave-and-write part with the pretend-to-be-an-extrovert part. Don’t get me wrong—I love both of these aspects of the job, and even though I’m an introvert, it’s been so lovely and rewarding to engage with people about the book, whether that’s on Instagram or at Comic Con. But having to do both of these things, sometimes within the same day, can give me a little bit of whiplash, and either make it difficult to concentrate on the words or hard to access my friendliest and most open self.

How would you describe your book in 3 words?

Prophecy, darkness, secrets.

There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool

Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows meets Kristin Cashore's Graceling, with a dash of Winter is Coming, in this showstopping debut YA fantasy!

"I dare you not to fall madly in love with these characters.” —Laura Sebastian, New York Times bestselling author of Ash Princess

The Age of Darkness approaches.
Five lives stand in its way.
Who will stop it . . . or unleash it?

For generations, the Seven Prophets guided humanity. Using their visions of the future, they ended wars and united nations—until the day, one hundred years ago, when the Prophets disappeared.

All they left behind was one final, secret prophecy, foretelling an Age of Darkness and the birth of a new Prophet who could be the world’s salvation . . . or the cause of its destruction. As chaos takes hold, five souls are set on a collision course:

A prince exiled from his kingdom.
A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand.
A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart.
A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone.
And a dying girl on the verge of giving up.

One of them—or all of them—could break the world. Will they be savior or destroyer? Perfect for fans of Throne of Glass, Children of Blood and Bone, and An Ember in the Ashes.