Holly Black’s White Cat

If you follow either of us on Twitter, you know how much we LOVE Holly Black’s newest novel, WHITE CAT. It’s the first book in her new series THE CURSEWORKERS & one of the BEST books we’ve read in years. White Cat is the Godfather of urban fantasy/romance – one of those rare books that makes the rest of us writers look like idiots.

We convinced Holly to give us an exclusive interview. Read the first part of the interview here & Part II on our fansite Caster Girls HERE.

Watch the trailer HERE.

Our Interview with New York Times Bestselling Author, HOLLY BLACK:

Kami: You know we’re both obsessed with WHITE CAT, the first novel in your new series, the Curseworkers!  It has all the elements I love in a fantasy novel: an original universe, high stakes, a main character I can totally crush on, and an ending I never saw coming. It’s one of those books I wish I had written. But for those who haven’t read WC, yet, what are curseworkers?

Holly: Thank you so much for the kind words!  In the world of WHITE CAT, one in a thousand people have the ability to do curse magic.  There are seven types (luck, dreams, emotion, physical, memories, death, and transformation) and each curse worker can only use one.  Since the 1920s, magic has been illegal in the United States, leading to the rise of curse magic crime families.  Not every curse worker is a member of the magical mob, but enough of them are to give the rest a shady reputation.

Kami & Margie: What kind of curseworker would you be?

Holly: Luck is the most common, so probably luck.  I think that would be tempting enough to use – but at least if you give good luck, you also get good luck.

Kami & Margie: Everyone we know who reads WHITE CAT is blown away—authors, booksellers, bloggers. How did you come up with the idea?

Holly: Again, thank you!  I read a true crime book a couple of years ago, called Son of A Grifter by Kent Walker and Mark Schone.  It told the story of how Kent grew up in this totally amoral family and came to define his own personal sense of right and wrong.  I was really interested in writing about someone in a similar situation.  And, also, I have been a fan of con and heist films as well as noir, so I wanted to write something in that genre.

Kami & Margie: Okay, on to our favorite subject—Cassel. We have a serious book crush on him. Tell us a little about Cassel.

Holly: I am so glad you like him.  Cassel grew up in a family of con artists and curse workers.  He’s not a curse worker himself – although he is something of a con artist.  He has this terrible memory of killing Lila Zacharov, the girl he loved.  The memory haunts him, a reminder that no matter what he does, he’s never going to be a good person.  Even worse, he has no memory of why he did it.

Kami & Margie: There’s an incredibly unexpected and compelling romance in the book. It reminds us that everyone has that one person they can never forget—or give up on. Did you consciously create such an epic romance?

Holly: The thing I find most romantic in the world is the idea that we are not loved despite our faults, but because of them.  Cassel loves a girl who can be cruel, dangerous and probably a little crazy.  But Cassel loves all those things about her  — he really wouldn’t want her any other way.

WHITE CAT is on sale now. Find it at your local library or bookstore.

Want to find out more??? Read Part II of this interview HERE.

Holly is currently on tour. Check out her schedule to see if she is coming to a bookstore near you! She will also be touring with the Smart Chicks Tour (and us) in September.

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Dying to read WHITE CAT? Enter to win an autographed copy by leaving a comment here. You can leave 2 comments if you follow Holly on twitter @hollyblack.