Seventeen-year-old Keralie Corrington may seem harmless, but in fact, she’s one of Quadara’s most skilled thieves and a liar. Varin, on the other hand, is an honest, upstanding citizen of Quadara’s most enlightened region, Eonia. Varin runs afoul of Keralie when she steals a package from him, putting his life in danger. When Varin attempts to retrieve the package, he and Keralie find themselves entangled in a conspiracy that leaves all four of Quadara’s queens dead.
With no other choices and on the run from Keralie’s former employer, the two decide to join forces, endeavoring to discover who has killed the queens and save their own lives in the process. When their reluctant partnership blooms into a tenuous romance, they must overcome their own dark secrets in hopes of a future together that seemed impossible just days before. But first they have to stay alive and untangle the secrets behind the nation’s four dead queens.
Told in multi-perspectives, this was an interesting book. Each chapter sent me to a different character’s story which got a bit frustrating as you wanted to know what was happening with the character you were reading but it was all the more for me to keep turning the page.. Looking forward to the next installment I am sure there’s plenty more intrigue where this came from!!
Exclusive Q&A with author Astrid Scholte
Congratulations on releasing your debut novel “Four Dead Queens!” Whilst we can always read the blurb and your book, I would like to know from your own words, how would YOU pitch “Four Dead Queens” to someone who hasn’t read it yet?
Four Dead Queens is an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery set in a nation divided into four very distinct regions, ruled by four very different queens. When a 17-year-old thief intercepts a message that shows all four of the queens brutally murdered, she must figure out who did it and why, and not be the next on the murderer’s list.
How did you create the world and ‘sectors’ in your story – did you create a map yourself? Did someone help you construct the world? It’s very creative!
Thank you! This might sound a little cliché, but I had a dream where I was sitting in a horse-drawn carriage when a futuristic silver car flew past. When I woke, I wondered what kind of world would exist with such contrasting technologies and how this would impact the people who lived there. I wanted the regions to be exact opposites of each other, as this always creates great drama! Eonia was the first quadrant that was solidified, with their focus on technology and medicine but with a repressed society. From there, I wanted one quadrant to be contrasting that, which was Ludia, which is the pleasure quadrant who revel in only the lighter things in life. It was a bit of a balancing act, creating enough push and pull between the different quadrant. While I did draw a version of the map, it was no way near as beautiful as Virginia Allyn’s version in the book!
If you could teleport to any realm or sector of your story, where would you want to go and why?
I’d want to go to Ludia. It encompasses all the things I love: literature, art, music, entertainment and much more! I’d love to roam the colorful streets, eat the fluffy pastries (they would have to be gluten-free!) and enjoy the party atmosphere. I’m a big kid at heart, so anything that captures my imagination is where I’d want to be.
Astrid Scholte was a Supa-Star guest at Sydney Supanova, appearing on the “Supanova Bookclub” panel as well as “Writing powerful women in fantasy and horror” and “BIFF – BAM – POW!! Writing kick ass fight scenes”
Which was your favourite panel to sit on in Sydney Supanova and why?
I loved them all! But “Writing powerful women in fantasy and horror” was probably my favourite as I think it’s important to discuss and highlight women with agency in fiction – something YA does very well!
Why do you believe it is important to have powerful female characters in books?
I think it’s important to see female characters working harmoniously together, rather than at odds with each other, in this current political climate. Many fantasies have mostly male casts, aside from the main character, with kings often in power or an evil queen that needs to be overthrown. If there are multiple female characters, they tend to be at odds with each other—vying over the same crown, or love interest. In Four Dead Queens, I wanted to create a monarchy that was made up of four women, each different and strong in their own way, who supported one another, rather than tearing each other down. While the monarchy of the four concurrent queens is not perfect, it has maintained peace in Quadara for over hundreds of years, and it’s not until the queens begin to be murdered, that the system crumbles.
When you are not writing or reading – what would you be doing?
I love oil painting and can often be found in my “art studio”, also known as my garage!, painting my favourite fictional characters. I also painted the characters from 4DQ, which you can see here: https://www.astridscholte.com/thequeens
I’m also a massive Disney fan, so you’ll often find me daydreaming about my next Disney theme park trip!
Top Ten “This or That?”
1. Tea or Coffee?
Coffee, but it must have lots of chocolate and sugar!
2. E-Books or Paperback?
Paperback
3. Bookstores or Libraries?
Bookstores
4. Summer or Winter?
Summer
5. TV Series or Movies?
TV series
6. Stand alone books or series?
Standalone
7. Flawed or Flawless Heroes/Heroines?
Flawed!!!
8. 90’s Hits or Hits of Today?
Hits of today
9. Books about a stranger coming to town or the protagonist going on a journey?
Protagonist going on a journey
10. Open endings or closed endings?
Closed endings with a few loose threads…
With special thanks to Allen & Unwin Publishers for sending me a review copy of this book and to Astrid Scholte for participating in our exclusive blog Q&A
-Annie
Read3rz Re-Vu 