Leigh Bardugo, author of Shadow and Bone and the upcoming Siege and Storm, is now on a blog tour every day until the release of said book, and on this second stop, she answers some questions about Siege and Storm, so be warned, there might be slight spoilers in this Q&A.
Alina finds herself in the rather unique position of having to design an original kefta to wear so as to set her apart from the other Grisha. If you were in her shoes, what might the kefta you design for yourself look like?
Oh wow. I love this question, but I’m so torn. I’d either go Heartrender red or just take my chances and dare to wear black.
We get to meet a new and magnificent mythical creature in this second installment. Is there any one magical or mythological creature that has always fascinated you most?
I desperately want a direwolf, but I would gladly settle for a baby dragon. I think the gorgon always fascinated me. There’s something very poignant about that myth and the way she’s defeated.
Let’s say you arrive at the Little Palace and petition Alina to let you aid her. What type of position do you think would best suit you and what skills would you bring to the table to assist her with her many and varied problems?
Alina would probably send me packing. I have no skills! Maybe I could tell her stories and sing her songs? I can whip up a pretty good apple and apricot tart. Beyond that, I’ve always thought I’d make an excellent fool what with the capering and falling down. I’m certainly willing to wear bells, but I can’t juggle or play an instrument so I may be out of luck.
Alina’s life gets significantly more complicated and dangerous in Siege and Storm. If she were to stand in front of a mirror and admit to her own face one of her greatest fears knowing speaking it aloud would ease some of her burden, what might she say?
In Shadow and Bone, I think Alina most fears that she will never find her place in the world, that she will always be an outsider, that the one person who truly knows her will leave her behind. Those fears are still there in Siege and Storm, but she’s also contending with terrible guilt and the burden of tremendous power. I don’t know that it would be as simple as articulating a single fear.
Mal and Alina have known each other almost their entire lives. What would Mal say is one of his fondest memories of them together growing up?
This question made me really think about the memories that come up for both of them over the course of the series. So often they seem like stolen things—sneaking away to play in the meadow, or the brief moments in the dom cart. Keramzin wasn’t a joyful place, so the happiness they found they had to make together.
The Darkling continuously haunts Alina throughout this story, trying to get her to see things his way through both veiled and obvious threats as well as soothing words. If he was to stand before her to try and convince her of his cause one final time but had to do so in the form of a single question, what would he ask her?
I’m not sure he’d ask anything at all. The Darkling isn’t big on requests.
(via second blog tour stop: Supernatural Snark. Go there to enter to win a paperback copy of Shadow and Bone and a Hardcover copy of the upcoming Siege and Storm!)