The third installment of Andrea Cremer's "Nightshade" trilogy has just been published, but don't think that means she's done with the characters.
"'Bloodrose' brings a particular plot arc to a close," Cremer said. "However, there are more stories to be told that focus on other characters, times and places."
Cremer is a professor at Macalester College in St. Paul, specializing in the history of religion, violence and sexuality in the early modern period -- that is, the time just after the Middle Ages. It's not all that far removed, she says, from the historical fantasies she writes, and which have landed her on the New York Times bestseller list twice.
"The worlds I investigate in history were places where the supernatural was taken in stride as part of the fabric of human life," she said. "I think my fascination with the strange and magical in fiction mirrors the deep roots of myth and folklore in history."
"Bloodrose" will launch Friday at a party at Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul. In advance of that, Cremer answered our 10 questions:
Q: Describe your writing room.
A: My writing room is whatever room I'm in. Given my busy schedule and the amount of traveling I do, I need to be able to write anywhere. I can be found writing at my office at Macalester, on my couch or at my desk at home, in a local coffee shop or in the airport while I'm waiting to board.
Q: What is your writing strategy -- do you have rituals that you maintain?
