That Dark Infinity | Author Interview | Book Tour

I’m so excited to be a part of the book tour for That Dark Infinity that is hosted by TBR and Beyond Tours. I was really excited to also be able to interview the author for this book!

INTERVIEW

Welcome Kate! Thank you for allowing me to interview you! Can you start off by introducing yourself?

Sure! I’m Kate Pentecost, author of Elysium Girls and That Dark Infinity, I’m an Aries/Pisces cusp, and That Dark Infinity is the second book I published but the first one I wrote.

How would you describe That Dark Infinity in one sentence?

Oof! That’s difficult, but I’ll give it a try.  “A mercenary who is cursed to die and resurrect every day and a handmaiden who has lost her country and her people go on a seemingly impossible quest to try and gain back the things they have lost.”

Can you introduce us to the main character(s) of That Dark Infinity?

The main characters are the Ankou (also known as Lazarus) and Flora, a former handmaiden to the princess of Kaer-Ise. Lazarus has spent the last three hundred years dying and resurrecting when he was inadvertently cursed with semi-eternal life after being resurrected the first time. He’s a big softie, but dresses in the scariest way possible to keep people away from him (and also because he’s a bit of a fashionisto.) He is a mercenary who kills impossible monsters because he figures he might as well make his invincibility useful. He’s growing very tired of it, and very depressed, however, and is trying to find a way to die permanently. 

Flora was a handmaiden and playmate to Betheara, the princess of the island city-state of Kaer-Ise. She is bisexual, and had an unrequited love for her friend, and now, after she almost died (and was assaulted) protecting the princess during the raid that destroyed her country, she is trying to find the princess again. The Ankou is the one who finds her, and they agree that he will travel anywhere she wants to go in search of the princess as long as she also agrees to help him find his death. Flora is very determined and considerate, and she and Lazarus quickly form a very strong bond.

Do you know from the beginning how your books will end or do you let your characters decide their journey?

I generally know how it will end in a general sense, then it becomes more concrete as the story naturally reaches its conclusion.

Do you have a favorite scene, moment, or quote from the book?

I loved writing the scene where Flora discovers Lazarus’s corpse as he reanimates. It’s very gross and was fun to write. It reminds me of all those scenes in Gothic novels where the heroine unmasks the nefarious villain and recoils at how hideous he is.

What are three books you would recommend if someone enjoyed That Dark Infinity?

These are all older, but I would definitely recommend The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, The Neverending Story by Michael Ende, and The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley.

What’s next for you? Anything you can share?

I’m working on a *dark academia* project right now that I really enjoy. Other than that, I’m just trying to survive working as an educator during the continuing pandemic!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Synopsis:

By night, the Ankou is a legendary, permanently young mercenary. By day, a witch’s curse leaves him no more than bones. Caught in an unending cycle of death and resurrection, the Ankou wants only to find the death that has been prophesied for him, especially once he begins to rot while he’s still alive….

After the kingdom of Kaer-Ise is sacked, Flora, loyal handmaiden to the princess, is assaulted and left for dead. As the sole survivor of the massacre, Flora wants desperately to find the princess she served. When the Ankou agrees to help her find the princess, and to train her in exchange for her help in breaking his curse, she accepts. But how can she kill an immortal? Especially one whom she is slowly growing to understand—and maybe even to love?

Together, they will solve mysteries, battle monsters, break curses, and race not only against time, but against fate itself.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR