Finding a Dead Girl, or the inspiration behind Anna Dressed in Blood

Today, I have a guest post from Kendare Blake, author of Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares.  After you read the article, go check out her website where you can find out more about Kendare's writing and even watch trailers for both of the books above.  I highly recommend you check out her books.  Without Further ado, I will turn things over to the capable hands of Kendare Blake. 


Finding a Dead Girl, or, the inspiration behind ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD

I can't remember what came first. The urge to write something where I'd get to describe entrails, or her name. Anna Dressed in Blood. Maybe it came all at once. Together. Convergence. See, I'd been writing nothing but literary for a long time in my Master's program. Lots of emotion, lots of nuance, but no guts anywhere! And then, toward the end of my studies, I read Angela Carter's THE BLOODY TOWER, and was blown away by the prose. I started writing things with a dark fantasy bent (one short story which later turned into my next series) and it whetted my appetite for gore.
　
The first real novels I read when I was a kid, (excepting horse stories) were by Stephen King. This was followed quickly by Anne Rice, and then Bret Easton Ellis. So writing a dead murderess felt a whole lot like returning to my roots. I couldn't wait to describe torn body parts. I was ecstatic about being able to guide people along to their bloody ends. But first, I had to figure out who exactly Anna was. I knew she was a murdered girl. In a dress made of blood. I knew she killed whoever went into her house. But I also knew that she was still Anna. A person. So I had to find the girl behind the ghost.

My search led me to Thunder Bay, Ontario. I wanted to do some location research, and hoped it would reveal some of Anna's secrets along the way. I also wanted to get some shots of Lake Superior, as I thought it would play an integral part in the book (it didn't). While there, I found lots of things. I drove through Victorian houses, and found the house Cas and his mom rented. I trolled the Antique stores and found Morfran's black lab. I sat in the dark beside haunted waterways. But still, no Anna. Until the last day, when I found her, buried in a small Finnish cemetery. Anna K. Her headstone sad and neglected and cheap, with a broken wooden cross at the base. And BAM! Everything clicked in. Who Anna was.
　
I still didn't know what happened to her. Not exactly. I never do. It's more fun to discover as I go. But I'd finally found her voice. And until I had that, I couldn't even start.

Thank you for having me by the blog, Budd! I'm so glad you enjoyed the book.

Cheers,
Kendare