Authors Interviewing Characters: Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber

We’re featuring TWO authors interviewing their characters today!

About CURSED CROWNS

The second book in the swoony and high-stakes fantasy rom-com series that began with Twin Crowns, about twin princesses separated at birth—from bestselling authors Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber.

Twin queens Wren and Rose have claimed their crowns…but not everyone is happy about witches sitting on Eana’s throne.

Coolheaded Rose plans a royal tour to establish goodwill throughout the kingdom. But Wren balks—how can they gallivant around Eana when their grandmother Banba is imprisoned in Gevra?

Impatient Wren steals away on a ship to the icy north, where King Alarik offers a deadly magical bargain in exchange for Banba’s freedom. Desperate, Wren agrees. But her spell has unexpected consequences….

Meanwhile, when Rose’s royal tour is interrupted by a mysterious stranger claiming to be from the long-lost Sunkissed Kingdom, the strands of destiny pull her south to the ancient Amarach Towers, where only the Seers of Eana know why the Restless Sands are erupting—and why Shen-Lo himself might hold the key.

But back in Anadawn, rebellion is brewing. And if Eana is to stand a chance at peace, the sisters will need to reunite once more and convince their people to forsake old loyalties for new ones.

Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber interview Wren & Rose from Twin Crowns and Cursed Crowns

Cat & Katie: Hi Wren, Hi Rose. It’s so lovely to meet you both here in the royal splendor of Anadawn Palace. Thank you for taking the time to answer some of our burning questions…

Rose: It’s princess Rose, actually. Soon to be queen.

Wren: [mutters] we’ll see about that…

Cat & Katie: Sorry, before we go any further, Wren could you please keep your feet off the furniture? We can’t help but notice that your boots are covered in sand…

Rose: And they positively reek.

Wren: First of all, no. And second of all, this isn’t just any old sand. It’s the earth I use to cast my spells. I’m an enchanter witch, which means I use magic to manipulate the world around me, one enchantment at a time. I might be in Anadawn Palace now, but I grew up in a secret settlement of witches under the Whisperwind cliffs on the wild west coast of Eana. 

Cat & Katie: How about you, Rose? 

Rose: Well, as Princess Rose Valhart, I grew up right here in Anadawn Palace, which resides in the heart of the kingdom of Eana. As you can see, it’s grand, opulent and fiercely protected. Ordinarily, it is the very last place you can expect to find a witch, since they’re outlawed in Eana and are very dangerous beings indeed. Unfortunately, our parents died when we were only minutes old. For the first seventeen years of my life, I was under the impression I was an only child – and more importantly – the sole heir to the throne of Eana until, well… [glares sidelong at Wren]

Wren: Until I stole her life! Right before her royal coronation!

Rose: Oh, I do wish you wouldn’t boast about it like that! The truth is, Wren’s best friend Shen Lo, kidnapped me in the dead of night and whisked me away across the desert, where we faced unimaginable danger, and terribly bland food. It was truly awful.

Wren: I think secretly, on some level, you enjoyed it.

Rose: I most certainly did not! Although I will admit, Shen Lo wasn’t the worst company out in those restless sands. As a warrior witch, he’s quick on his feet and protective when he needs to be. And… well, I suppose he’s quite witty.

Wren: That means he’s good at flirting. 

Rose: Wren!

Wren: [cackles gleefully]

Cat & Katie: That sounds… well, complicated. So, after Rose was successfully kidnapped, what happened to you, Wren?

Wren: I woke up the next morning and stepped seamlessly into the role of Princess Rose. All I had to do was make it, undetected, to Rose’s royal coronation so I could gain the crown and become the rightful witch queen of Eana. I did a fine performance.

Rose: It was average at best. My best friend, Celeste, sniffed her out almost immediately.

Wren: Nothing a little enchantment magic couldn’t fix. And your fiancé didn’t know the difference! I’ll admit learning Rose had a fiancé was an awkward complication to run into but poor lovestruck Prince Ansel ended up falling even more in love with me.

Rose: While you flirted shamelessly with his personal guard, Captain Tor Iversen….

Cat & Katie: Wait, Wren… are you blushing?

Wren: No! It’s sunburn! From the desert!

Rose: Anyway, as I was saying… I got whisked away across the desert to a secret of settlement of witches called Ortha. It was there I came face to face with my grandmother Banba, a fearsome tempest witch who nearly frightened me half to death…! 

Cat & Katie: You’ve said that witches are outlawed in Eana, and deeply feared. So, that must have been terrifying.

Rose: It was. Ortha was little more than a rugged cove full of powerful witches who hated my very guts. It’s not even my fault they were all outlawed! Anyway, it was a steep learning curve, to say the least. I’ve never felt less like a princess in my life.

Wren: If you ask me, I think it was character building for you.

Cat & Katie: Back to you, Wren. Is it true that while Rose was stuck in Ortha surrounded by witches, you were here at Anadawn, flirting with soldiers?

Wren: Not just flirting. I was also trying to kill the treacherous Kingsbreath, Willem Rathborne. As Rose’s morally-corrupt guardian, Rathborne was looking to stamp out the last surviving witches of Eana. And in case you weren’t paying attention, that means me. And Banba. And everyone else I love. It was all going to plan until—

Rose: I came back to claim my birthright. Ha!

Wren: Now, who’s boasting?

Cat & Katie: So, you finally met each other… How did that go?

Wren: Oh, we’d hate to spoil it for you. Let’s just say it was fraught.

Rose: And from there, things spiraled out of control.

Wren: In a fun way.

Rose: That’s a matter of perspective. Now, if you’ll excuse us, that was the dinner bell…

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Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Interviews, On Writing