Q&A with Kerri Maniscalco

Meet Kerri Maniscalco, author of the fan-favourite Kingdom of the Wicked world. We chat about haunted houses, seeing Wrath and Emilia again, and just how spicy Throne of the Fallen will be.

Hi Kerri! Thanks for answering some questions for us. How does it feel to have Throne of the Fallen almost out into the world?

Hi, thank you for sending these over! It honestly feels exciting and nerve-wracking all in one! I am SO excited for readers to dive into this book, it’s hands down my favourite story I’ve ever written. But that also makes it wildly scary to share, too. After early reads from my team, I’m leaning more into the super excited column, though! It’s everything I love in a story and I hope it transports readers away from real life for a few hours.

This is your first adult standalone, expanding the beloved Kingdom of the Wicked universe. What can readers expect from this book?

They can expect cameos from fan favourite characters we meet in the Kingdom series, but new readers don’t have to have read the previous books to dive right into Throne. I really wanted to make sure any reader could pick up Throne and just enjoy the story all on its own. It’s got a sweeping fantasy setting, a sizzling romance with lots of fun, spicy games the characters play with each other, and a high stakes game that Envy needs to win to save himself and his court.

They can also expect to be introduced to both new and old characters who have their own histories and backstories and events that have shaped who they are and how they view the world around them.

Will we see Wrath and Emilia again?

Yes! I won’t say too much about it, but we definitely get to see them and spend some time in House Wrath in Throne. The progression of Emilia and Envy’s friendship was one of my favourite things in the Kingdom series - how they went from adversaries to reluctant/grudging respect, to platonic affection, so I was very excited to expand that a little more in this new book.

How did growing up in a semi-haunted house inspire your interest in Gothic stories?

It really fed my imagination for all the supernatural and strange and unexplained. As a writer, it allowed me to dream up all sorts of backstories and histories for the ghosts - our family also did tons of research on previous owners, so it brought my love of the paranormal and history together, which is always present in my books.

What inspired you to focus on the Prince of Envy for this new instalment, and what was your favourite part of writing his story?

Envy has always been one of my favourite characters and his backstory was something I was very eager to share. I love how he goes from ruthless villain in the first book - kidnapping characters, attacking Wrath, playing word games with Emilia - then his assistance throughout books two and three, even when he couldn’t remember details because of the curse. In Throne we get to see behind his masks and find out what motivates him and who he truly is. Envy is such puzzle which made him so fun to write! I love when we finally uncover a character’s driving force, and we get that for Envy in this book.

On a scale of 1-10, how much spice can we expect from this book?

Oh, gosh. Spice is SO subjective, it really depends on the reader and what they read and what they consider spicy. It’s the spiciest book I’ve written to date - it’s hard to compare the two series because they’re different age categories, but to give a baseline of what to expect from my previous work, it’s steamier than Kingdom of the Feared. This is my first adult book, and it very much fits into that romantic fantasy category.

I hope that readers who love spicy fantasy romance love Envy and Camilla and their sexy games!

What’s up next for you?

I’m just finishing up all the extras for Throne and then in August I’ll begin drafting the next adult book set in the Kingdom of the Wicked world - at the end of Throne we get to finally find out which prince is the next star of his own standalone fantasy romance. I’m always very excited about my current project, so I’m diving deep, deep into the drafting cave and am so thrilled to be telling this MUCH requested, sinful tale…

Order your copy of Throne of the Fallen here.