Kim Liggett on BLOOD AND SALT, Sacred Geography, and Tradition

I am so thrilled to welcome Kim Liggett to Fresh Fiction. Her novel, BLOOD AND SALT, is hands down one of my favorite books of the year. Samantha: Thank you so much for interviewing with us, Kim! This novel involves so many interesting elements, from cults to creepy corn to ancestors. What was the most fun (and/or the weirdest) thing you researched? Kim: Sacred geography of the Great Plains tribes. I got in deep. I never had the opportunity to use much of it in the book, but that research will be with me forever. The way they were able to use celestial navigation to map out the summer solstice and the winter solstice on the land is mind-blowing. They roamed the plains year round, but always returned for these rituals. Samantha: The relationships in this story are absolutely incredible, from the romantic between Dane and Ash to the familial between Ash and her twin brother. Is there a relationship you particularly enjoyed writing about or found easiest to write? Kim: Dane and Ash were the most fun to write. I loved delving into the push and pull of their relationship—their motives, their fears—but always with that undercurrent of intense physical attraction. After all, it was written in their blood. ;) Samantha: Tradition and inheritance play a large role in BLOOD AND SALT, especially as two things the community of Quivira values. What are some of the inspirations for the different ceremonies they hold to honor Katia and their community? Kim: You hit a nerve—tradition and inheritance. It seems to be the common thread through all of my books. I grew up in a tiny rural town in Kansas that strived very hard to foster ‘the good ole days’ feeling. We had ice cream socials and town dances, holiday pageants and parades. I can see the allure in all of that, but there was a dark side, too. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. All of the rituals and traditions in BLOOD AND SALT seem harmless and charming at first—but that’s how they pull you in. Samantha: If Ash could be friends with one other character from a different YA novel, who would it be and why? Kim: Clary Fray from The Mortal Instruments series. They could take a break from their harrowing stories and watch bad movies, braid each other’s hair, and talk smack about the boys in their lives. Samantha: Can you give us a hint at what you're working on next? Kim: I’m working on the sequel to BLOOD AND SALT, which I’m really excited about. I also have a stand-alone coming out next fall with Tor Teen—THE LAST HARVEST. Pitched as Friday Night Lights meets Rosemary's Baby, it's the story of 17-year-old former football star Clay Tate, who, as the one-year anniversary of a horrific slaughter approaches, is forced to come to terms with his family's – and his rural Oklahoma town's – role in a plot to deliver Satan back to earth. Samantha: Have you read any incredible books lately that you want to recommend? Kim: THE WALLS AROUND US by Nova Ren Suma
CITY OF SAVAGES by Lee Kelly
BONE GAP by Laura Ruby

I could go on and on…so many great books this year!

Samantha: Kim, thank you for joining us and I can't wait to read the sequel to BLOOD AND SALT!!

About Kim Liggett

At sixteen, Kim Liggett left her rural midwestern town for New York City to pursue a career in both music and acting. While attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Kim sang backup for some of the biggest rock bands in the 80’s.

After settling down to have a family, she became an entrepreneur, creating a
children’s art education program and a travel company specializing in tours for
musicians.

She’s married to jazz musician Ken Peplowski, has two grotesquely beautiful teens,
and a very neurotic dog that drags her through Riverside Park everyday on the
Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

About BLOOD AND SALT

Romeo and Juliet meets Children of the Corn in this one-of-a-kind romantic horror

“When you fall in love, you will carve out your heart and throw it into the
deepest ocean. You will be all in—blood and salt.”

These are the last words Ash Larkin hears before her mother returns to the
spiritual commune she escaped long ago. But when Ash follows her to Quivira,
Kansas, something sinister and ancient waits among the rustling cornstalks of this
village lost to time.

Ash is plagued by memories of her ancestor, Katia, which harken back to the town’s
history of unrequited love and murder, alchemy and immortality. Charming
traditions soon give way to a string of gruesome deaths, and Ash feels drawn to
Dane, a forbidden boy with secrets of his own.

As the community prepares for a ceremony five hundred years in the making, Ash must fight not only to save her mother, but herself—and discover the truth about Quivira before it’s too late. Before she’s all in—blood and salt.