ALAN Online

Alisa Libby has authored two young adult novels. Her first YA novel, The Blood Confession, is based on the life of Countest Bathory, a Hungarian countess who murdered young virgins and bathed in their blood, hoping their blood would preserve her youth. Her second YA novel, The King’s Rose, is a historical account of the life of Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. Libby grew up in Natick, Massachusetts, and has always enjoyed writing. She attended Emerson College in Boston, where she majored in fictional writing. She currently lives in Boston, where she is working on a third novel.

Cole: You mention on your Web site that you’ve always wanted to be a writer. Can you share some defining moments in which you grew as a writer?

Libby: I grew a lot as a writer as an undergrad at Emerson College. Once a classmate complimented my writing and suggested a book I may enjoy. While I struggled, unsuccessfully, to read that book, I noticed some similarities between it and my current work-in-progress. I had been letting the voice of my character take over, and I had neglected the plot. Ever since then, I’ve paid more attention to plot and pacing, both in what I write and what I read.

Cole: Both your earlier novel, The Blood Confession, and The King’s Rose are historical. How did you develop an interest in writing historical fiction?

Libby: The stories of these two women—Countess Bathory and Catherine Howard—are what drew me to write historical fiction. In my years before publication I worked on a variety of different projects, and only a few were historical. The Blood Confession became my first published novel because I was so enthralled by the character of Countess Bathory, the infamous “blood countess” of Hungarian legend. What kind of madness could drive a person to commit murder and bathe in the blood of her victims, to preserve her own youth and beauty? What was she thinking? I wanted to figure out how Erzebet would answer this question in her own words, so I created a fictional tale that explained her murderous actions. My fascination for the legend that inspired the novel kept me going through many rounds of revisions.

Cole:  Can you describe the back story behind writing The King’s Rose? That is, how you became interested in writing the story?

Libby: Catherine Howard became the fifth wife of King Henry VIII when she was a teenager. While there are few similarities between her and the bloody countess of my first book, I did have a similar reaction to her story. Catherine was accused of having an illicit affair while married to King Henry; Henry had already beheaded one of his former queens, Anne Boleyn, on similar charges of adultery—and Anne was Catherine’s own cousin. I found myself again wondering, what was this girl thinking? While Erzebet put others in danger, Catherine’s actions were perhaps even more reckless, for she was putting herself in mortal peril. The logic (if there was any) behind her actions was not apparent, but that only fueled my interest. I wanted to tell the story in Catherine’s voice, and come up with her own reasons—fictional but believable—as to why she did what she did.

Cole:  Can you talk about the research process you used in writing The King’s Rose?

Libby: I read a lot about Catherine Howard, King Henry VIII, and all of his other wives, particularly Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, and Anne of Cleves, as their stories inform Catherine’s story. I read wonderful biographies by Lacey Baldwin Smith, Joanna Denny, Alison Weir, and Antonia Fraser, just to name a few. I listened to music composed by King Henry, researched their clothing, the culture of the Tudor court, the art and literature and entertainment, their food, their customs at holidays, religious services and wedding celebrations. While I couldn’t use all the details I discovered, they helped me get inside of Catherine’s head and imagine how she would think, how she would perceive the world around her, and how she would react to the events that unfolded.

I also took a brief trip to England with my husband while writing the book. While my research did rely heavily on secondary resources, it was wonderful to visit the rooms where Catherine lived and banqueted and danced as queen. We took a “ghost tour” of Hampton Court in search of her ghost, and we visited her burial place at the Tower of London (in the chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula) on February 13, the anniversary of her execution.

Cole:  What did you learn about the real Catherine as you wrote the story and how did that information fit with the fictional Catherine? How did she develop as the story took shape?

Libby: I did a good deal of research about Catherine and I did my very best to get the details accurate, but this is still a novel. I can’t actually know what Catherine was thinking or what she said to certain people or her honest thoughts about King Henry. All I could do was read about her and glean what seemed a reasonable portrait of her, taking all the details of her behavior, her status, and the social mores of the era into consideration.

Catherine grew up in a large family with little money. As a teenager she was given a position in the household of Henry’s latest queen. She arrived at court in the fall of 1539 and was receiving gifts from the king by the following spring; she and Henry were married that summer. This is a quick rise to favor for a girl new to life in the Tudor court. While she may not have been thrilled at the prospect of marrying a nearly-50-year-old king who was overweight and often ill, I think the luxury of royal life was extremely seductive. Everyone at court was grasping for Henry’s favor, and here is this little newbie to the queen’s chamber, and she’s got him. I could easily imagine her reveling in that, in spite of whatever pain this marriage may have caused. She may have been in love with another man, but if the king casts his eye your way, you make yourself available. There is simply no rejecting the king.

Cole:  Much has been written about King Henry VIII. How is the fictional Henry like or unlike the real Henry you researched?

Libby: The Henry I wrote about is Henry as seen through Catherine’s eyes, so we only get a part of the picture. There wasn’t any evidence to suggest that Catherine was interested in the political nature of her husband’s position. She was, however, very interested in what her next gift might be, or what sort of masquerade or banquet could be arranged to suit her latest whim. She sees Henry as a doting husband to his youthful bride. Later, she is shocked when the king lashes out at her with his violent temper. She had been seduced by the illusion of the king’s complete love and devotion.

Cole:  What was the most challenging aspect of writing The King’s Rose?

Libby: The most challenging aspect was keeping it as historically accurate as possible, while also making it seem like real people talking about real things as opposed to reciting a history lesson. That’s when history becomes interesting to me: when I can think of it in terms of these people who were living in it, surrounded by the luxury and debauchery and stink of the Tudor court just as we are surrounded by our own world. Once I learned enough about the time period and the character, I could start to relax and write in her point of view without having to constantly worry about anachronisms.

Cole:  In what ways do you hope today’s teens connect with Catherine?

Libby: I think teenagers will connect with this story of a girl whose life was not her own—her actions were dictated by the over-bearing adults who instructed her every move. She had no control over her future, and she was always under their watchful eye. I think many teenagers feel this way.

In the end, things don’t work out in the most romantic way possible for Catherine. Though her romantic relationship with her purported lover, Thomas Culpeper, is at the core of this novel, it is not a perfect romance. According to one of my primary sources, he did confess (most likely under torture) to having an affair with Catherine while she was queen—and he tried to put the blame on Catherine. I struggled with how to include this detail, which would diminish the romance of their relationship. However, once I read the words of his confession I simply couldn’t excise them from the story. How many teenagers have found themselves in situations—though hopefully not with such high stakes—where they find a love that seems good and pure, and it fails them in the end? Taking out the difficulties felt like cheating the true story, over-simplifying something that was in fact very complex. I left it in for an ending that, though perhaps troubling, feels more authentic to Catherine’s experience.

Cole: How did you get into the YA Market? Why, for instance, did The Blood Confession become a YA book and not an adult book?

Libby: I’ve been interested in writing young adult fiction since college. I loved reading fiction for a young audience and the characters and stories I created tended to naturally fit the YA genre. From the beginning I thought of The Blood Confession as a young adult novel: the subject matter was dark and gothic (just what I was drawn to as a teenager) but the core of Erzebet’s story was about her fear of growing older, her fear of mortality, and her deep insecurities. I thought this would strike a chord with a young adult audience, who may be able to empathize with these fears. Luckily, I found an agent and an editor who both agreed with me.

Cole:  Have you read much YA literature and/or children’s literature? If so, what are some of your favorites?

Libby: I read a lot of young adult literature. Some of my all-time favorites include Fade by Robert Cormier, Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books by Francesca Lia Block, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Beauty by Robin McKinley, and The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs by Jack Gantos. There are many more titles, but those come to mind immediately!

Cole:  Alisa, thank you for your time. Before we close, could you tell readers if you’re working on another novel? If so, what can you share about the story?

Libby: After a drought that seemed endless, I’m now working on something new, and I hope that it decides to become a book! All of writing is an experiment, and I can only do my best and hope that it will turn out well. This time I am taking a break from historical fiction. There are so many historical characters I would love to write about, but the thought of all of that research daunted me. My reaction proved that those historical projects just weren’t clicking and would have to wait.

It was hard to let go of Catherine Howard. Finishing a book is like letting go of an old love—it’s a whole lot easier if you’ve got a new crush lined up. I didn’t have anything lined up that seemed to suit, so it made the separation process that much more difficult. But looking back I feel blessed to have worked on a book where I felt such a deep connection to a character. Though I’m not sure where my current project will lead, it feels good to be working on something new and to feel inspired again. Still, I will always have fond memories of my time with the delinquent Queen Catherine.