Kerri Maniscalco Answers Seven Scintillating Questions About Kingdom of the Feared
Kerri Maniscalco’s bestselling Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy comes to a close this week with Kingdom of the Feared, a high-stakes story of romance, betrayal, secrets, and family that will undoubtedly shock and delight fans with its many dramatic twists and steamy interludes. The dark underworld of the Seven Circles has never been so thrilling
As the series’ final installment begins, witch Emilia di Carlo and her lover, the Prince of Hell known as Wrath, are facing upheaval and intrigue across multiple demon courts. Not only is Emilia’s presumed dead twin sister very much alive, but it turns out that Vittoria—and the rest of her family—have been keeping some rather sizeable secrets about who she is. As she digs into the mystery of just who her sister really is and what all those gaps in her own memory actually mean, she’ll come face-to-face with long-buried truths about not just her own identity but the Wicked, the Feared, and the curse that binds them all.
We got a chance to chat with Maniscalco herself about the highly anticipated end to Wrath and Emilia’s story, how the world of the Seven Circles came to life, and what’s next for this deliciously dark universe.
SEVEN QUESTIONS FOR THE SEVEN CIRCLES
Paste Magazine: The Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy has been a wild ride for readers from start to finish, how does it feel for you as its author to be bringing this story to a close at last?
Kerry Maniscalco: It’s so exciting and also SO nerve-wracking! I’ve had a ton of fun with this particular story arc and my biggest hope is for readers to feel satisfied with how it all comes together.
There’s always this sense of bittersweetness involved when you close one chapter on a series—I’ve adored telling Emilia and Wrath’s story and will definitely miss them, but I love how Kingdom of the Feared plays out.
Paste: You’ve said before that this series was basically born/created entirely in the pandemic—how has that unprecedented situation changed or altered the way you approached telling this story?
Maniscalco: The very first draft of Kingdom of the Wicked (around 40K words) was actually written back in 2015, right before the Stalking Jack the Ripper series sold, and I had to put it aside. But, I kept thinking about those characters and hoped for the chance to tell their story one day. I’m so thankful the opportunity came around for me to do that!
It was definitely scary when the first book came out, right before the 2020 election and during the pandemic. Store closures and all of the uncertainty and fear in the world made it difficult to shut off the noise and find that creative place. My Lyme disease is also hugely impacted by stress, so there have been a lot of flare-ups to contend with and overcome.
Paste: What do you think it is about Wrath and Emilia’s relationship that has so captivated readers?
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