Hey there, readers! Boy, do I have a treat for you! I was offered the opportunity to interview the duo behind the Twin Crowns trilogy, and of course, I took it! So check out the interview below, and don’t forget to check out the final book in the series Burning Crowns.
Happy reading!
Cyn’s Workshop: How did you two meet? The story about sisters seems to really capture your relationship with one another, honestly if feels like you two really are sisters.
Katherine Webber: Cat and I met through our literary agent at a book event in London, and then we became friends, and then best friends, and then I introduced her to my brother, they became engaged, and THEN we decided to write together. It has been quite an adventure! So really, our literary agent is the fairy godmother in our story.
Catherine Doyle: Ten years ago, we began as peers, then became best friends, then co-writers, and now we are officially sisters-in-law. Since we talk all the time anyway and love spending time with each other, it seemed like a good idea to write something together – the sister dynamic came really naturally to us.
CW: What brought you two together to write this series?
Catherine Doyle: Sometime in mid-2020, when the pandemic was just getting into full swing,
and we were all stuck inside; Katie called me one evening with an idea that had been bubbling in the back of her mind: a YA fantasy twin-switch story about a princess and a witch. Something fun and swoony and pacy. A book that would make us laugh, and ultimately – cheer us up. It as the most excited I had been all year. And it made perfect sense. After all, we had both already written several books individually, we shared an undying love of YA fantasy (which we spoke about all the time), we were best friends and soon-to-be sisters-in-law. Why not become co-authors, too?
Katherine Webber: Cat is the funniest person I know, and she’s a brilliant writer, and I love
spending time with her – and so I knew she was going to be the perfect person to co-
write my dream YA fantasy rom-com with. I already had experience co-writing with
my husband, Kevin Tsang, so I knew that sometimes the best projects come from
writing with someone you trust and combining your ideas for something even better
than either of you could have ever come up with on your own. I was ecstatic when
Cat said she wanted to co-write with me.
CW: Do you guys write the POVs for Rose and Wren together or separately? How does the process work for you two when it comes to putting the story together?
Catherine Doyle: Since I live in Ireland and Katie lives in London, we had to do most of our writing remotely. We usually began with a marathon 5-hour zoom call, where we planned out all the chapters and beats in the story. Then I wrote Wren’s chapters and Katie wrote Rose. We swapped back and forth so we could read over and edit each other’s work as we went alone.
Katie Webber: We had to figure out a system that worked! Luckily Cat is very organized so made sure we always had a plan. And it was so fun reading each other’s chapters too—even though I knew what was happening because we’d outlined it together, I still always giggled when I realised it was going to be a kissing chapter or something else exciting!
CW: Between the two of you who is more like Rose and who is more like Wren?
Catherine Doyle: I am Wren to my core lol!
Katherine Webber: I like to think I am a bit of both but I share Rose’s delusional optimism – she is determined to make the best of any situation and convinced she can handle anything even when she is WAY over her head!
CW: What are five words that best describe Burning Crowns?
Swoony, funny, surprising, magical, and EPIC!
CW: The book has special spayed edges from Waterstones? (Yes, I pre-ordered Wren’s edges) Did you have any input into the style or was it just a wonderful surprise to you both?
Our amazing designer Ryan Hammond at Farshore designs the sprayed edges – he has an incredible creative eye and totally understands the vibe of the books, so we are always thrilled (and grateful) to let him lead on that! We get to see them several months in advance, and those emails are always our favourites!
CW: Also, which sprayed edges do you prefer?
This is like choosing your favourite child, lol! We love ALL of them equally – and truly feel so blessed.
CW: This is the final book in this trilogy, did it come out the way you envisioned it or did some elements change as you wrote the series? Without giving anything away, how did it evolve?
Even from the outset, we knew we wanted to go out with a bang – to write an epic conclusion to the trilogy that, aside from being tense and exciting and magical, still showed the true heart of the book, which is the ultimate power of sisterhood. In terms of changes, the battle scenes got bigger and bigger, the stakes got higher (no spoilers!) and the villain got a lot scarier. But we are thrilled with the way it’s turned out, and the early reader reactions to it!
CW: Without spoiling anything, what was the most heartbreaking moment in the series for each of you?
Catherine Doyle: Writing about Wren’s grief and loss (if you know, you know) in book 2 was definitely heartbreaking – but I think it was necessary for her growth, and for the story.
Katherine Webber: I cried for Ansel! I became surprisingly attached to him. And then when the trilogy was truly finished, I cried happy tears because I was so proud of what we had created.
CW: Describe each princess with three words?
Wren is brave, loyal and (a bit) reckless!
Rose is kind, loyal and (a bit) dramatic!
CW: Lastly, any words of warning you’d like to give readers and fans?
No cryptic warnings – just gratitude 😊 Thank you for coming on this epic adventure with us – we hope you love Burning Crowns!
Once again, thank you to Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber for this interview! And thank you to Hanna Lindsley from Spark Point Studio for putting us in touch with one another! This was so much fun, and I’m super excited to devour Burning Crowns on May 7th, 2024.
Once again, happy reading everyone!
Pre-order Burning Crowns today. Just click the link below 👇
