They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with Brenda Drake, whose latest book, Analiese Rising, was released January 8th from Entangled Teen!
What does Brenda love when she’s not writing about those who can raise the dead? Spoiler alert: making the world perfect, a hero that truly brings a family together, a mythological love story, a heroine she secretly wants to be, a familiar story from another point of view, and a television show that gives her chills. Intrigued? Read on to learn more!
My tastes regarding speculative anything changes continuously. Speculative fiction has such a broad umbrella spanning from fantasy to science fiction to horror. There are so many things I could share in this article, but I’ll stick with my current favorites.
Death Note is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. I’ve binge-watched this series too many times to count. The story follows a high school student, Light Yagami, who stumbles across a mysterious notebook that holds power to kill anyone whose name is written in it. Yagami uses it in a quest to make the world perfect. He becomes a vigilante known as Kira. There’s so much depth to this manga that I’d hate to give too much away, but I’m obsessed with it.
Thor movies. I’d have to say Ragnarok is my favorite so far, but another will come out (I hope), and it will become my new favorite. It happens every time. My sons turned me onto Thor. They dragged me to all the movies and had me buy stacks of comics for them. I started reading the comics myself. A family who obsesses over Thor stays together, right? But seriously, who doesn’t love Thor? Don’t tell me if you don’t.
Sidapa and Bulan, gods from Philippine mythology. Theirs is a love story between two male gods. Sidapa admired the seven moons’ beauty that he tried to romance them until one, Bulan, answered Sidapa’s attempts to romance the moons. He came down to Earth, and they lived together as lovers on Mt. Madjaas. This story intrigued me so much that I had to add the gods to my new book, Analiese Rising.
Okay, I can’t do a favorite speculative post without mentioning Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Who doesn’t love a kick butt hero who hunts vampires? I’ve dressed like her for so many Halloweens it’s ridiculous. Don’t tell anyone, but I secretly want to be a vampire hunter.
Current favorite read is The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White. There’s nothing better than a great retelling of one of the great old tales of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, or Guy Endore’s The Werewolf of Paris. White delivers a beautiful tale of Elizabeth, who becomes Dr. Frankenstein’s bride. We get to see Frankenstein as a boy and witness his descent into madness.
Okay, I’ve been saving this one for last, and despite what my friends might say, it’s not because of my love for Dean Winchester. Who could blame me on that though? He’s funny and hot! But I digress. Supernatural has several episodes dealing with demonic possession, and each is beyond scary. They give me chills, and I crave it. Why I love Supernatural is not only because of the deliciously creepy stories but also because of the tight bond between the brothers. Dean and Sam go through some crazy out-of-this-world stuff, but they always have each other’s backs. Their bond is tight, and they would fight to the death for the other. Also, there’s Dean Winchester.
Brenda Drake, the youngest of three children, grew up an Air Force brat and the continual new kid at school. Her fondest memories growing up are of her eccentric, Irish grandmother’s animated tales, which gave her a strong love for storytelling. So it was only fitting that she would choose to write young adult and middle grade novels with a bend toward the fantastical. When Brenda’s not writing or doing the social media thing, she’s haunting libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops or reading someplace quiet and not at all exotic (much to her disappointment). Brenda is also the author of the New York Times bestselling Library Jumper series, as well as Thunderstruck, and the Fated series.
Author photo by Ginni Lanou
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