The Prince & the Apocalypse

by Kara McDowell

She tilts her head, surprised that I don’t already know. “The end of the world.”

This story came to me during the pandemic, when it felt like the end of the world every time I looked at the news. I wanted to replicate those high stakes feelings but make it FUN and ROMANTIC instead of SCARY and MISERABLE! One of my favorite things about writing YA is that first love and heartbreak often FEELS like the end of the world, and this book makes that metaphor real. Media I was inspired by while writing include the classic Elijah Wood movie Deep Impact (I used to sob to this movie in junior high), and the British-American miniseries You, Me, and the Apocalypse, which proved the end of the world can be hilarious, actually.

I swing my legs over the side of the bed and test my weight on my wrapped ankle. Nope. Bad, bad Wren. My knee buckles and Theo reaches to steady me. His hand touches my elbow and I discover fifty thousand undetected nerve endings.

None of my characters are 100% me, but I give parts of myself and my experiences to all of them, and inspiration can come at random. In Wren's case, I twisted my ankle while writing this book, and I decided that if I had to suffer, she did too! (But hers was worse. So much worse.)

“I’m serious. Let’s decide not to care. I would love to skip the we-don’t-know-each-other awkwardness and jump to the part where we’re friends.”

I'm a pretty tight writer, which means I most often find myself adding words while writing instead of deleting them, but these hotel scenes were the exception. Once these characters really started talking to each other, I couldn't make them stop! I had to edit down a lot of their dialogue here to keep the book moving at the pace I wanted!

“You will come with us.”

Uh-oh! At almost no point while drafting this book did I know how Wren and Theo were going to get to Greece, so I used the "headlights" method of writing. Think of driving a car in the dark; to get where you're going, you don't need to see the whole road, you just need to see as far as the headlights will illuminate. I had so much fun getting these characters into ridiculous pickles every chapter and following the headlights until they got out.

“Mama, I can’t.” “Of course you can. Don’t be silly.” “I’m in Paris.” She sucks in a breath, and then she curses softly. When she starts crying, I can’t hold back my tears for another second.

I cry every single time I read this scene. I can't help but think of my own kids and how I'd burn the word down to get them safely home to me... but sometimes that's not possible. I like to write YA without a lot of on-page parental involvement, but this scene tugs at my heartstrings every time.

My hands and lips are numb as my heart drums painfully in my chest. I’m having a panic attack.

In early drafts of thiss chapter, my editor didn't understand what was happening with Wren, so I realized I had to make it clearer. Panic attacks can manifest in all sorts of ways, and these are some of the symptoms I have experienced.

I’m hit square in the chest with the need for more. More time with him, to find out his secrets. More time on Earth, to say goodbye to everyone I love. To eat bread and take hot showers and fall asleep in a perfect bed. I need more time for all of it, and so does he.

Even when the world is not ending, this is something I feel deepy, constantly.

Ended up crying and bleeding all over her Union Jack dress. I’ve never been so humiliated in my life. Up until that moment, I thought I was going to marry her.” It’s painful, what this information does to my heart. I’ve never liked him more.

I love this scene for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the "only one bed" moment. (One of my favorite tropes!) I also love the moment of vulnerability from Theo as he describes the embarrassing way he got his eyebrow scar, and the effect it has on Wren. One of my biggest writing tips is that characters (and readers) fall in love with vulnerability. Don't be afraid to show that side of your characters; it makes them easier to root for.

“Tell me you’re not nicking that dog,” Theo says.

Comet was the most delightful, unplanned (to me) surprise. I'm so glad he showed up when he did.

I suffer from clinical depression. I have for years,” he says.

Before Prince, I wrote two books about girls with anxiety and mental health struggles, the boys who love them, and the romantic adventures they have together. (One Way or Another and This Might Get Awkward.) In this story it was important to me to write from the POV of a character falling in love with someone with mental health struggles and to examine what that would feel like. In these moments, Wren is just beginning to learn about Theo's life and how his family has treated him because of his depression. This knowledge changes her perception of him, but it never changes the way she feels about him.

Last night is hazy. The only sharp memories I have are the tangy taste of my first sip of wine and the harsh slant of Stella’s eyebrows. Based on that expression—and the way she just slammed the door on me—I’d hazard a guess that she’s mad at me. If only I could remember why.

As a reader, I love knowing something the main character doesn't. The tension of waiting for them to discover the truth is exquisite. I had so much fun with these scenes in which the reader finally knows about the bunker, but Wren doesn't remember.

“If we jump too early, we’ll be stranded in the middle of the sea.” “If we jump too late, we die.”

This chapter is one of my all time favorite in the book, and I love how chaotic and emotional it is. Things have never been more dire for their relationship or for their chances of survival. (The metaphor made real!) And in honor of this chapter, I'm sharing a few of the Taylor Swift songs on my Prince playlist. These are songs I listened to while drafting or that remind me of the energy of certain scenes. *Dancing With Our Hands Tied *Gold Rush *Starlight *Daylight *Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince *Cruel Summer

“We’re all born, we all die. And every fucking thing that happens in between those moments matters.

Sometimes I don't actually know what a book is about until I'm almost done writing it. I knew this book was the story of two teens on a madcap dash across Europe as they raced for their lives, but I didn't know what it was ABOUT until I wrote this line. This is one of my favorite moments in the book, and I can feel the desperation in Theo as he says it. He's in an impossible situation here (they both are!) and I my heart breaks for him. In the argument they have a few paragraphs down, I am so firmly on both of their sides. Theo's trying desperately for sincerity, and in these moments, Wren is too terrified to engage with him on that level. He lashes out, and she's understandably hurt. I understand them both, but I'm always curious who the reader agrees with more in this conversation.

I want to stay here, curled up against Theo’s body until the world falls apart. I want to go home. Both things are true.

One of the hardest things in my life is when I want two things that cannot coexist, and I loved exploring Wren's juxtaposing feelings here. She knows she has to go home to her family, but there's part of her (a scary part! a part that's hard to explain!) that knows that she wants to stay with Theo, too. It doesn't make sense, but falling in love rarely does.

I think I’m married to the king of England.

When I realized what I was going to do with Wren and Theo's story, I wasn't sure I'd be allowed. A marriage of convenience trope in a contemporary YA novel? Isn't that reserved for lush, second-world fantasies? I didn't care. As soon as the idea struck, I couldn't imagine any other ending. I had to stick to my guns with this one, and I firmly believe the wait for book two will be worth it. The sequel to The Prince & the Apocalypse is called Heir, Apparently, and it hits shelves on July 9, 2024. I hope you love it!