A perfect Sunday with...Kiersten White
Iced chai latte, bending the rules of reality and Darth Biceps
Every week, a top writer, artist, actor or creator reveals how they’d fill their perfect Sunday, sharing their favourite comfort reads, movies, food… anything that would make their weekend great.
Today it's the turn of Kiersten White, author of Lucy Undying, the spectacular reimagining of the world first introduced in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Kiersten's perfect Sunday… brunch
My spouse and I walk to my best friend's local café (it's a long walk from California to North Carolina, but this is a perfect Sunday so geography doesn't count) and order avocado toast with a fried egg and just a little bit of honey drizzled on top. Add an iced chai latte, conversation with my two favourite people, and food I don't have to prepare or clean up after? The dream.
Kiersten's perfect Sunday… read
I keep meaning to re-read The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. As a child of the 80's, the animated film was one of the foundational pieces of media that messed me up. Imagine my surprise when I read the novel as an adult to find it was funny and smart and weird and devastatingly beautiful.
However, since this is, again, a perfect Sunday and the usual rules of reality don't apply. Look at that! I have the fourth and final Locked Tomb book and am curled up in the corner of the couch with Gideon and Harrow. I'm going to be so confused but so happy.
Kiersten's perfect Sunday… comic
Growing up, Sundays meant the Sunday paper, which meant fighting over the comics section with my four siblings. There was nothing like those full-colour pages spread out in front of me, looking for Calvin and Hobbes.
But when my kids inevitably steal our Calvin and Hobbes collection from me, I'll switch over to Something Is Killing the Children. I've been working the last few years on building up my visual literacy—reading comics and graphic novels didn't come naturally to me—and SIKTC is my current favourite.
Kiersten's perfect Sunday… movie
Because I can't decide which Star Wars film to rewatch, I'm opting for a double feature instead: back to back with 2005's Pride and Prejudice and Mad Max: Fury Road. Is it a weird combo? Sure. But it's such a pretty one. I'm pretty sure my brain sits at the intersection of the Bennet house and the Wasteland.
Kiersten's perfect Sunday... TV binge
If the kids are with me, we're rewatching The Acolyte. I loved it the first time through but the structure makes me suspect it'll be a really rewarding rewatch. Plus: Darth Biceps. That forest fight scene is one of my all-time favourites.
If the kids aren't with me, I'm rewatching season five of Fargo. Sherriff Roy was so perfectly upsetting, and that season consistently surprised me. As a writer, I'm not surprised by movies or television very often; it's satisfying when the narrative doesn't make obvious choices.
Kiersten's perfect Sunday… podcast
So...I can't listen to podcasts. There are many I know I'd love—and I enjoy being a guest on podcasts!—but I have a difficult time focusing and processing input when it's only auditory. It's why I can't do audiobooks, either, which honestly breaks my heart.
Kiersten's perfect Sunday… album
Right now my perfect album is Chappell Roan on repeat, all day every day (except again if the kids are around; I'm not ready to explain some of those terms to them). But if I'm out on the hammock truly Sunday-ing, I'm listening to Manchester Orchestra. Sad music is my happy place.
Kiersten's perfect Sunday… treat
When I was twelve years old, I discovered that if I made chocolate chip cookies on Sunday afternoon, I could get out of kitchen cleaning duty. Let me tell you, I got so good at making chocolate chip cookies. Sundays still aren't complete if they don't include fresh baked cookies (and some dough, because salmonella doesn't exist on perfect Sundays).
Lucy Undying was released on 10th September 2024 from Penguin Books.
In this epic and seductive gothic fantasy, a vampire escapes the thrall of Dracula and embarks on her own search for self-discovery and true love, from the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of Hide.
Her name was written in the pages of someone else's story: Lucy Westenra was one of Dracula's first victims.
But her death was only the beginning. Lucy rose from the grave a vampire, and has spent her immortal life trying to escape from Dracula's clutches - and trying to discover who she really is and what she truly wants.
Her undead life takes an unexpected turn when, in twenty-first-century London, she meets another woman who is also yearning to break free from her past. Iris’s family has built a health empire based on a sinister secret, and they’ll do anything to stay in power.
Lucy has long believed she would never love again. But she finds herself compelled by the charming Iris, while Iris is mesmerised by the confident and glamorous Lucy. But their intense connection and blossoming love is threatened by forces from without. Iris's mother won't let go of her without a fight, and Lucy's past still has fangs: Dracula is on the prowl again.
Lucy Westenra has been a tragically murdered teen, a lonesome adventurer, and a fearsome hunter, but happiness always eluded her. Can she find the strength to destroy Dracula once and for all, or will her heart once again be her undoing?
Dracula changed her. Love will transform her.