Rick Riordan Presents: A Touch of Blood from author Sajni Patel is on sale now! And if you’re anything like us, you have plenty of questions about the creation of the the red-hot follow-up to A Drop of Venom.

Thankfully, Sajni herself has graciously volunteered to answer! Hear what she has to say below . . .

Read Riordan: Can you tell us about some of the myths and legends that inspired A Touch of Blood?

Sajni Patel: For A Touch of Blood, I drew from both Greek and Indian mythology. Let’s get into it. Eshani is our main character, the elder sister of Manisha from A Drop of Venom. We already know that Eshani is a nagin—a serpent being from Indian lore.

Eshani is meant for great things. She’s a skilled fighter and will do anything to protect her loved ones. She’s inspired by the Hindu goddess of protection, strength and war: Durga. Which is why Eshani rides a giant tiger (Lekha)!

We learned in A Drop of Venom that Eshani can communicate with plants. She threads the emotions and histories of plants and trees and has the ability to make them thrive under any conditions. In A Touch of Blood, Eshani explores the greatest possibilities of these powers. In that sense, she’s inspired by the Greek goddess Persephone. And if we know anything about Persephone, it’s that she’s the eternal love of Hades.

That’s where Hiran comes in. He’s the true heir of the Nightmare Realm, a place with a bloody river of the dead cleaving through its heart, a bit like the Underworld in Greek mythology. He can communicate with the dead, but he’s also an asura. In Indian lore, asuras are like demigods, and some are considered demons. Hiran is named after the asura brothers: Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu. Who, coincidentally, have a sister named Holika—who inspired Hiran’s sister. The legend of Holika is the basis of the festival of Holi, so readers will get a glimpse of the fire that started it all.

We’ll encounter the Ferryman of the dead, the return of the shades, and plenty of demons from Indian lore. However, as with all monsters and villains, there’s so much more to the story. One cannot simply be deemed evil without understanding the complexities behind the narrative.

Read Riordan: We briefly read about a place called the Nightmare Realm in A Drop of Venom, and readers will get to fully explore it in A Touch of Blood. Can you tell us a bit about this world?

Sajni Patel: Think of the Underworld . . . but darker, twisted, and contained. The Nightmare Realm is where nightmares are born, but it’s also the place the dead pass through on their way to final judgement.

This is a unique pocket realm within another realm called Patala. It is a place created by shadow creatures and the asura, a malignant tumor draining the natural realm around it to feed its dark deeds. It sits between the forest of monsters and the shore of bones—the Blood River being a natural border. Its residents are ghoulish and sometimes undead.

Read Riordan: Eshani can communicate with plants and Hiran can communicate with the dead. Others can wield shadows or cross through nightmares. If you could have a power like any of the characters in A Touch of Blood, what would it be?

Sajni Patel: This is a fantastic and difficult question because there are so many cool powers in this world, but I would choose Eshani’s gift. Maybe it’s because I’ve never been able to keep a plant alive and am thoroughly creeped out by the woods. It would be nice to chat with plants, get the best gossip, and to know about things that I wouldn’t otherwise notice. And if I had the full extent of Eshani’s powers . . . well, then, I would be a superhero.

Read Riordan: There are a lot of terrifying creatures in the Nightmare Realm. Which one would you absolutely want to avoid in real life? On the other hand, is there a creature that you would like to meet from the world of A Touch of Blood?

Sajni Patel: The daayan is terrifying. She’s a tall, monstrous woman with talons and a bent neck inspired by the hallucinations some people have during sleep paralysis. Except she’s real and intends to eat her victims alive.

Now, as far as a creature I’d want to meet? The matsya. She’s half humanoid and half fish…a mermaid, if you will, and I’ve been obsessed with mermaids since elementary school. Although, the matsya in A Touch of Blood are also scary. They have sharp nails and even sharper teeth. They lure prey to watery deaths with their hypnotizing voices and are riddled with scars. I joke that they’re actually zombie mermaids.

And speaking of zombies . . . did I mention you might come across the undead in the Nightmare Realm? Watch out. Just because they’re funny doesn’t mean they won’t bite. Now that I think about it, there are very few creatures in the Nightmare Realm who wouldn’t want a nibble. Enter if you’d like, but only if you dare.

A big thank you to Sajni for taking the time to answer some of our most burning questions! And if you haven’t picked up your copy of A Touch of Blood yet, our only question for you is: what are you waiting for?