It’s a beautiful day for an author interview! I was fortunate enough to have the chance to speak with Andrea Stewart, whose debut novel, The Bone Shard Daughter, came out yesterday. It’s a fantasy novel set in an Asian-inspired world where the Emperor rules over the islands with… honestly a fair bit of inattention. He’s much more interested in creating magical constructs, which are powered by tiny shards of bone, taken from the skull of every child in the Empire when they turn eight years old. His daughter Lin is competing frantically to get back her memory from when she was a child and prove to her father that she’s a good heir to him; smuggler Jovis is doing his best to be greedy and mercenary but keeps slipping into doing good deeds instead; governor’s daughter Phalue and her longterm girlfriend Ranami struggle with the class differences between them; and a woman named Sand tries to make sense — any sense — of her surroundings. Andrea was a really fun interview, so I hope y’all enjoy it too! You can listen to the podcast in the embedded player below, or download it directly to take with you on the go!
Find Andrea on Twitter, at her website, and on Facebook! The book is The Bone Shard Daughter, and it’s out now from Orbit. You may behold the ivory carvings cover here:
And here’s a list of books and other things we talked about!
Dragonriders of Pern series, Anne McCaffrey
The Harper Hall series (comprising DragonSong, DragonSinger, and DragonDrums), Anne McCaffrey
The Blue Sword, Robin McKinley
Royal Assassin, Robin Hobb
Heralds of Valdemar series, Mercedes Lackey
the Black Sails credits (watch Black Sails!!)
The Chronicles of Narnia, CS Lewis
Prydain novels, Lloyd Alexander
Broken Earth trilogy, NK Jemisin
Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik
Uprooted, Naomi Novik
The Wolf of Oren-Yaro, KS Villoso
Star Eater, Kerstin Hall
You can get at me on Twitter, email the podcast, and friend me (Gin Jenny) and Whiskey Jenny on Goodreads. As a brand new feature, you can also follow me (Gin Jenny) and Whiskey Jenny on Storygraph! If you like what we do, support us on Patreon. Or if you wish, you can find us on iTunes (and if you enjoy the podcast, give us a good rating! We appreciate it very very much).
Credits
Producer: Captain Hammer
Photo credit: The Illustrious Annalee
Theme song by: Jessie Barbour
Transcript
Gin Jenny (00:38):
Uh all right, so welcome to the Reading the End Bookcast. I’m Gin Jenny and I am here with Andrea Stewart, the author of the new fantasy novel, The Bone Shard Daughter. Andrea, welcome!
Andrea Stewart (00:47):
Thank you so much for having me.
Gin Jenny (00:49):
How are you doing? This is such a weird year to be releasing a debut novel!
Andrea Stewart (00:53):
It really is. It was not something that I was expecting when we sold the book, but, you know, I mean, everything’s been pretty great as far as, you know, having a book coming out and being able to do all these online interviews and online events. So I’m just grateful that we at least have that technology.
Gin Jenny (01:18):
Well, why don’t we get started, if you could just tell us a little bit about the book?
Andrea Stewart (01:21):
Sure, so it’s an epic fantasy that’s in an Asian inspired setting, and it actually follows several characters. There’s a daughter trying to reclaim her rightful place as heir; There’s a smuggler who professes not to care, but can’t seem to stop doing good things; two women in an established relationship, struggling with the class differences between them; and there’s a stranger on a remote island trying to unravel the mystery of why she’s there. This is all against the backdrop of a brewing revolution.
Gin Jenny (01:47):
Oh man. That was so smooth. I’m really impressed.
Andrea Stewart (01:50):
I’ve been practicing.
Gin Jenny (01:52):
I know. I mean, it was great. It was so professional. So you’re juggling four main narrators, like you said. And then you have a couple of chapters from other points of view. Did you have a favorite character to write for?
Andrea Stewart (02:03):
That’s like asking me to choose a favorite child? So I think it really depends on kind of the mood that I was in. I mean, I really enjoyed writing Lin for her determination and for all the stuff that she is trying to figure out. And then sometimes, you know, I really enjoyed reading Jovis because he’s got more of a sense of humor. And then like the other characters too, it just kind of depends. So, can’t say I really have a favorite.
Gin Jenny (02:34):
There wasn’t anyone who was more challenging to write?
Andrea Stewart (02:36):
I think maybe Sand sometimes was a little bit more challenging just because she’s coming from this perspective of not really knowing why she’s in the place that she is and what exactly is her purpose for like, why she’s there. And that was a little challenging in the sense that I wanted to keep her engaging, yet also keep that mystery going.
Gin Jenny (03:01):
I was going to say, one thing that I found really fascinating about the book as I was going through it–and I tore through this, I read the whole thing, uh I started the night before yesterday, and then I read the whole thing yesterday–but I think that one thing that made it so engaging is that it turns out all the characters have a lot of pretty important stuff that they don’t know, whether it’s about themselves or about the world that they live in. Was it hard to kind of parcel out those reveals and not say too much too soon?
Andrea Stewart (03:26):
Yeah, definitely. I think that was one of the things that, you know, when I was putting in my outline like these are the things that they’re trying to figure out, and this is like when they learn those results and it is like difficult to do that in the way that, you know, that some readers are going to figure it out ahead of time, which is fine. But you also want for the readers that don’t figure it out ahead of time to not feel lost when you reveal that information. So, yeah, so that’s like a little bit of a balancing act.
Gin Jenny (03:57):
Well, I thought you did a good job. I say that– I as the name of my podcast implies, I read the end before I read the middle, which I don’t know if I know some authors don’t love that, but no, I mean, but it was really great to kind of find out some of those reveals when I was about halfway through the book, and then going back and reading the rest of it with the stuff in mind was really fascinating and exciting and suspenseful.
Andrea Stewart (04:18):
Well, that’s good to hear.
Gin Jenny (04:20):
What was the Genesis of your idea for the book? Did you start with the characters, some element of the magic system?
Andrea Stewart (04:24):
Actually the whole thing started with an element of the magic system with the bone shard magic. I was at the San Antonio WorldCon with my friends as a long time ago, and my friend Marina, she found a shard of bone in her lunch food.
Gin Jenny (04:40):
[Horrified Gasp].Andrea Stewart (04:40):
Um yeah, so it was like, oh, like, you know, what, if some shards of bone are used for magic? So that was kind of like where it all started. I kind of built things out from there as far as like, well, why is it shards of bone? What does that mean? I knew I wanted to have constructs in there. So it kind of grew from there. And then the characters kind of followed
Gin Jenny (05:07):
For listeners who haven’t read the book yet, can you say a little bit about how the bone shards get used? Because it is very creepy!
Andrea Stewart (05:13):
Oh yeah, sure. So the emperor actually collects a shard of bone from every citizen’s skull when they turn eight years old, and he uses these to power, his bone shard constructs, which are basically like these amalgamations of animals that he’s just kind of sewn together the parts of. And these shards are actually also used to write commands on. So he writes the commands for these constructs. They go inside the constructs, and the life force of those people actually power the constructs. So if your bone shard is in use, then your life is kind of just slowly being drained by that.
Gin Jenny (05:52):
I liked the use of almost like programming commands on the bone shards.
Andrea Stewart (05:55):
Oh, yeah. Yeah. I was thinking about that when I was putting together the whole magic system, because I really like logic puzzles. A lot of like if then kind of statements.
Gin Jenny (06:05):
Sure! What kind of logic puzzles?
Andrea Stewart (06:07):
Um well, I used to work as a compliance officer for contracts and grants at a university. So I kind of did a lot of work with that kind of thing where, you know, we’d have all of these different regulatory documents and you’d have to kind of figure out well, can they spend money this way on the grant? And you’d have to go through these like hierarchies of documents and try to figure out like, was this an allowable expense or not? And you know, sometimes it was kind of, the answer was like, maybe, and then you’d have to refer to another document. So it’s kind of like that.
Gin Jenny (06:42):
Oh my God, that’s such a good genesis for truly some of the creepiest magic that I’ve encountered in a while.
Andrea Stewart (06:48):
Went from something very boring, does something a little bit more interesting!
Gin Jenny (06:53):
So what changed between your first draft of the manuscript and the book we have here?
Andrea Stewart (06:57):
There’s actually not like huge changes. I think there was a subplot that I realized was not working after I finished the first draft, so I had to toss that whole thing and replace it. Where I had like, Jovan infiltrating this palace and it was like, ah! It doesn’t really make sense. So that was like the big thing that changed. And then the rest of it, I think were just kind of like smaller nudges.
Gin Jenny (07:26):
Was there anything that you had to leave out in the end that you were sad to lose?
Andrea Stewart (07:29):
Well there was like a couple of funny lines I thought from the part where he infiltrates the palace, but that’s like, that’s about it. I was just thinking, you know, I save those for later.
Gin Jenny (07:40):
Sure. Can, can future Andrea incorporate them into the sequel?
Andrea Stewart (07:43):
Possibly. I don’t know. We’ll see.
Gin Jenny (07:46):
So I am always interested to hear about the editing process. What did you do a lot of, like, it sounds like you had a pretty clean first draft, so I mean, how was it working with the folks at Orbit to do the edits on it?
Andrea Stewart (07:55):
Great, actually! Yeah, I was very lucky in this one in that I had a pretty clean first draft. I did that. And then I worked with my agent on one round of revisions and then it went out on sub, and after it got picked up, yeah, we went through and did a round of edits, which were pretty light, which was nice. I don’t generally like work like that. Got very lucky on this one. So yeah, it was really great working with the folks at Orbit. Like I, I love their books, so it was wonderful.
Gin Jenny (08:30):
Oh, that’s so nice. Well, you talked in the acknowledgements about having a writing group or writing groups. Were they involved when you were kind of in the early stages of writing the book?
Andrea Stewart (08:39):
Actually, there was a writing group in Sacramento that I took, like the first part of the first chapter to back when I was kind of just thinking about, should this be a book? That was Stonehenge in Sacramento, and they meet at like a roundtable. So like, you know, everybody has some pizza, we have somebody else like read whatever it is that you brought, and you kind of can hear it from somebody else’s voice, which is interesting. And then everybody kind of comments on it. So that was the writing group that I brought like the first part of it to.
Gin Jenny (09:15):
You must have nerves of steel to sit through that. It sounds so stressful.
Andrea Stewart (09:18):
It is a little bit!
Gin Jenny (09:18):
But they were, I mean, they kind of understood what the premise was and enjoyed it? Because I was, I mean, I always am a little nervous about secondary world fantasy because I have, I don’t really make pictures in my head. So I sometimes have a hard time, like picturing what the world is like. I felt like this was so immediate and concrete. I just felt situated in it right away.
Andrea Stewart (09:37):
Oh, that’s good to hear. Yeah. I mean, that’s one of the things that I really try to work on with my writing is to make it immersive, to pick out the right details so the reader can kind of feel like they’re there, and also get information at the same time about the world.
Gin Jenny (09:52):
I also think you were very wise to incorporate the cutest little cuddly bastard. Do you say Mephi?
Andrea Stewart (09:59):
Yeah, it’s Mephi.
Gin Jenny (10:00):
Oh my gosh. The cutest little guy. How early did you come up with him? And also why don’t more fantasy books have cuddly little dudes?
Andrea Stewart (10:12):
Well I, that was one of the things that I wanted to put in from the beginning. So yeah, this was the seventh manuscript that I had tried to sell. I’ve been through quite a few. And when I got to this one, I was like, you know, let me just think about all the things that I really enjoy in fantasy novels and let me see about putting them into this one. So one of the things I really enjoy are magical animal companions. I knew that I wanted to have one. I knew like, you know, especially with Jovis where he’s kind of like a little bit grumpy, but also like thinks he’s quite funny, I knew I wanted to have somebody to kind of like play off of him. So, you know, Mephi’s like this mischievous little guy that kind of worms his way into Jovis’s heart.
Gin Jenny (11:00):
And mine! So what are some of your favorite magical creature companions in in stuff you’ve read or seen?
Andrea Stewart (11:05):
Oh gosh, like Dragonriders of Pern. There’s like the Harper’s Hall, um series in there with like Menally, where she’s got her fire lizards. I was way into that. There’s well, not necessarily magical, but there’s Robin McKinley’s The Blue Sword and stuff where she’s got this beautiful horse who’s like super intelligent, and then she’s also got this, you know, amazing cat that follows her around. I’ve really loved that too. And then Robin Hobbs, like, you know, Night Eyes my God, I, yeah, I loved that series.
Gin Jenny (11:45):
Oh my gosh. I’ve still never read a word by Robin Hobb. It’s a vast gap in my SF knowledge.
Andrea Stewart (11:51):
Oh, it’s amazing. I loved it so much.
Gin Jenny (11:53):
What’s a good book of hers to start with? Because I know I need to like get into it and I just haven’t yet.
Andrea Stewart (11:58):
I really loved so there’s Assassin’s Apprentice, that’s the first one in the whole Fitz and the Fool series. And I love that series. It’s so great. I actually have not read the very last one in the most recent trilogy that she’s written in that series because I’m like sad for it to end, so I’m like holding off on that.
Gin Jenny (12:19):
Oh, I so understand. I read the I’m embarrassed to admit this. Do you remember those Mercedes Lackey, Heralds of Valdemar books and they had their magic horses?
Andrea Stewart (12:30):
I do.
Gin Jenny (12:33):
Yeah, I read those when I was in seventh and eighth grade. And I feel like those were the like most animal companion books that I’ve read. I feel like I haven’t read that many.
Andrea Stewart (12:41):
There’s quite a few out there and they’re marvelous.
Gin Jenny (12:44):
And this one I think a really strong entrant in this series. Can you, can you tell us anything about Mephi that we don’t know from the book? Cause he’s a little mysterious.
Andrea Stewart (12:52):
Well, I kind of want to just leave it at that right now, just because there, there is a lot more stuff that happens and you do learn more about him and where he comes from in book two.
Gin Jenny (13:05):
Okay, great. Is he going to stay fluffy? Cause I liked it that he was first mistaken for a kitten, but it seems like he’s getting less fluffy as he goes along.
Andrea Stewart (13:10):
He’s still going to be quite fluffy. I mean, he’s very, he’s very soft.
Gin Jenny (13:14):
This is so important. This is the important work that you’re doing. I think they need to make a little Mephi plushy.
Andrea Stewart (13:21):
Oh my God. I would love that.
Gin Jenny (13:23):
Internet, take note. Another huge piece of the story is about failing governments, which is kind of relatable in the U.S. Right now. So is there any, if you could talk a little bit about if there were real world histories that inspired you when you were writing the book and coming up with the world building?
Andrea Stewart (13:41):
Well, I think like, I was just thinking about, I mean our history, and then just history in general, how we kind of go in these cycles, and there’s always a good reason in a lot of ways for these changes of regimes, but they don’t always work out the way that we hope that they do.
Gin Jenny (14:02):
Almost never!
Andrea Stewart (14:02):
And I also wanted to kind of explore throughout the trilogy, that idea that you see in a lot of fantasy novels where, you know, the good person becomes king and everybody lives happily ever after. And you know, that’s not really the way that things kind of work out, like historically, either. I mean, once you have a change of regime, like people really expect change quite quickly, which is not always possible. And then, you know, there’s a lot of complications that you’re dealing with that not everybody may understand.
Andrea Stewart (14:37):
So it’s like kind of like some of the things I was thinking about when I was writing and planning this series. So you kind of just get a little bit in the first book where, you know, the, the emperor is definitely failing his people, and there’s a brewing revolution because people are very dissatisfied. Although the emperor thinks that he’s got a very good reason to be in power and that he is like protecting everybody, but you know, over time, things always change. So whether or not that’s actually still a thing that he’s doing is a bit of a mystery.
Gin Jenny (15:15):
Did you end up doing like research into world history for this book? Or what kind of research did you do when you were preparing and thinking about it?
Andrea Stewart (15:20):
I just did a lot of kind of general reading. I think I didn’t really do any like in-depth, like history kind of stuff, I think.
Gin Jenny (15:28):
So how did you go about doing the world building?
Andrea Stewart (15:30):
I kind of, so I read like a little bit about like some of the climates and everything that I wanted to put into the book. Like I knew I wanted it to be these islands. I knew I wanted it to be more of like a tropical climate. I mean, I’ve been to Thailand before, and I remember like, there’s, you know, the wet season and the dry season and that’s basically what I have going on here. And yeah, so I kind of did a lot of reading about like– oh, I did a lot of travel reading!
Gin Jenny (15:57):
I love that! That’s such a neat, I wouldn’t have thought of that, but that’s really neat.
Andrea Stewart (16:02):
Yeah. Because when you read the travel books too they do talk about the history of a place and they talk about, you know, the buildings that they have there and what these ruins mean, what they’re there for, like things like that. So I did a lot of kind of reading about that and a little bit of like the mythology of different places stuff like that.
Gin Jenny (16:20):
Cool! At what stage did they make you a map? Like, did you have a draft map that you were working from or did they, was it just completely…
Andrea Stewart (16:25):
Okay. This is like one of the things I’m always terrible about. I write the book first, and then I realize, I don’t know where anything is and like I’m contradicting myself. So then I have to take out a sheet of paper and I kind of just draw blobs on it, you know, do a north west east south. And like, ah, I think these things are all, this is where this is relative to this thing. And then they said, oh, do you want to do a map? It’s like, ah, okay!
Gin Jenny (16:55):
Like I said, I, I am not very good at secondary world fantasy, but I actually consulted this map several times while reading. It was very useful.
Andrea Stewart (17:02):
I consulted it while writing! Um but yeah. So then, then, then I made something a little bit more refined, and they took that and made it into a beautiful piece of artwork. So yeah, I’m very happy with it. I’m glad I have it now to refer to as I’m working on book two.
Gin Jenny (17:19):
How much input– I’m always so curious about this, how much input did you have into kind of the look of the map? Because I think in addition to being a useful geographical resource, I think it looks really beautiful and cool as well.
Andrea Stewart (17:30):
Oh, it’s gorgeous. Yeah. I mean, they asked me about like, if I had any ideas, as far as like, you know, what kind of time period and what influences and you know, it’s like, I kind of just wanted it to look like, like an ancient Chinese map and it came back looking beautiful. Yeah. They’re very, they’re very good about getting input.
Gin Jenny (17:52):
I especially like the– I’m sorry, I’m just looking at it right now. I especially like the compass rose, which has a little creatures on it.
Andrea Stewart (17:57):
Yes, so it’s got like the Phoenix for the Phoenix Empire and then it’s got a sea serpent on there too, which actually they become a little bit– I know I would just mention them in book one, but they make more of an appearance in book two.
Gin Jenny (18:11):
Which, phoenixes or sea serpents?
Andrea Stewart (18:14):
Sea serpents.
Gin Jenny (18:14):
Great. Great. I love a sea monster. Actually, very often on this podcast, we ask our guests to choose between sea or space. So which would you choose?
Andrea Stewart (18:23):
Oh goodness. I would probably choose the sea because it, yeah, it actually has a smell and it’s it’s closer and it’s not quite so scary.
Gin Jenny (18:34):
Oh, see, this is fascinating! Because I choose sea because I find it maybe infinitely scarier than space because although it’s right here, there’s so much we don’t know about it. It’s just a vast unknowable mystery down there.
Andrea Stewart (18:47):
Yeah. I mean, I’ve been scuba diving and I swim quite a lot, so it’s a little less scary to me, but space I’m like, ahhhhh!
Gin Jenny (18:55):
So you would not hop on a generation ship if offered the opportunity.
Andrea Stewart (19:01):
I totally would, but I would be terrified probably the entire time. So
Gin Jenny (19:07):
If they offered you a generation ship a seat right now, you would, you would take it?
Andrea Stewart (19:10):
Probably! I just, you know, I’m, I’m, I’m just too motivated by curiosity. I would have to.
Gin Jenny (19:18):
Oh man. I’m fascinated. Well, so I think that I probably would not take a seat on a generation ship at this moment, but I’m also a little scared to go scuba diving.
Andrea Stewart (19:29):
It’s actually really neat. It’s one of those things where when I jump into the water first, I’m always terrified because I don’t know what’s underneath me, but like once you start descending, then it’s like, oh, you can actually see everything around you. And it’s a little less scary, I think.
Gin Jenny (19:46):
Where have you done it? And how far do you descend?
Andrea Stewart (19:49):
I’ve done it at Monterrey and Hawaii, like Cancun. I can’t remember if I’ve done it anywhere else. Another place Porta Rialta. Yeah, but yeah, you go down usually about like 60 feet or so. If the water is clear, which, you know, usually you’re trying to choose places that have got relatively good visibility. You can see quite a bit, so it’s, it’s really neat. I, I really love it, but I haven’t been in awhile.
Gin Jenny (20:17):
Yeah. I think my dad’s been scuba diving. I’m a little nervous. I’m not specifically scared of fish or anything, but I’m not sure I want them looking right at me as equals.
Andrea Stewart (20:25):
Yeah. It gets a little bit worrisome when you see like the big groupers and everything that are just these massive fish.
Gin Jenny (20:33):
But they’re not interested in you. Right? They leave you alone.
Andrea Stewart (20:36):
Yeah. Yeah, they do. I mean, they’ve been known sometimes to be a little bit aggressive, but generally they’ll just leave you alone. I’m probably not making it any better.
Gin Jenny (20:48):
I mean, I think that I’m, I think my level of fear has stayed has stayed the same throughout this conversation. I’m so curious about the cover design process.
Andrea Stewart (20:58):
Oh yeah. They did, you know, send me the sketches and everything before the final version was done. I didn’t really have like any input as far as– I mean, cause I’m like, you know, I trust you guys, like whatever, whatever you think is going to be great, I’m sure it’s going to be great. So they sent me the sketch that the artist did and then kind of like her little inspirations as far as like what she had used to come up with it. And even the sketch I was like, that is incredible. And I love it. They
Gin Jenny (21:35):
Wait, so they sent you, they sent you a sketch and they also sent you her like, artist’s statement about it?
Andrea Stewart (21:39):
No, she sent sent her the inspirational, like photographs that she had used to kind of–like these ivory carvings basically. And then, you know, they sent me like updates as she was working on it, which was fascinating to see because, you know, I really like seeing the process behind artwork.
Gin Jenny (22:00):
Are you an artist at all?
Andrea Stewart (22:02):
I am actually. I used to do some illustration work like way back in the day, but yeah, there’s actually some stuff that’s going to come out that like, I’ve done a couple of paintings for the book, so that’s gonna come out a little later.
Gin Jenny (22:18):
Amazing. That’s amazing. That’s like magic to me. I have, I am the least artistic person imaginable. So when someone can, I mean, even when someone draws the most basic picture, like my sister draws the pencil sketch of our dog, I’m like, HOW THOUGH?
Andrea Stewart (22:33):
I had like a really kind of isolated childhood in some ways, like, you know, it was very nerdy. So it’s like, ah, just off in a corner or like reading or drawing. But yeah, so I was, I was really, really impressed with the cover. That was, it was one of those things where I felt like the artists had kind of like reached into my brain, because you know, how it’s got all those carvings and everything on the front? When I was a kid well, my parents still have this chest at the foot of their bed, and it’s got all these kinds of very kind of similar carvings on it, and I used to go in there and like play with it, like kind of like trace all the little carvings, like, oh, like, you know, little trees and buildings and people. So it was kind of neat to see that in a cover, where I was like, well, this just reminds me a lot of my childhood.
Gin Jenny (23:22):
Oh my gosh, that’s so neat. It reminded me of I don’t know if you’ve seen the show Black Sails, but the credits um–
Andrea Stewart (23:27):
You know, that’s, that’s funny. Yes. other people have mentioned that to me. I actually have not seen the show, but now I’ve seen the credits, so.
Gin Jenny (23:35):
Okay. So yeah. You know, so they have sort of similar carvings like this and it’s just, it’s very beautiful.
Andrea Stewart (23:42):
I’m very excited to see what they’re going to do with the second book.
Gin Jenny (23:45):
Oh my gosh. Me too. You said earlier that this is the seventh book you’ve written. Can I be extremely impudent and ask if this one is your favorite out of all the books you’ve written?
Andrea Stewart (23:54):
Yeah! I mean, usually the last one that I’ve written is always my favorite, and it actually got me a book deal.
Gin Jenny (24:02):
Do you have plans to go back and revisit earlier manuscripts once this trilogy is finished?
Andrea Stewart (24:08):
No!
Gin Jenny (24:09):
Oh, wow, a resounding no!
Andrea Stewart (24:12):
No, I mean, I feel like I learned something with every manuscript and I’ve gone back and I’ve looked at my old writing, and it’s just like, you know, I don’t want to, I wouldn’t want to put something out there that I don’t feel is the best that I can do. I mean, I’ll maybe cannibalize parts as far as like, oh, I liked this concept or something, or like, you know, I like the setting, but yeah, no, they’re dead.
Gin Jenny (24:40):
I was going to ask about without trying to make you tell me spoilers for book two, it seems really, really hard to write a trilogy where one book comes out before the other books are even finished. How do you rise to this challenge?
Andrea Stewart (24:52):
Oh goodness. Okay. So when the book went out on submission, I did have to write up like a little summary for what would happen in books two and three. So I knew what was going to happen. I had a plan. It is kind of funny though, where I’m working on revisions for book two right now, and I’ll see people pop up on Twitter and say, oh, like, I hope this little thing is in book two. And I’m like, oh, actually should maybe have some of that in there. So that’s been kind of funny because you know, I do want readers to be pleased with the second book. At the same time. I do have a plan for it. And I think, I think people are going to like it. We’ll see.
Gin Jenny (25:36):
But what if you think of something that you should have put in book one, but it’s too late?
Andrea Stewart (25:38):
Then I just have to put it in book two, I guess. I mean, the big thing is like right now just trying to figure out, like we talked about before, spacing out those reveals and what needs to be in book two and what needs to be saved for book three. And I think I’ve got that mostly. I think I’ve got that figured out. It’s just a matter right now of kind of going through my checklist of things that like ahhhh! I need to fix this. Yeah, totally.
Gin Jenny (26:06):
Yeah, totally. Do you have an outline–like how much of an outliner are you?
Andrea Stewart (26:09):
I’m definitely an outliner. I go through and I have a summary for each chapter and I just kind of follow that. Sometimes I don’t, and then I have to fix my outline, but I definitely outline before I start writing, because for me especially dealing with multiple perspectives, I really need to make sure that they all have their own arc, that they’re intersecting in the right ways at the right times. So, yeah. So that’s pretty important to me.
Gin Jenny (26:36):
Sure! Was it exciting to actually reach the point in writing where some of these characters meet each other? Because Jovis meets some of other characters, I guess, maybe midway through the book, but he doesn’t meet Lin until quite a bit later. And I was very excited.
Andrea Stewart (26:50):
Yeah! So that’s like part of the fun of writing book two for me, is actually having these characters interact and, you know, having these backgrounds clash and kind of figuring out like where they go from there and what their relationship with one another is going to be like. That’s that’s been really fun for me.
Gin Jenny (27:11):
Is there anything you can tell us about book two? Because I don’t wanna get into spoilers for this one, but Lin and Jovis are both– Well, actually everyone are in very, very different situations than when they began.
Andrea Stewart (27:22):
Yeah. So I can say like a little bit just, you know, there’s, there’s definitely more constructs, more creatures. You learn more about Mephi. You learn a little, a lot more about the Alonga and the history of the empire and how it became the way that it is, and also you learn a little bit more about the bone shard magic and how it came to be and some of the mystery surrounding it. So I think that’s kind of specific and also a little bit vague, but, you know!
Gin Jenny (28:00):
That’s great. We’re gonna, we’re going to find out more about, about little Mephi?
Andrea Stewart (28:05):
Yes. And there’s, there’s more islands that they visit and everything in book two as well. So you kind of get to meet some of the other people that live on the other islands and kind of get a sense for how they’re dealing with all the changes.
Gin Jenny (28:20):
Man, that sounds great. We’re going to do a spoiler for something that happens about a third of the way through the book. Are we going to find out why Deerhead sank?
Andrea Stewart (28:27):
You’re going to get some more hints.
Gin Jenny (28:32):
Okay. Um that was so– That was so distressing. That was really effectively frightening and terrible.
Andrea Stewart (28:38):
Yeah. I mean, there’s definitely more happening in book two in regards to that. And you know, they’re all obviously desperately trying to figure out what exactly is happening. Whether or not they do in book two, I don’t want to say. That’s something I think that should be discovered as you kind of go along through the story.
Gin Jenny (29:03):
Perfect. And then I was also curious, we talked a little bit about some of the animal companions and fiction that you’ve enjoyed, but have you always been a fantasy reader?
Andrea Stewart (29:11):
Yeah, I have been. Since I was a kid. Fantasy and sci-fi actually, but I used to go to the library every week. My parents would take me, and then when I got older, I would just ride my bicycle. So I started out with like, you know Chronicles of Narnia and then the Prydain novels by Lloyd Alexander, I loved those, and I kind of just started reading, you know, more adult stuff as I got a little bit older. Some stuff I think I read before I should have.
Gin Jenny (29:44):
What did you read before you should have? I definitely read Mercedes Lackey before I should have.
Andrea Stewart (29:48):
Oh gosh. I can’t even remember. There were some there was just some stuff that was, I think probably a little bit too violent for me at that age. And when you’re a kid, and you’re just looking for more materials to consume, it’s not like they have like a, a rating on them.
Gin Jenny (30:06):
Right! Which is fortunate because I was a very law abiding kid. So I would certainly have been like, oh, I can’t read the ones with the higher rating. That’s against the rules.
Gin Jenny (30:14):
So who are some of your favorite SF authors now?
Andrea Stewart (30:17):
Oh gosh, there are so many. So I really, really love N.K. Jemison. Her Broken Earth Trilogy just blew me away. It’s one of those things where I read it and I was like, oh God, I will never write anything this brilliant. And that’s amazing. There was that I really liked Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver and Uprooted. I loved those. They were so engaging, and I’ve been reading like some new stuff lately, which has been fun. I’ve been getting books like before they come out right now, which is like, oh my God, so exciting. So I got to read Wolf of Oren-Yaro before it came out.
Gin Jenny (30:56):
Oh, how is it? I’ve been wanting to read it.
Andrea Stewart (30:58):
I loved it. It’s told from a first person point of view, and the main character is so interesting and complex, and you know, you can understand exactly why she makes all the decisions, but she doesn’t at the same time sometimes you’re like, oh, but I wish you hadn’t! But then it like makes the story go.
Gin Jenny (31:19):
Sure. Yeah. That was, that was my experience of reading Harrow the Ninth, like exactly.
Andrea Stewart (31:25):
I mean, you have like these characters who are flawed, so obviously they are going to do flawed things.
Gin Jenny (31:32):
Oh man. Those are, those are good ones. Well, before I let you go, how are you managing coronavirus? Is anything exciting happening in your quarantine life? Have you learned how to do anything new?
Andrea Stewart (31:42):
I’m very typical, I guess, because I did a sourdough starter, so, and how
Gin Jenny (31:49):
And how did it go? Did you– I don’t actually understand what a sourdough starter is, a hundred percent.
Andrea Stewart (31:52):
So it’s just like, basically you grow your own, like yeasty starter.
Gin Jenny (31:58):
Okay, and then once you have it, do you like take a piece off or like, what do you…
Andrea Stewart (32:05):
Some of it’s like, just like it’s kind of like liquidy doughy and it’s like a batter almost. So you take it out and you use it to start like your sourdough loaf, and you have to kind of replenish your little sourdough starter. You actually have to feed it like once a week. It’s like a little pet.
Gin Jenny (32:24):
Oh. I thought it was, I was picturing, like, I thought it was like a liver where you could take a piece off and it would regenerate, but you have to like do stuff to it consistently.
Andrea Stewart (32:32):
You kind of have to, you have to give it flour and water, and that feeds it basically.
Gin Jenny (32:36):
Okay. So I had it totally wrong. I was picturing liver, but now I’m picturing more like a Tamagotchi.
Andrea Stewart (32:40):
Yeah, it’s like a Tamagotchi.
Gin Jenny (32:40):
Okay, great. Great, great, great, great. So have you made sourdough with it?
Andrea Stewart (32:46):
I have, yes. And I gave some of the starter to my mom too, so now my starter has offspring.
Gin Jenny (32:52):
Oh my gosh. Congratulations.
Andrea Stewart (32:54):
So, yeah, so that’s basically, I mean, I don’t think I’ve done anything else except write and stay isolated.
Gin Jenny (33:03):
Yeah, pretty much me too. I keep meaning to learn, to pick locks. That’s kind of the next thing on my docket.
Andrea Stewart (33:10):
Ooh. Yes. That sounds super interesting. Actually I know some people that have gotten into that.
Gin Jenny (33:15):
So someone on Twitter recommended a lock pick set for beginners, and it has like a transparent padlock that you can practice on. So you can kind of see what, what all the little triggers are. So that’s what I really want to do. But apart from that, I haven’t done anything. I made a risotto. That’s my accomplishment.
Andrea Stewart (33:34):
Oh, that’s nice. That’s a good accomplishment.
Gin Jenny (33:38):
I mean, I haven’t kept a sour dough starter alive, so!
Andrea Stewart (33:40):
I mean, it’s not that hard. It’s like a fish.
Gin Jenny (33:46):
Well, and oh, I did want to ask you actually, what are you reading right now?
Andrea Stewart (33:48):
I’m actually reading another book that has not come out yet. It’s called Star Eater by Kirstin Hall, and I think that comes out in early 2021. I think it comes out in January. It’s been kind of slow going just because, you know, I’ve been working on a bunch of other stuff, but it’s really interesting so far and I’m looking forward to finishing it.
Gin Jenny (34:09):
Yeah. I think my brain is broken. I’ve had a really hard time reading, which by the way, I really appreciate this book again because you know, I, I really tore through it and it was so nice to actually be able to like read and finish something.
Andrea Stewart (34:20):
Oh, I’m so glad. That’s like the best feedback that I can hear as an author, is that it was like, you know, a quick read.
Gin Jenny (34:28):
Well, especially my, my friend Alice and I kind of joke with each other that when books are a little longer, we’re very nervous to start them. But this, I mean, this is over 400 pages, but it felt like nothing. It went by in a flash.
Andrea Stewart (34:39):
That’s so good to hear.
Gin Jenny (34:40):
Well, Andrea, thank you so much. This has been lovely.
Andrea Stewart (34:43):
Thank you so much for having me. I mean, you know, debut, author, pandemic, I really appreciate anything that can get the word out. So
Gin Jenny (34:51):
Well, and absolutely, listeners, I loved this book. I have not been able to, like I said, I’ve not been able to read that much in quarantine, but I just tore through this one. Andrea, where can people find you online?
Andrea Stewart (35:00):
Twitter mostly! I’m at AndreaGStewart on Twitter. And then I have a website, AndreaGStewart.com. I’m on Instagram, but I’m still like figuring that out. Like Stories. What are these? This is how I know I’m getting older, but I’m still kind of getting used to the whole interface there. And then I’m on Facebook as well. I have like an author page that I never update, but I have a personal page there as well that is public. So.
Gin Jenny (35:29):
All right, perfect. Well again, thank you so much for joining me and listeners until next time, stay safe volunteer for your local Senate candidates and take care.