At this point you’ve published work at different lengths, from short fiction to novellas to novels. Have you found that some story lengths feel more comfortable for you, are some more challenging? Do you have a preferred format or mode, or do you enjoy each form equally?
On the whole, I love writing short fiction, novellas, and novels equally—it just depends on my mood at the moment. Trying to force something that’s meant to be a short story to be a full-length book, or vice versa, is agonizing. One of my friends recently called me an “ideas writer,” which I kind of pushed against at the time, but I think she was right, at least for my shorter fiction, which often springs from a “what if?” question. My longer work is more character-driven, because I have the space to really dig into the characters.
Different story lengths are challenging in different ways. I typically write short story drafts in one to three days; the words just come rushing out of me, and then I revise over weeks or even years. Novels take me at least a year or two of struggling with several casts, settings, and plots to figure out what exactly the story is before getting to a draft I’m happy with. Novellas are sort of in between; I write some sections rapidly, and the connective tissue takes me much longer.
If readers unfamiliar with your shorter fiction were to give one story a read, what would you most want them to read, and why?
Oh, that’s a tricky question! I know this is cheating, but it depends on what the reader’s looking for. If it’s a reflective, moody story, then “Thin Ice.” If it’s a fun horror-tinged romp, then “The Sufficient Loss Protocol.”
Your latest book is The King Must Die, just out from Saga Press! This is a far-future world of swords and quarterstaffs, of monsters and feudal-ish hierarchies, of huts and palaces, as well as technological miracles. What do you see as some of the most important similarities and differences in vibe and/or story between this book and The Splinter in the Sky?
I don’t necessarily write “hard” science fiction, but I always like throwing in real science tidbits into my stories, and building worlds that—at least at first glance—seem technically scientifically possible. Nevertheless, I love science fantasy aesthetics. So both The Splinter in the Sky and The King Must Die have a lot of traditional fantasy elements. And then there’s my usual multicultural worldbuilding and very queer dramatis personae.
As for differences… The King Must Die is a less serious book, or at least it takes itself less seriously. Both novels deal with difficult topics, but when I was writing my debut I felt that I had to include all my thoughts on colonialism and misogynoir because on some level, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get the chance to publish another book. Someone once described TSITS as my “tear apart the space empire with your bare hands” book, and to this day I think that just might be the best summary of it I’ve seen. TKMD, meanwhile, is my friendship book.
What was the initial inspiration for The King Must Die, and what were some of the major changes that happened through edits and development, as compared to the original vision?
TKMD is the book of my heart, as they say—I’ve been writing various versions of the same core story for the past eleven years: four unlikely friends go on a quest to kill a despot. Some of those stories were sprawling political thrillers; some were comedy-crammed adventures. TKMD combines all those elements, and is a lot more morally complex than the previous reincarnations. There’s more sci-fi stuff, since the first versions were fantasy stories heavily influenced by the anime I was inhaling as a kid: everything Studio Ghibli, especially Spirited Away; Noragami; Natsume Yuujinchou; and a dash of Kamisama Hajimemashita (Avatar: The Last Airbender was also a major inspiration, but it’s not anime, despite its major anime inspirations). TKMD is also more explicitly queer, and unlike the early stories, it’s coherent (I’m a pantser by nature, and continually wrote myself into plot holes).
What were some of the main challenges in writing this book, and were the challenges similar to those you faced with The Splinter in the Sky?
Even though TKMD is my third book, writing it was when I had my “sophomore slump.” There were long stretches of time when I couldn’t even look at the manuscript, let alone work on it. I had a real love-hate relationship with the book, because I was so anxious about how it would be received, as well as how to avoid the flaws of my first two books and repeat anything I did well previously. TSITS, in comparison, was almost easy to write. I was thinking about potential reception so much less than I do now. That’s the beauty of a debut novel, I think—they capture writers at their most daring, and therefore at their most vulnerable.
You have a background in science (biology and astrophysics), and The King Must Die does have science fictional grounding and conceits. At the same time, you’ve described the book as science fantasy, saying, “This story leans a little more toward the fantasy end of the science fantasy spectrum, but was very much shaped by research and coursework….” What does dipping into a fantasy-flavored modality allow you to do?
I just like science fantasy’s vibes.
To give a better answer: in my brain, science fiction is cool and sleek, and fantasy is epic, dramatic, passionate. (Genres aren’t real, but that’s just what’s stuck in my head.) And when you mix sci-fi and fantasy, you get the best of both worlds.
What are one or two science fictional ideas in this book that you are really excited about, which you don’t mind sharing?
The ancestors of all the humans in the story were whisked off Earth by enigmatic, omnipotent aliens known as the Makers, who dumped everyone on a half-terraformed planet with a handful of murderous shapeshifting constructs called Accusers to enforce the Makers’ laws. I don’t go too deep into the Makers and Accusers, but I certainly liked writing about them, and there is a glimpse, at the beginning of the book, into the aliens’ perspective, with hints about their wildly destructive history.
And then there’s the planet, Newearth. I knew I wanted to write about climate change, but I wanted to come at it from an angle I personally hadn’t seen before (of course, I’m sure many writers have done exactly what I did in the past). So in TKMD, impatient humans speed up the terraforming process so they can colonize their “gifted” world faster, and there are serious environmental and ecological consequences that eventually result in the human empire collapsing. And that’s where the book begins.
What can you tell us about the main characters, Fen and Alekhai? What do you love most about them, as well as their interplay through the narrative?
Fen is kind of a loser. She is the LVP (least valuable player) of the main squad, and the only reason she makes it as far as she does in the book is because she has great friends. She’s forced to work with Alekhai, a seemingly perfect chessmaster-esque character who’s been trained to manipulate people basically from the cradle, and Fen’s main skill seems to be “hitting people with a stick.” And she’s not even that good at it. She’s also a bit of a jerk. She has no place being the protagonist of an epic science fantasy tale—that would be Alekhai. I wish I could share my favorite things about him, but sadly, we’d have to venture into serious spoiler territory for that. But what I can say is that I love Fen and Alekhai’s relationship arc. TKMD is an enemies-to-besties story. I wanted to give the characters’ growing bond the level of time and care that’s typically afforded to a romance, and I think I did that. I’m really proud of how that part of the book turned out.
What is the heart of the story for The King Must Die? What is this book ultimately about for you?
The King Must Die is a story about:
- Complicated people trying to do what’s right, even when everything is going horribly wrong.
- How hidden wounds fester when you pretend they don’t need healing – or worse, that they don’t exist.
- Learning how to believe in something again – in yourself, in other people, in a cause, in anything.
- Trusting people even when they’ve betrayed you.
- Letting yourself be vulnerable.
- What happens after you’ve lost.
- And it’s about friendship. 🙂
Being a best-selling author, having won and been nominated for awards, even landing on the Locus Recommended Reading List, what has been the impact of these kinds of milestones? Do they energize you, do they create a sense of pressure and anxiety, or do they do something completely different for you?
I feel very fortunate. And kind of weird about it! There’s definitely a level of imposter syndrome; I still think of myself as more of an “author” than an author. My feelings about awards, bestseller lists, etc. have also changed a lot since I started writing professionally. I’m far from the first to say it: publishing is not a meritocracy. I’m grateful for everything, of course, but I feel that all this stuff is 10% hard work, 90% luck and other forces beyond our control, and – critically – the often invisible and underappreciated efforts of other people. I have a great agent and great editors. Sydney Morris at Saga Press was my publicist for the hardcover edition of The Splinter in the Sky, and she was incredible. Sometimes these things bring lovely interactions – winning the Compton Crook led to a few glorious days of hanging out with the Baltimore Science Fiction Society at Balticon. I met quite a few BSFS members and they’re freaking awesome. And I’m not just saying that because they gave me a shiny plaque. They’re fellow nerds! I made new friends I hope I’ll stay in touch with forever.
Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about The King Must Die or you or your work in general?
I think of all of my stories as love stories—even though they’re primarily non-romantic. If you’re looking for a science fantasy standalone centered around friendship, then The King Must Die is for you.
(On a related note—whenever I pitch my work, it feels like I’m asking readers to go on a little quest with me. I don’t know if they’ll like it, or if they’ll get what they wanted at the end, but I do hope they find the journey interesting and entertaining. So I guess this is me asking readers to trust me for a couple hours.)
As for myself, I asked one of my roommates about this, and she said more people should know I’m “goofy ahh.” This is true, and I’m proud of it. I’ve had people tell me on several occasions that they were worried I was going to be really intense, like some sort of extremely Type A workaholic, but frankly that’s not me. I went to clown camp, y’know?
#
Kemi Ashing-Giwa is an author and scientist-in-training. Her work includes the Compton Crook Award-winning novel The Splinter in the Sky, the novella This World Is Not Yours, and the forthcoming novel The King Must Die. Her short fiction, which has been nominated for an Ignyte Award and featured on the Locus Recommended Reading List, has been reprinted in collections including Some of the Best from Tor.com: 15th Anniversary Edition and The Year’s Top Tales of Space and Time. She is now pursuing a PhD in the Earth & Planetary Sciences department at Stanford.