We chat with author A.A. Vora about Spin of Fate, which is a propulsive high fantasy debut features intricate world-building, and a scientific hard magic system inspired loosely by the law of karma.
PLUS we have the first chapter from the audiobook for you to listen to at the end of the interview!
Hi, A.A.! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m Ambika Vora-Nagino (writing as A. A. Vora), an Indian-Japanese* author, living in Tokyo with my husband, baby, and spitz dog Fëanor. I hold a degree in Economics from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Cambridge. Career-wise, I’ve worked mostly in management consulting, with a focus on the Japanese healthcare industry.
*By this I mean indokei nihonjin, that is, Indian ethnicity and Japanese nationality. I’m actually a native of Mumbai and my mother tongue is Gujarati, though I’m fluent in English and Japanese (and know a couple other languages, albeit far less fluently).
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Hard to say, because I’ve loved reading and writing for as long as I can remember! A part of me wanted to become a writer from a young age, but due to financial reasons and overall risk aversion (I never thought I’d make it as an author, or that I could afford it) I ended up taking quite a different route academically and professionally. I actually wrote Spin of Fate as a form of stress-relief when I was working an especially punishing job.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Shingeki no Kyojin by Hajime Isayama
Your debut novel, Spin of Fate, is out May 7th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Challenging, detailed, introspective, unique, action-packed
What can readers expect?
- A unique scientific hard-magic system wherein the world is governed by an omniscient force of nature that separates humans into 4 upper and lower realms with vastly different living conditions. The realm(s) one may enter are determined by the ‘spin’ of their soul, which in turn depends on the cumulative morality of their intentions, actions, and thoughts.
- An original mythology, i.e. the world, it’s religion, the mythical creatures that inhabit it—while being inspired in parts by elements of India and Japan—are not adjacent to any particular country, culture, religion, or time period.
- 3 POV characters, all teenagers, with equal chapter count and converging storylines:
- Aina, a disillusioned lower-born girl who ascended by chance; she is desperate to reunite with her mother, who remains trapped in their homeland.
- Aranel, a spoiled upper-born boy who is insecure about the spin of his soul; he accepts a dangerous spy mission to prove his worth.
- Meizan, a ruthless lower-born raised amongst violence; he is fighting to save his clan from extinction.
- A pretty heavy thematic element, with plenty of moral ambiguity all around… from the magic system itself to character motivations. Key themes include systematic oppression; nurture versus nature; and the twisting and misinterpretation of religion to further divide.
- A focus on found families and enemies-to-friends. There isn’t much romance, aside from some subtext to set the scene for what may (or may not) come to fruition in latter books. Other popular tropes include a secret rebel group and a training arc.
Where did the inspiration for Spin of Fate come from?
The core inspiration for the magic system is karma yoga, that is, the law of karma—with several twists for creative purposes. So if we’re talking books, that means The Bhagavad Gita. But it also derives inspiration from Naruto (chakra), The Golden Compass (dust), The Wheel of Time (channeling), and Psycho-Pass (crime coefficient). It would be remiss of me not to mention Brandon Sanderson here, because my desire to create a hard magic system in the first place came from reading his work—and his blog.
Characters and their dynamics are inspired largely by Naruto, and other shounen / sports manga including Free! and Kuroko no Basuke. The mythical creatures are inspired again by Naruto, and also Pokémon.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
There’s a fairly introspective moment in chapter 8 where two characters discuss the ethical implications of the magic system while relaxing in the hot springs. It’s not the most action-packed scene, but to me it’s the crux of the book, the very reason why I wrote it. I also enjoyed the scenes relating to the hard magic and its more scientific principles—I wish I could have gone into more depth on those (and on the worldbuilding)!
Character-wise, Aranel is my least favorite, but also the one I enjoyed writing the most, because of what he represents: a well-meaning but sheltered kid who grew up in an environment of religious brainwashing. It was fun to write him start to slowly question his beliefs and deprogram… though he’s still extremely impressionable and has a lot of growth left to do.
Meizan is my favorite character (and a combination of all my favorite manga tropes), yet was probably the least challenging from a creative perspective. But I had fun contrasting his POV to Aranel’s, because with Aranel I tried to go for a slightly pretentious voice at times—he tries to sound smarter than he is, and also gets more poetic in his observations of the world around him; whereas Meizan is a lot more blunt, even crass.
Aina sits in the middle, but holds a special place in my heart because she has a disability of sorts, that was inspired by my struggles with infertility and endometriosis. It’s the idea of being frustrated and angry with your own body because it’s unable to do this simple, natural thing that seems to come to others so easily—I tried to convey that feeling with Aina and her magic. For this reason, Aina’s mother was also cathartic to write; I wrote one specific monologue of hers in the hospital, right after giving birth. The postpartum anxiety and depression sort of just gushed onto the page.
This is your debut published novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
A roller-coaster. I went from 5 years of querying (amassing somewhere between 150 and 200 rejections) before landing my literary agent… to a pre-emptive trilogy deal with Penguin Random House within one day of submission! The difference in the time frames between landing an agent and landing a publishing deal definitely caused some whiplash.
What’s next for you?
I have 2 more books to finish this trilogy. I finished my first draft of book 2 in late 2022, and am currently working on my first round of developmental edits. I’m halfway done with my drafts of book 3 and book 0 (a prequel, for which I don’t technically have a publishing deal yet). But everything was plotted out in detail well in advance, so it’s mostly a matter of finding time to sit down and write.
Lastly, are there any book releases that you’re looking forward to picking up this year?
For books, The Dollmakers by Lynn Buchanan and The Strength of the Few by James Islington. In addition, I’m always eagerly awaiting the next chapters of my favorite manga releases which currently include Blue Lock (Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura) and Oshi no Ko (Aka Akasaka and Mengo Yokoyari).
You can find A.A. Vora on Instagram and check out the series website which has exclusive content and art here!
