We chat with author Savannah Stephens about Witch Queen Rising, which follows a reclusive witch who flees the burden of her bloodline and rises to be the greatest among them in this lush and haunting fantasy debut
Hi, Savannah! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
By day I cosplay a burnout formerly-gifted Millennial trying to survive a capitalist hellscape. By night I am still all those things but at least it’s from the comfort of my own home. A long time lover of literature and alliteration, I am also a baker, home chef, plant mom, gamer and nerd. Someday I hope to run away to the forest to open an arcane bookshop and apothecary. In short, I am but a humble wordsmith not so secretly yearning to be a witch of the woods.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I was fortunate to be born into a home where word and literature were important. My mother was also a writer, a poet specifically. I grew up around books and was a reader by age four or five. I am a child of the inner city, born and raised in the Bronx in the 90s. Reading became my primary escape from my surroundings and remains so to this day.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Jimmy Lee Did it by Pat Cummings
- The one that made you want to become an author: In the Forest of the Night by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: At present? My own sequel draft.
Your debut novel, Witch Queen Rising, is out April 21st! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
An outcast becomes a Queen.
What can readers expect?
At its heart, Witch Queen Rising is about a woman trying to make it in a world determined to break her. Phine’s story is as haunting and heavy as it is beautiful and lush. While never gratuitous, the book tackles heavy topics and doesn’t shy away from grimdark or horror elements. The world has teeth, but Phine is not afraid to bite back. So readers can expect a wild ride from start to finish if they’re brave enough to follow along with our reluctant heroine.
Where did the inspiration for Witch Queen Rising come from?
This simple image of Beyonce in the Formation video. I was aware of Southern Gothic as a concept but had never seen myself in it. But when I saw the video I was instantly drawn to who these characters could be and what world they lived in? Phine’s story organically evolved over eight years. Though actual writing was probably two.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
There is a chapter where we learn how Phine’s mother passed and it became a sleeper favorite of mine. It’s cinematic, emotionally heavy, and action packed. Maxine is a terrible mother, but she was a good Prime. She did what she thought was best and ultimately no one can question her dedication to her people. At the end there is a moment that humanizes her that gets me every time. I will never like Maxine, but I understood and deeply respected her for it. I sincerely enjoyed going on that journey.
Can you tell us about your worldbuilding process?
I conceptualize story ideas as “bones.” I can find them anywhere or anytime. Could be a lyric, a turn of phrase, or an image. The Formation video was the very first bone for Witch Queen Rising. When I find enough complimentary bones and I get a skeleton I can work with.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Much like Phine, I know what it’s like to have the odds stacked against you. There were many times throughout the years where I gave literal blood, sweat, and tears to this book. My struggles were so many I started replying, “The trials persist but so do I” when people asked how I was.
At first, I was going to say I overcame challenges simply because I had to. Historically, defeat or failure were never options for me. So a challenge was just someone or thing that didn’t know they were beaten yet. But resilience or dogged determination aside, at some point I decided to bet on me. That I was worth overcoming obstacles for. Not just the luxury and leisure I envisioned or the version of me I saw living said life, but me just as I am. That shift changed quite a bit for me. It became less about defeat never being an option and more about I am going to do everything in my power to succeed because I deserve it,
This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
As wild and whimsical as every other endeavor I pursued. A truly painful amount of people’s career in publishing end before it even begins in the dreaded query trenches. Traditional publishers generally only accept manuscripts from agented writers. So for most writers the first step ends up their last because most won’t. I went into getting published with a war plan. I had spreadsheets, weeks of research behind me, and months of tweaking and preparing… Only to stumble upon my agent entirely by accident. I was going to start small and query five agents for my first round.
Mind you, I had already compiled dozens of agents into rounds for querying, individually vetted and researched their agencies. As I was randomly browsing #MSWL on Twitter, the woman who would become my agent had just tweeted about opening to queries in my genre a few days later. I researched again and said to myself, “She seems nice, let’s see what happens.”
I am exceptionally blessed to have survived the query trenches unscathed after six weeks and six agents. I signed a two book deal contract the anniversary of signing with my agent. I found her by chance, but we became a team by choice. I remain eternally grateful for her.
What’s next for you?
I’m still trying to take over the world one book at a time. I want to continue improving as a writer and am already dabbling in a new project or two. Dark fantasy will remain my bread and butter but in the future I’d love to branch into romance and or thriller. Time will certainly tell.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
I am so behind on books it should be criminal. Because I’m a bit of a sponge, I don’t read in my genre while I’m drafting. So there are at least fifty books right now that I need to catch up on.
Burn the Sea by Mona Tewari, Daggermouth by H.M. Wolf, and Strange Familiars by Keshe Chow were some of the first to come to mind.
