We chat with debut author Genoveva Dimova about Foul Days, which is a fast-paced fantasy rooted in Slavic folklore, think The Witcher meets Naomi Novik.
Hi, Genoveva! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi, I’m Gen! I grew up in Bulgaria, and now I live in Scotland. In my first job, I’m an archaeologist, specialising in archaebotany and archaeological wood analysis. In my second job, I’m an author, specialising in books about witches, folklore, and monsters.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
This is such a hard question, because I’ve always loved stories! My mum is an avid reader, so growing up, I always had access to so many great books. The moment I decided I wanted to be a writer, I can pinpoint a bit more precisely. When we were little, my cousin, who is a year older than me, had written a really excellent story for school – everyone read it, gushed about it, and told her she’ll be a writer when she grows up. So, I, being little, petty, and competitive to a fault, decided that I’ll have to become a writer too, so everyone gushes about me. I’m happy to report my cousin ended up getting a much more sensible job in the end – and yet, here I am!
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: I can’t actually remember the title! It was a picture book about a mouse managing to get the cheese out of a trap without getting hurt.
- The one that made you want to become an author: Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin.
Your debut novel, Foul Days, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Fast-paced witchy monstrous adventure.
What can readers expect?
I’m finding it easier to tell readers what not to expect: a sensible, morally upstanding main character; an uncomplicated, morally upstanding love interest; a redeemable villain; the standard Medieval Western European worldbuilding; a straightforward plot with zero twists.
Where did the inspiration for Foul Days come from?
The inspiration for Foul Days came from two distinct sources. On the one hand, I was inspired by all my favourite stories from Bulgarian folklore. The monsters you meet in Foul Days are all based on Bulgarian myths and legends (with a few tweaks I’ve added for extra flavour). The concept of the Foul Days itself also comes from folklore: these are the days between Christmas and Saint Yordan’s Day, when supernatural creatures are free to roam the streets, terrorise the population, and cause havoc. The second source of inspiration was the Cold War, and the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall in particular. I really wanted to infuse my world with the sense of being trapped behind a barrier with all your monsters and having no easy way of escaping – something that will hopefully resonate with Eastern European readers.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I’m having a hard time picking a favourite scene – I enjoyed writing so many of them! However, when it comes to characters, my choice is easy: Vila. She is the older witch who serves as the main character’s mentor, and I loved writing her because she’s so unapologetically herself: older, settled in her ways, knowledgeable, skilful, and grumpy. Plus, she lives in a house on chicken legs! I ended up giving her a bigger role in the second book because she’s so much fun to write.
Can you tell us a bit about your worldbuilding process?
This is a great question, because – like most fantasy authors – I love worldbuilding. I tend to start with one big, high-concept idea: in Foul Days, this was the idea of having a monster-infested city trapped inside a wall, rather than having the wall protect the city from monsters. I then borrowed freely from Bulgarian folklore when it came to building my monsters and magic, using the myths and legends I grew up with. Finally, for the sprinkles of Cold War inspiration, I have elements of technology, food, clothing, and architecture reminiscent of Bulgaria from that time period.
I know this approach isn’t the most usual: in fantasy, it’s more common to set a story in a pastiche of a specific period, usually based on Western European history, so you end up with Medieval fantasy, or Gaslamp fantasy, or Victorian fantasy, and it’s all very familiar, straightforward, and monolithic. We have X technology now, so it’s everywhere, and everyone knows about it. However, what I really wanted to do was to capture that moment in Bulgarian history where we were caught in between: in between two political regimes, in between history and modernity. In many ways, the old stories and superstitions didn’t die once the communist regime of the Cold War set out to modernise the country, just like people didn’t immediately stop using horse carts and oil lamps once the rich could afford automobiles and electricity. As an archaeologist, it’s that duality of progress and tradition that fascinates me, and it was something I wanted to explore in the world of Foul Days, especially when it came to contrasting my two main cities, the one inside of the wall and the one outside of it.
This is your debut published novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
I’m going to be absolutely infuriating and say: fairly easy. I love research, so I did a tonne of it before I started looking for a literary agent, which meant that I understood how the industry worked and was mentally prepared for all the exasperating aspects of it (the ghosting, the silence, the waiting, the rejections). I lucked out with finding the right agent quickly, and that made the submission process to publishers less overwhelming. When you’re working with someone you trust, it’s easy to leave it all in their hands. Which also goes for working with my editor and the team at Tor after they bought my books, too!
The bit that was difficult for me actually came before all of that, when I was first drafting the manuscript. English is my second language, and although I have been living in an English-speaking country since I was 18, it took me a while to feel confident and comfortable writing in it. I had a few very frustrating years when I was reading predominantly in English, so I found it challenging to write in Bulgarian, but I didn’t feel good enough about my prose in English yet to write in English. As someone who has been writing stories for as long as I can remember, it was heartbreaking to lose that aspect of myself. Thankfully, it turned out to be only a temporary hitch, as you can tell by the fact my debut novel in English has just hit the shelves!
What’s next for you?
Next, the sequel to Foul Days and the final book of the duology, Monstrous Nights, comes out in October. It’s all done and dusted, edited, copy-edited, and proofread, so all that remains is for it to start finding its way into readers’ hands – which I’m excited about, because I’m honestly proud of how it turned out, and I think it’s a great conclusion to the story (if I say so myself).
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
The highlights of my year so far have been Road to Ruin by Hana Lee, Snowblooded by Emma Sterner-Radley, Mistress of Lies by K.M. Enright, Voyage of the Damned by Frances White, Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan, and The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong. I can’t wait to read The Wings Upon Her Back by Samantha Mills, The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks, and Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell, as well as the sequel to Kamilah Cole’s excellent So Let Them Burn, This Ends in Embers.
