We chat with debut author Mina Fears about The Scorpion Queen, which is a dark fantasy inspired by a Malian fairy tale about a princess whose suitors are challenged to gruesome trials, think Uprooted meets Children of Blood and Bone.
Hi, Mina! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m a public relations professional with experience developing media outreach campaigns, executive thought leadership materials, and content marketing strategy for tech and finance brands. I hold a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Columbia University, where I studied Creative Writing. I’ve been trying to write a good book since I was a teenager, but it took writing several not-so-great manuscripts to practice and hone my skills before I was finally able to create something that I’m proud to show the world—my first published novel, The Scorpion Queen.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I discovered my love for storytelling as a kid! I was a voracious reader and especially adored historical fiction like the American Girl and Royal Diaries series. When I was thirteen, I wrote an 80,000-word novel about half-sisters separated at birth that wasn’t at all publishable, but I’m still proud of it because it was my first attempt and I was so young! I wrote another novel when I was fifteen and tried again at nineteen and again at twenty-one and again at twenty-three. I never stopped drafting novels until my skills finally caught up with my ambition. But I always knew that I wanted to write!
Your debut novel, The Scorpion Queen, is out January 28th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
In five words: Timbuktu, Suitors, Empress, Trials, Sahara.
What can readers expect?
Readers can expect a classic fairy tale complete with fallen princesses, palace intrigue, doomed suitors, enchanted maps, and vengeful gods. They can also expect to learn a lot about medieval West Africa and especially about life in the Mali Empire in the 1350s.
Where did the inspiration for The Scorpion Queen come from?
I was inspired to write The Scorpion Queen when I came across an anthology called African Fairy Tales with Foreign Analogues by Augusta May Klipple while doing readings for a graduate seminar on folklore. One of the stories in Klipple’s anthology was an exquisitely creepy fable from the Western Sahel about a king who subjected his daughter’s suitors to horrific, impossible trials. The imagery was so incredibly striking—boiling suitors alive in a massive pot, for instance—and the story’s dark, vivid themes captivated me from the start. I knew that I had to try to expand on those ideas in a new way, and they ultimately became the foundation for The Scorpion Queen.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I really enjoyed exploring the deliciously toxic relationship at the center of my book. It’s what I believe to be a genuine friendship struggling to survive beneath some gnarly power dynamics. Princess Mariama is the daughter of Emperor Suleyman of Mali, and she quickly befriends her new handmaiden Amie. Amie came from a privileged background as a wealthy salt merchant’s daughter but she has since been disinherited and framed for a scandalous crime, so she has far less power than Mariama and her situation is more precarious. The two girls form an instant bond that is underscored by slipperiness and treachery and some very intense, passionate feelings. It was so fun to write! I think a lot of teen girls have these volatile, obsessive friendships. I had my share as well, so writing about Amie and Mariama’s relationship came very naturally to me.
Can you tell us a bit about the process in crafting the world and magic system in The Scorpion Queen?
In The Scorpion Queen, the magic system is inspired by the seven major deities of Songhai traditional religion, including a god of the hunt, a river goddess, and a blacksmith god, among others. It was crucial to me that the magic in my story be rooted in authentic history and cultural practices. One invaluable resource I relied on while shaping this system was Fusion of the Worlds: An Ethnography of Possession Among the Songhai of Niger by Paul Stoller. The book provides a detailed exploration of worship within the Songhai pantheon, delving into the cults of the zin, ancestors, angels, and holle spirits. When crafting scenes where characters perform acts of sorcery, I drew heavily from Stoller’s descriptions of Songhai possession priests and spirit mediums.
Did you face any challenges? How did you overcome them?
The research process was a challenge for sure! I read as many primary and secondary sources as I could to learn about 14th-century Mali, but there remained massive gaps in my knowledge that made it difficult to envision Amie’s world. So after I felt that I hit a wall with my own self-guided research, I started reaching out to historians of precolonial West Africa with questions about daily life in the Mali Empire and especially in Timbuktu. Historians Gregory Mann, Baz Lecocq, Augustus Casely-Hayford, Fatima Sadiqi, and Nick Jubber were especially patient and helpful with my many questions about the time period. Without the input of these very generous scholars, I wouldn’t have been able to imagine how 14th-century Malians lived, worked, ate, worshiped, studied, and celebrated.
This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
I wrote two full-length manuscripts while I was earning my BA and MFA, but I wasn’t able to get either of those published, so after my 2019 graduation I decided to work full-time in public relations. That job kept me very busy during the day, so I wrote what would become The Scorpion Queen at night and on the weekends. Once I had a draft, I cold-queried my agent, Jenny Bent, and was shocked that she wanted to represent me because she is such a big deal in the publishing industry and represents so many fantasy authors I admire. Jenny and I worked on developmental edits for about a year before we went on submission and found a home at Macmillan for The Scorpion Queen.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently developing a story set in late 19th-century Brooklyn about an aspiring cosmetic chemist who finds herself cursed with supernatural powers after a fateful experiment with alchemy. She’s just a teenage girl who uses an alchemical recipe to try to cure her acne, but she ends up summoning ancient powers that are far beyond her understanding.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up in 2025?
I want to read fiction set in historically Black NYC as well as Harlem Renaissance novels by women writers. At the top of my list is The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle and The Street by Ann Petry.
