We chat with author Premee Mohamed about The Butcher of the Forest, which follows a world-weary woman races against the clock to rescue the children of a wrathful tyrant from a dangerous, otherworldly forest.
Hi, Premee! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
The first thing I can tell your readers is that I too am a nerd every day! 😀 I’m a scientist and author based in Edmonton, Alberta; I write sci-fi, fantasy, horror, mashups of all three, and I’m pretty excited to have five books out in 2024. Also, because he’s sitting here staring at me, I must shout out my writing assistant Fiasco, a fluffy grey tabby with a lot of opinions about me typing instead of petting him (AGAIN).
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I’ve always been one of those nerds who read and wrote a lot! I think my earliest completed ‘book’ was when I was eight years old (it was about a cat who runs away to join a band of pirates and I illustrated it with the kind of alcohol markers that kills brain cells if not used in a ventilated area—don’t be like me, kids). For most of my life I’ve written as a hobby that I didn’t talk about much, but after I started selling short stories for pocket money, I thought it might be interesting to see if I could get a novel published, so here we are today. Even now I’m always working on a couple of things I’m ‘supposed’ to be working on as well as a couple that I’m not, because I’m always exploring new and ever more unmarketable story ideas.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Deep Wizardry, by Diane Duane
Your latest novel, The Butcher of the Forest, is out February 27th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Annihilation meets Escape From L.A.
What can readers expect?
They can expect a story with the same vibes as the cover, I hope! (Illustration and design by Andrew Davis.) A quest through a dark forest full of strange animals, threatening creatures, glimmers of light and hope… and some extremely shady apples.
Where did the inspiration for The Butcher of the Forest come from?
Actually, this was a weird one for me… I had a dream and woke up with the image of the throne room (the stone wall, the skulls, firelight) in my head and someone behind me whispering, “But are the children responsible for the sins of the father?” or something like that. Really, a strange little piece of flash fiction, and then I couldn’t remember anything else before that in the dream. I wrote it down and thought the dialogue, at least, was an interesting thing to say to a stranger; so the novella kind of grew out of that. Which children? Who was their father? What did it mean? Why did the throne room look so… threateningly medieval?
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I quite enjoyed Veris’ first encounter with a forest creature that can speak (aside from the birds); it’s a little guy who vaguely remembers her from the first time, so there’s that connection to the past, but it’s also like running into someone at a professional conference after you’ve moved companies—you don’t necessarily want to talk to them about the old place, but they’re being nosy about it and where you are now. I love that the scene shows Veris trying to obey the rules of the forest, and breaking them out of desperation because she’s working with a ticking clock and needs all the help she can get. Plus, let’s be real, cheese is tempting stuff.
Can you tell us a bit about your process when it come crafting your novella?
Usually it goes “have an idea for a book, start from the end, figure out how I can write a beginning that could lead to that end,” but in this case I felt that I was starting near the beginning because dreams aren’t very helpful. It wasn’t even a full idea! I kind of went from that remembered glance of the castle and built out from there bit by bit, honestly. Stone walls and a fire suggested a time period at least, so I thought it might be set in the past; seeing the throne suggested the characters were ruled by a monarchy or similar; the skulls on the wall made me think that the monarch who sat on the throne wasn’t particularly nice, or they would have taken them down. So we went from ‘A ruler who actively contributes to killing people to put up on the wall’ to, well, maybe he has children… maybe the children are in danger… maybe this is a bit like a dark fairytale and someone will go help them even though their father is evil (he’s not going to help because that’s not what powerful people do, they make other people do it). The rest of the story kind of fell into place from there.
What’s next for you?
I have several more books on the docket for 2024 but I’m particularly excited for my March release with Solaris Books (THE SIEGE OF BURNING GRASS) which is my only novel for the year, and ONE MESSAGE REMAINS which is with Psychopomp Press and is actually a mini-collection!
Lastly, are there any 2024 book releases that you’re looking forward to?
I am super excited for Kelly Link’s debut novel THE BOOK OF LOVE (which just came out but I haven’t gotten it yet), and for one I don’t even know the title of yet but I know it’s Nick Harkaway continuing the George Smiley books (!) after his father John le Carre passed away. I’m a huge Nick Harkaway fan and I’ve spent the last couple years reading all the le Carre books in published order, so I can’t wait for that one.
You can find Premee on Instagram and Bluesky, and at her website.
