We chat with debut author S. Hati about And The Sky Bled, which explores the devastating mechanisms of power and sees this searing climate fantasy breathe life into a crumbling world hovering on the brink of total destruction.
Hello! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! So excited to be here! I’m Sul, a speculative fiction writer currently residing in the Bay Area. I am an avid Warriors fan, will soon be heading to my third Eras tour stop, and can usually be found frustrated over the daily NYT games. I’m also a bit of a science nerd so my stories often involve brown girls in strange worlds that straddle the line between magic and science.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
This is actually a core memory of mine! I was in elementary school and my mom and I were about to embark on a multi-day train journey to visit my grandparents. I was an extremely chaotic child and she didn’t know what to do with me during travel days so she borrowed a bunch of books from a friend. I remember coming home from school and seeing the stack on the dining table. I picked up the first one, started reading, and never stopped.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Very Peculiar Cow and Other Stories by Enid Blyton
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton (her books were very formative)
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Babel by R.F. Kuang
Your debut novel, And the Sky Bled, is out October 15th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Devastating, visceral, hopeful, terrifying, bloody.
(I’m not making it sound very appealing, am I?)
What can readers expect?
A thief, a slumlord, and an heiress race to find a hidden cache of magic in a city that hovers on the brink of destruction. On its surface, this is a standalone multi-POV epic fantasy that explores themes of extractive colonialism and climate justice, but the heart of this story is about loneliness, shame, and the indelible impressions we leave on each other. It gets grim and dark but I think there’s a strong thread of hope that permeates through the end.
Where did the inspiration for And the Sky Bled come from?
The setting was largely conceived following the 2020 Bay Area fires which left the skies a deep, unsettling orange for an entire day. I’ve always been fascinated by natural disasters (fun fact: I used to want to be a storm chaser) so I knew I wanted to play with weather-based magic. I loved the idea of blood rains because it sounds cool and visceral, but it’s also an effective tool to explore themes of colonialism and environmental racism. I’ve had the privilege of living in India, Thailand, and the U.S., which has prompted a lot of thinking around the inequitable impact of climate change. And the Sky Bled is not based on any specific historical event but I drew on various papers, such as those on the environmental impact of the British Raj on India, for inspiration.
At the same time, I’d had the last scene of this book in my head for a while — I had a strong vision of three characters coming together in an explosive climax, where they unravel the ways in which their last encounters rippled through their lives. I was fascinated by character relationships and wanted to explore how different personalities process and react to trauma. The core emotions I wanted to unpack are shame and isolation, how they can haunt people and tear them apart. I realized these micro-themes fit synergistically with the macro-themes of our strenuous relationship with the planet, and the book clicked into place.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
The ending!!! I don’t always know the ending of a book when I start writing but I did for this one, so it was really gratifying building up to it. The midpoint was a ton of fun too; I knew every character was going to undergo a dramatic change in circumstance and it felt like releasing a boulder from the peak of a mountain.
I also loved writing the relationships in this book, particularly because I got to explore the complexities of platonic relationships. Charvi and Anastasia’s friendship arc was a highlight for me. I also loved Bilal and Zain’s friendship, which always made me smile. Probably because they’re the purest relationship in this story.
This is your debut published novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
It’s involved me throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks! I wrote my first “serious” book during the pandemic, which got me into Avengers of Color and Pitch Wars. Both programs changed my life and taught me so much about writing and traditional publishing, but that book didn’t make it through the query trenches. I wrote And the Sky Bled right after and it got me my amazing agent, but it did not look like it was going to get me a deal. We had gone out on multiple rounds of submission and I’d written two other books in that time, all in different genres. We were going to declare And the Sky Bled dead when Bindery reached out. I said “sure why not”, having long given up on the book, and then Zoranne offered!!! It’s been a whirlwind of an experience and looking back, And the Sky Bled could not have ended up in a more perfect place.
What’s next for you?
I can’t say anything officially yet, but I’m looking forward to telling everyone about my next project—a pivot from And the Sky Bled. Right now I’m knee deep in line edits while chipping away at two other projects, all at various stages of development.
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
So many!!! My fellow Bindery authors’ books are genuinely among my favorites—House of Frank by Kay Synclaire, Inferno’s Heir by Tiffany Wang, and Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris. I’ve also loved Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi, These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low, The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Good Material by Dolly Alderton, and Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis.
Of books coming out soon-ish, I cannot wait to get my hands on Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang, Midnights With You by Clare Osongco, Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy, and Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours.
