Samantha Cohoe’s debut novel, A Golden Fury, is a fantastically smart and atmospheric story of a teenage alchemist set in eighteenth-century Europe. I recently had the chance to ask her about her writing process, how it felt when she first saw the stunning final cover for the novel, and more!
Hi Samantha! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions for The Nerd Daily. First, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hi Kibby! I’m a Californian exile in Colorado, mother of several children, married to a philosopher. Until very recently, I was a Latin teacher, and before that I was a personal chef. Now I write books and tend to my very old and whimsical house. (There’s a library with a secret passage and a hobbit playhouse!)
Now tell us about A Golden Fury. What can readers expect?
A Golden Fury is a dark but hopeful story about the cost of ambition and the difficulty of finding your place in the world. Readers can expect a sharp heroine who is fiercely intelligent but not always wise. The story is a mix of historical fiction, fantasy, and horror. The horror wasn’t really on purpose! The first time a reader remarked on the horror elements, I was a bit surprised, but they were right.
What was the process of writing this novel like? And what was one of your favorite parts of the writing process?
The writing process for A GOLDEN FURY was delightfully easy. This was the second story I’d written. The first took seven years of flailing, so I was really pleased to discover that this time around, I kind of knew how to do it! In particular, Thea’s mind was a really easy place for me to inhabit. I just knew her right away. That doesn’t always happen for me.
One of the things I loved most about this novel was how smart Thea was, and how her strength came from something other than a physical characteristic, like swordsmanship or fighting ability. Were there any influential women in your life or characters who inspired you to write a heroine like this?
Thank you! Yes, as much as I enjoy a good sword-fighting heroine, I’ve never identified with them. The women I look up to most have strength of character and will and mind. I’ve never seen any of them throw a punch. Not that I think they wouldn’t if the situation called for it! But I wanted to write a heroine who exemplified the kind of strength that I’ve found more useful in life.
Was alchemy something you researched before deciding to write A Golden Fury or did the research come afterwards? And what was the research process for this novel like?
I’ve always been fascinated by alchemy! Who doesn’t love a study that’s equal parts philosophy, theology, science, and magic? And if you’re interested in those subjects, as I am, alchemy keeps popping up in the weirdest places! So I would say I had a general awareness of it that inspired A Golden Fury, and then got to really dig in once I decided to write it. I spent a lot of time reading general historical books and listening to podcasts. One book in particular, The Secrets of Alchemy by Laurence Principe, was very helpful, because it laid out, very practically, many experiments that alchemists had done. I learned about alchemical processes and instruments from that.
A Golden Fury has one of my favorite covers of 2020 (Seriously, the Wednesday Books design time is always on point!). Did you get to be involved in the process at all and what was it like seeing the final cover design for the first time?
Thank you so much. I completely agree, I feel incredibly lucky to have the Wednesday Books design team (especially Kerri Resnick!) for my books. They were very good about involving me in the process. I was invited to send some ideas, cover comps, and inspirations to them early on, and then Kerri asked for my input on the early cover draft. I liked the initial drafts pretty well, but when I saw the final version I gasped so loudly my husband came running from the next room. I couldn’t be happier with it — and it looks SO gorgeous with the shiny gold foil!
Debut years always seem to be wild for novelists, but 2020 has been particularly odd (I can’t imagine any debut authors had “an actual pandemic” on their debut year bingo card). Even with things in the literary world being a bit chaotic, what have been some memorable debut author moments? And what are looking forward to after A Golden Fury releases?
It has been wild. I would say for me that my most memorable moments so far were cover-related. Seeing the design for the first time, my cover reveal on instagram with some really talented bookstagram accounts, seeing the hard-cover in person. That’s what has really brought home that my book is real now. The other thing, of course, is getting to see readers love the book and find something meaningful in it. It’s still amazing to me that something that existed only in my mind is now out there in the world having an impact on people.
And as far as what I’m looking forward to most — just the other day my younger son asked if my book will be in Barnes and Noble. I asked if he would respect me more if it were and he said yes, so I’m looking forward to taking him to Barnes and Noble to see my book and gain his respect. : )
Do you have any writing traditions that help get you in the right mindset for writing?
Yes, I get on the internet and mess around until I hate myself. I find that to be the perfect mindset for creative activity. : ) I’m in the market for new writing traditions, actually!
If you could recommend any 2020 book to our readers, what would you choose?
Ahhhh, you monster, this is so hard. OK, I’m going to cheat and pick a book that isn’t kidlit, because I can’t pick just one of those. An adult fantasy I loved recently was THE VANISHED QUEEN by Lisbeth Campbell. I recommend it for lovers of thoughtful fantasy with lush world-building who are feeling in the mood for revolution.
And lastly, can you tell us anything about what you are working on next?
My next YA fantasy with Wednesday comes out Fall 2021! I think of it as Shakespeare’s Tempest meets The Great Gatsby. It’s got a glamorous, magical family behaving very badly, a mystery, and a stubbornly determined heroine. I can’t wait to share more about it!
