We chat with author Samantha Shannon about The Dark Mirror, which is the highly anticipated fifth novel in the New York Times bestselling Bone Season series.
Hi, Samantha! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m 33 years old and have lived in London for my whole life, except when I was at university. I got my first book deal while I was in my second year at Oxford, where I was studying English Language and Literature, and I’m fortunate enough to have been a full-time author ever since.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
- The one that made you want to become an author: Sabriel by Garth Nix
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
The Dark Mirror is the fifth installment in your Bone Season series and it’s out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Epic, romantic, action-packed, tense, emotional.
For those who haven’t checked out the series yet, what can they expect?
The Bone Season series is a dystopian fantasy about Paige Mahoney, a young Irish woman living in the Republic of Scion, which hunts clairvoyants – people who can sense and tap into the spirit world. Paige is an especially rare kind of clairvoyant called a dreamwalker, able to leave her body and possess other people. To protect herself, she’s risen through the ranks of the London underworld. When Paige is arrested for murder, she’s taken to the lost city of Oxford, where she discovers the founders of Scion – and they have plans for her unique abilities. The series is inspired by several Greek myths, but especially Hades and Persephone, Pandora and Prometheus, and Orpheus and Eurydice. You can expect big worldbuilding, a lot of action and intrigue, and a slow-burn romance.
And for those who have, what’s to come in The Dark Mirror?
The Dark Mirror is the first book in the series to take place beyond the borders of the Republic of Scion, so you’ll get to see how Paige reacts to being in the outside world. It’s the most romantic and ambitious instalment so far. My motto for this series is ‘don’t be afraid to take big risks’ and I’ve stuck to that decision more than ever in this one.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?
Paige goes through a lot of personal growth in this instalment – she resolves to make informed decisions, rather than running on instinct, and starts to learn from the mistakes she made in The Mask Falling. Jaxon Hall, her ex-boss turned bitter rival, has some great moments; he’s a born survivor who can adapt fluidly to any given situation, which is always a joy to write. Some characters who didn’t appear in the last instalment, like Maria and Nick, are also back in a big way. But my favourite aspect of this book was continuing to build the complex relationship between Paige and the deuteragonist, Arcturus Mesarthim, which is both a forbidden romance and a deep friendship.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
This instalment of the series took several years to finish, partly because of its complexity – there are a lot of factions, characters, and moving parts to balance – but also because I was juggling it with another book, A Day of Fallen Night, which ended up being the longest and most intricate story I’ve ever written. That caused a significant gap in the Bone Season series, and I did feel the pressure of that. But I’m very proud of the finished book, glad that I took the time to refine it, and hopeful that I can get the sixth instalment out in better time.
Any teasers for book six? We’ll also take the title, synopsis, and all the plot points please and thank you! 🙏
I don’t have a title yet, but the next book is where some of the big secrets of the series will finally be unveiled, and the seeds I’ve been planting for years will begin to burst into bloom. I’m really excited about it. You’ll also be able to see more of my influence from Ancient Greek mythology.
It’s been 12 years since the first installment was published and marked your debut. Looking back, what are some of the key lessons you’ve learned as an author and about the publishing industry?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is that you need to find your people. I’m lucky to live in a city where there are lots of authors in my genre, all supporting and uplifting each other. Publishing can be an opaque and demoralising industry, and going at it alone can be difficult. I also wish I’d come off Twitter a lot sooner – it drained me, slowly but surely, for a decade.
What’s next for you?
After The Dark Mirror, my next book is Among the Burning Flowers, publishing on 16 September. It’s a short prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree, following an isolated princess whose country is threatened by fire-breathing dragons. I hope it will provide an accessible entry point to my Roots of Chaos series, particularly for readers who might have felt intimidated by the size of the other instalments.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi, Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid, Firstborn of the Sun by Marvellous Michael Anson, Katabasis by R. F. Kuang, Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan, The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri, The Lure of Their Graves by Laura R. Samotin, and The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez.
