Set in a gorgeous world of bone and shadow magic, of vengeful gods and defiant chosen ones, The City of Dusk is the first in a dark epic fantasy trilogy that follows the four heirs of four noble houses—each gifted with a divine power—as they form a tenuous alliance to keep their kingdom from descending into a realm-shattering war.
We had the pleasure of chatting with author Tara Sim about her first adult fantasy novel, The City of Dusk, along with writing, 2022 book recommendations, and more.
Hi, Tara! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi, and thanks for having me! I’m Tara Sim, fantasy author of the YA series Timekeeper and Scavenge the Stars, as well as the upcoming The City of Dusk, which is my adult debut. I’ve been an avid reader and writer my whole life, but also make time for plenty of other nerdy hobbies, like video games and anime. I have two cats who are very spoiled.
How has the start of 2022 been for you?
You know, as well as could be expected. Obviously I’m excited for the release of The City of Dusk, but I also spent the first few months of the year working very hard on drafting the sequel. I’m hoping for a vacation soon!
When did you first discover your love for writing?
My dad had this story he liked to tell where I dictated poetry to him at six years old (seeing as I couldn’t type then and needed to get the words down somehow). From there I developed a fascination with storytelling, getting lots of inspiration from the books I grew up reading, until I drafted my first novel at fifteen. I loved it so much I knew this was what I wanted to do forever.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
I actually don’t remember the first book I remember reading, haha. They all kind of blur together! But I do remember that the first fantasy book I read was Alanna: the First Adventure.
The one that made me want to become an author was The Lord of the Rings (with honorable mention to The Wheel of Time), since I became obsessed with it at a young age and wanted badly to make up stuff the way Tolkien did (and, to be honest, to put my characters through the ringer like he did, too).
The book I can’t stop thinking about is a more recent one, a Chinese xianxia novel called Mo Dao Zu Shi (or: The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation), which inspired a live action adaptation called The Untamed.
Your latest novel, The City of Dusk, is out March 22nd 2022! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Dark, sumptuous, goth, queer, skeletons.
What can readers expect?
Honestly, the five things I listed above.
More than that: they can expect a huge, enticing fantasy world full of different magic systems, realms, gods, and noble heirs falling in and out of alliances. There’s a lot of action and complex, morally gray characters. There are women who will step on you and men who are soft and sad.
Did I also mention skeletons?
Where did the inspiration for The City of Dusk come from?
I’m not entirely sure where the initial spark came from, or perhaps it’s that I don’t remember, since I first came up with the idea in college (which was…a while ago). All I had then was a bare bones idea: four noble families descended from the same royal line, all with their eyes on the throne.
But of course, over the years, it grew bit by bit as I added the rest: that they were also descended from gods, that there were four worlds instead of just the one, and they each had their own magic system. There are a ton of influences that went into the book, ranging from stuff like Fullmetal Alchemist to Fire Emblem: Three Houses to even Hereditary. If you look closely in book one, there’s even a fight scene inspired by one from The Witcher.
Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
This is beyond a doubt the most ambitious project I’ve ever tackled: Four worlds, seven POVs, and at least four magic systems. Although I definitely had fun with it, it was also incredibly brutal. I had to get the book wrong many, many times before I finally found the right shape, and even then there was a lot to do re: nailing character arcs, plot progression, and worldbuilding.
I’m not entirely sure how I overcame it, as I seem to remember lots of tears and wine, but what helped me the most was having good friends to lean on and talk to and vent with. They helped me at my lowest points with this book, and encouraged me to keep going. I’m convinced the book wouldn’t exist at all without their support.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
My two personal favorite characters to write are Taesia and Angelica. They encompass a lot of anger in this story, and their personalities always shine through in ways that make me grin. With Taesia it’s more because she’s funny and chaotic, and Angelica is just a mean girl hiding a more awkward girl underneath. Needless to say, the chapter where they have to team up was one of the most fun to write.
The City of Dusk is your first adult fantasy novel. Did you approach writing this work any differently in comparison to your YA releases?
Funnily enough, I grew up wanting to be an adult fantasy author. I’ve written a lot more books than I’ve actually sold/had published, and the majority of them are adult, so while The City of Dusk is my adult debut, it wasn’t the first I wrote.
Since I ended up publishing YA first, I got into a certain mindset with my writing that I had to try and forget while drafting and revising The City of Dusk. My intention from the beginning was to have this be crossover—aka, an adult book with YA crossover appeal. However, with an adult book I got to do a lot more heavy worldbuilding, include darker/more violent elements, and have the characters already know enough about their world to know how they want to change it.
What’s next for you?
Revising book two! Other than that, the start of my next YA series, We Shall Be Monsters—an Indian fantasy inspired by Frankenstein—comes out next year with Penguin.
Lastly, do you have any 2022 book recommendations for our readers?
Absolutely: The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman, A Thousand Steps Into Night by Traci Chee, Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May, Vows of Empire by Emily Skrutskie…and though I haven’t read it yet (unless anyone has an ARC to give me…?) Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is one of my most highly anticipated, as well as Babel by R.F. Kuang and The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri (sequel to The Jasmine Throne).
