| (^071)
INTERVIEW
Veronica Roth
W W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K
© Nelson Fitch
Some of the magic within the novel is
based on real folklore − Koschei for
instance is based on a real folklore
story of someone who cast a spell
to make them immortal − did you
do much research for the novel
beforehand or is it something that
you’re interested in?
Sometimes I am interested in a thing and
I find a way to work it into a story, and
sometimes I’m writing a story and I need a
thing for it that turns out to be interesting.
This is one of those latter times. I like folk
tales, but I wouldn’t say I had an existing
fascination with them before writing − I
just wanted the magical objects in the story
to have their origin in folklore, so I dove
headfirst into the internet. When I read about
Koschei, though, I knew I had to incorporate
him. He’s immortal, and he keeps his soul in
a needle, or an egg, which is in a duck, or a
box, or some other animal. It’s half-poetry,
half-humour, and I love it.
In the novel, magic means different
things to different characters, what
inspired you to go down this route?
I started with a magical system that was
purely technical: it was just about sound
frequency. But there had to be variations
in magical skill, or there wouldn’t be an
evil force more powerful than everyone
else that’s threatening to destroy the
world, right?
So I decided that the other aspect of
magical power would be related to desire.
How well you know your own desires, how
desperately you want something, how pure
your desires are, they all influence your
magic. That way, you can learn a lot about
a character by how powerful they are, or
by how they think of magic itself, which is
really interesting to me. And then, Sloane’s
struggle with magic becomes bigger than just
her inability to master a skill − it’s about
how well she knows herself, and about her
emotional struggle, too. Basically, any time a
story element can do more than one job, I get
really excited about it.
What authors/novels are you reading
at the moment?
I just finished The City In The Middle Of
The Night by the brilliant Charlie Jane
Anders, and now I’m reading This Is How
You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar
and Max Gladstone.
What’s next for you?
I’m going to take a bit of a breath, take a look
around... and then get to work on
the sequel to Chosen Ones!
Chosen Ones is out on 7 April from
Hodder & Stoughton.
070-071_SFN_170 Author Interview.indd 71 17/03/2020 18:31
| (^071)
INTERVIEW
Veronica Roth
W W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K
© Nelson Fitch
Some of the magic within the novel is
based on real folklore − Koschei for
instance is based on a real folklore
story of someone who cast a spell
to make them immortal − did you
do much research for the novel
beforehand or is it something that
you’re interested in?
Sometimes I am interested in a thing and
I find a way to work it into a story, and
sometimes I’m writing a story and I need a
thing for it that turns out to be interesting.
This is one of those latter times. I like folk
tales, but I wouldn’t say I had an existing
fascination with them before writing − I
just wanted the magical objects in the story
to have their origin in folklore, so I dove
headfirst into the internet. When I read about
Koschei, though, I knew I had to incorporate
him. He’s immortal, and he keeps his soul in
a needle, or an egg, which is in a duck, or a
box, or some other animal. It’s half-poetry,
half-humour, and I love it.
In the novel, magic means different
things to different characters, what
inspired you to go down this route?
I started with a magical system that was
purely technical: it was just about sound
frequency. But there had to be variations
in magical skill, or there wouldn’t be an
evil force more powerful than everyone
else that’s threatening to destroy the
world, right?
So I decided that the other aspect of
magical power would be related to desire.
How well you know your own desires, how
desperately you want something, how pure
your desires are, they all influence your
magic. That way, you can learn a lot about
a character by how powerful they are, or
by how they think of magic itself, which is
really interesting to me. And then, Sloane’s
struggle with magic becomes bigger than just
her inability to master a skill − it’s about
how well she knows herself, and about her
emotional struggle, too. Basically, any time a
story element can do more than one job, I get
really excited about it.
What authors/novels are you reading
at the moment?
I just finished The City In The Middle Of
The Night by the brilliant Charlie Jane
Anders, and now I’m reading This Is How
You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar
and Max Gladstone.
What’s next for you?
I’m going to take a bit of a breath, take a look
around... and then get to work on
the sequel to Chosen Ones!
Chosen Ones is out on 7 April from
Hodder & Stoughton.
romina
(Romina)
#1