An interview with Andrea Stewart

Andrea Stewart is the daughter of immigrants, and was raised in a number of places across the United States. Her parents always emphasised science and education, so she spent her childhood immersed in Star Trek and odd-smelling library books.

When her (admittedly ambitious) dreams of becoming a dragon slayer didn't pan out, she instead turned to writing books. She now lives in sunny California, and in addition to writing, can be found herding cats, looking at birds, and falling down research rabbit holes.

Bone Shard Daughter, the first in a debut trilogy, is set in an empire ruled by bone shard magic. But when the people revolt, the emperor’s daughter, Lin, and a smuggler named Jovis become caught in the turning tides. Bone Shard Daughter will be published simultaneously by Orbit UK and Orbit US in the autumn of 2020.

We asked Andrea to answer our questions about her favourite epic fantasy novels, how Asia influenced Bone Shard Daughter, and how she’s celebrating the Lunar New Year in lockdown.

Where did the idea for The Bone Shard Daughter spring from?

I actually got the seed of the idea from going out to lunch with some writer friends of mine at the San Antonio WorldCon. My friend Marina Lostetter got some Chinese food from the food court (not the best place for Chinese food!) and nearly choked on a shard of bone in it. So that started me thinking...hmmmm...what if bone shards were used for magic? I grew the idea from there, combining it with other ideas I'd wanted to write about: an archipelago of floating islands, constructs, a smuggler, and a palace of locked doors.

The magical system is creepy - using bone shards to power monstrous creations. What influenced its creation?

Well I knew I wanted to write about constructs, and I knew I wanted to have bone shards be what provided that life force. But I also wanted there to be a way to determine how each construct should act. So from there it made sense to have commands carved onto the bone shards. More shards meant a more complicated construct, which meant more life force needed to power them. And since language in any form is always imperfect, there would be ways to get around these commands. I drew a lot from software programming, where one mistake can have a lot of unintended consequences.

What are some of your favourite epic fantasy novels? 

This is the sort of question where my eyes go wide and I think, "What ISN'T my favourite??" If I had to pick, though, I'm particularly fond of Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy and all the books that follow after, N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy, Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archives, and Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince series.

Reviewers have praised the vivid Asian-inspired world of the novel - were there particular periods or details you wanted to reference when building your world? 

There wasn't a particular period that I wanted to reference when building my world (beyond just Imperial China - which I realise covers quite a lot), but I did want to highlight the food, the environment, the way different families interact with one another. I thought a lot about my visit to Thailand when I was building the islands - I really wanted to get the feel of the forests and the beaches. And I drew upon my visits to China. The palaces, the temples, the mountains. I especially wanted to make sure to include street food, which is prevalent in both countries and in the book.

How will you be celebrating Lunar New Year, and what are you working on at the moment?

We're in a pandemic pod with my sister and brother-in-law to share childcare, so we're heading over on Friday for dinner and games! We'll be having dumplings, noodles, fish, and duck. I think that covers wealth, longevity, and prosperity for the New Year! And we'll probably do a video call with the rest of my family. Thank goodness for technology!

As for what I'm working on at the moment - I've handed in The Bone Shard Emperor and I'm working on drafting The Bone Shard War. Plus I've been fiddling with a sci-fi novel as well as jotting down notes for a new epic fantasy idea. I'm very excited to complete this trilogy because there's always a new, shiny idea waiting in the wings.