Some Thoughts with ... Savannah Stephens

1.- Could you introduce yourself to Jamreads’ readers?
Hello out there, Beautiful Souls. I am Savannah Stephens, an adult dark fantasy author with a rather unfortunate love of alliteration. I have loved fantasy fiction since I was a little girl and dreamed about writing the kinds of stories I used to lose myself in. Witch Queen Rising is my debut novel and I cannot wait for you all to see the vision. 

2.- When did you start writing with publication in mind?
I’ve been writing for most of my life and even fancied a career as a writer several times over the years. The path to get there, however, was a long and winding one. I had two other careers before I returned to writing. Witch Queen Rising began as my first NANOWRIMO project back in November 2017. But between life, choices, and circumstances, I didn’t finish the draft until 2021. 
Like many people, COVID made me reevaluate my life and where it was going. I knew I didn’t want to be in the rat race any longer. So I knew when I started putting together the bones for this story that I wanted it to be traditionally published.  

3.- How did the first idea for Witch Queen Rising appear?
Whenever I get inspired by something, my brain conceptualizes it as finding a bone. It could be a song lyric or turn of phrase, could be an image or a movie. In this instance, it was a still shot from Beyonce’s Formation video. I was familiar with Southern Gothic as a concept, but not Southern Gothic that looked like me. The moment I saw Beyonce in that long black lace gown, the dark bohemian jewelry, the lush draping Spanish moss…I was a goner. That was the first bone I found for Witch Queen Rising.
Over time, I found enough complimentary bones (protagonist, stakes, antagonist, setting, and a rough plot) to build up a skeleton. Fleshing it out and giving it life has truly been a joy that warms my dark, little heart. 

4.- Could you tell us a bit about your querying process and all the effort behind bringing Witch Queen Rising to publishing?
I was exceptionally fortunate in my time in the querying trenches. While I was prepared for it to be anything but, mine was short but sweet. I spent nearly two months putting together my battle plan. I researched practically every agent profile that rep’d adult fantasy in the United States. I created spreadsheets with multiple rounds of agents based on when they’d open for queries. I made customizable templates for query letters, had multiple pitches and bios, moodboards, a playlist, promo graphics, a pinterest etc all dedicated to Witch Queen Rising. Interestingly enough, I was able to supply many of these during the acquisition process. And I like to think seeing a world so deeply developed was what helped tip the scales in my favor that led to my book deal.
But before that, despite all my carefully laid plans, I found my agent entirely by accident. I randomly stumbled upon a junior agent’s tweet about opening for dark fantasy/horror queries while perusing #MSWL. Imagine my surprise when everyone I’d meticulously prepared for rejected me out right. Only for the lovely lady I thought “She seems nice. Why not?” picked me. Less than three weeks later, I closed out a six weeks of querying six agents. I accepted the deal for Witch Queen Rising on the anniversary of signing with my agent.  

5.- Let’s talk about Phine, your main character. How was she when you first imagined her? How it changed during the process of writing and editing?
Phine as a person remained the same, but her concept changed quite a bit. I always loved the idea of Phine being the daughter of a dynasty. So originally, she was going to be a descendant of Marie Laveau. She was also supposed to be a witch and shifter hybrid (I was deep into the Originals at the time, sue me…or maybe Niklaus). Lastly, the witch part of her was going to be a rootworker. Ultimately, I thought better at both. One, I didn’t want any smoke with that family. Two, it was not my place as an uninitiated to be writing about Hoodoo. Three, I did not want to perpetuate the stereotype of ancestral magic was evil or black magic. Especially since I put Phine through the ringer in these books. 
But magic aside, her being constantly tested, beat down, abused remains a painful reality for most Black women. Our power, our strength, our resilience are so expected that society forgot to give us space to be soft. So it was important to me that Phine be both. She was soft when she could be, strong when she had to. She struggled with anxiety and grief. She fell, she rose. Her choices may occasionally have been questionable; but push come to shove, no one can say she didn’t try her best at every step.

6.- Why did you decide to choose New Orleans as the setting for your novel?
Even if you remove the proposed Hoodoo connection, I just never considered anywhere else. I may have originally called it Crescent City, but from the moment I saw the Formation video there was nowhere this novel was going to be play out other than New Orleans. 

7.- Is there any aspect of this world that you want to explore more in future novels?
Quite a bit actually. I knew when I started that I wanted the worlds I created to be connected. I laid the foundation for quite a few dare I say spinoffs in Phine’s. The Saints and Stars, the Infinite War, Morgan, the Keepers, the reason why you don’t bring necromancers back from the dead. Each of these are different novel ideas I am fleshing out the skeletons for as we speak.

8.- What message/thing of this novel would you like to stay with readers after finishing WQR?
Phine and the women in her story are reflections of so many stories, tropes, and perceptions of women just like me and not. Most survived with scars, some became various statistics. They were unsung and often unknown. So ultimately the message that should stay with readers is “Just cause I make it look easy, don’t mean it ain’t heavy.”  

9.- What can we expect from Savannah Stephens in the future?
The draft for book two is nearly completed. That’s occupying the bulk of my bandwidth these days. But as I mentioned, I am spoiled for choices for next projects. There’s a feminine rage, burn the patriarchy story that feels so right for the moment. I think each series character will be represented, though not by design, by an element. Phine was water, easily. Fire is calling to me. 
Generally speaking, all of my stories will feature magic and monsters. They’ll be worlds you can sink your teeth into with characters that make you feel something. Oh, and a generous sprinkle of villains who aren’t afraid to be villains.