Interview with Laura R. Samotin (THE SINS ON THEIR BONES)
Laura R. Samotin has a PhD in international relations from Columbia University and enjoys using her academic background on military tactics, power politics, and leadership to enliven and inform her creative writing. Her YA and adult fiction is grounded in Jewish myth, mysticism, and her Eastern European Jewish heritage.
Welcome to the Hive, Laura. Congratulations on your release of The Sins on their Bones. Can you tell us about it? What can readers expect?
Thank you so much! THE SINS ON THEIR BONES is the story of two ex-husbands on opposite sides of a civil war, fighting over the same throne—and there’s a very dashing, daring spymaster caught in the crossfire. Readers who are fans of the found family in Six of Crows and the hurt/comfort of Captive Prince should hopefully really enjoy The Sins on Their Bones. It’s a queernormative, Jewish-inspired fantasy that I packed full of as many fanfiction-esque tropes as my publisher would allow (which was a lot!).
I will say that The Sins On Their Bones is a dark romantasy, so I urge readers to check out the content warnings on my website before picking up the book: https://www.laurarsamotin.com/content-warnings
Your book is a Jewish folklore-inspired fantasy set in 19th century Eastern Europe. What inspired you to write about this period of history?
It’s set in an alternate version of 19th century Eastern Europe, and the worldbuilding and magic are entirely inspired by my Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. So the places in the book aren’t real, per se, but are closely inspired by the areas of Eastern Europe—mainly Lithuania, Russia, and Poland—where my family lived before emigrating to America.
Tell us more about the aspects of Jewish folklore you drew from?
All of the magic you see in the book is adapted from Jewish myth and mysticism (like Kabbalah). Before the Jewish Reformation, when the religion was stripped of most of its mystical elements in order to try to better blend in with Christian Europe, these kinds of spells and talismans and amulets would have been commonplace in daily life. I was fascinated by trying to imagine what my ancestors’ lives would have been like, and how the culture and religion might have evolved without that need to assimilate to survive.
I also adapted many Eastern European folktales and folk customs—from stories about talking heads, to the idea that you could spit to ward off the devil, to the idea of small demons roaming all over which could cause chaos. I don’t want to spoil things, so I won’t reveal too much—but the author’s note in the back of the book goes into detail on all of this for readers who want to know more.
You also have a strong exploration of grief and war. Were these themes something you had always wanted to write about or did this emerge as the story developed?
In my day job, I study society and war. I’ve been deeply moved by a lot of the source materials I’ve studied over the years, many of them diaries or letters written by combatants and their families. The impact of war on both soldiers and the broader society was something I certainly wanted to explore – honor through accurate depiction – in my fiction writing.
Can you tell us a bit more about your characters, Dimitri Alexeyev and Alexey Balakin? Are they inspired by any particular royal couple from history?
They are not! Dimitri and Alexey are wholesale products of my imagination.
Dimitri is struggling profoundly in the beginning of the book, mostly with anger at himself for his perceived failures. He’s suffering from PTSD, anxiety, and depression, and blames himself for the events that led to the civil war which tore his country apart. He’s surrounded by his court, who are also his best friends, and is living in exile. He’s also still struggling with the fact that he still kind of loves Alexey, his abuser, and that they’ve been together for nearly a decade and yet at the end of the day, Alexey betrayed him. Dimitri perceives this as being his fault, which is something common to a lot of abuse survivors. I hope as a character he’s a good portrayal of the nuances of being mentally ill, an abuse survivor, and a person who has to work hard to realize he’s worthy of a different and better kind of love.
Alexey is the villain and he’s done some pretty awful things in the name of keeping his country safe, and yet he firmly believes it’s all righteous and ultimately justified. He was a difficult character to write because he, like most villains both fictional and not, believes he’s the hero of the story. Sitting with what that would be like psychologically was a difficult experience—I don’t like Alexey as a (fictional) person, but I had to inhabit him to express his point of view. I hope I ultimately succeeded in crafting a villain whose point of view will be illuminating to readers, and who they’ll love to hate.
We see such varying opinions from authors when it comes to the time of editing their books. How have you found the editing process? Enjoyable, stressful or satisfying?
I love editing my books. I’m so lucky to be working with Amanda Ferreira at Random House CA, who really knew how to get right to the heart of my book. It was a difficult but very enjoyable process to really delve into the story and figure out how to make it as vivid, emotional, and satisfying as possible for readers. Editing is really where I feel like I get to know my characters and my world, which is always super fun.
We always appreciate a beautiful book cover! How involved in the process were you? Was there a particular aesthetic you hoped the artist would portray?
The gorgeous cover for The Sins On Their Bones was entirely thanks to the designer, Talia Abrahamson. She hit it out of the park in creating the perfect cover for my book—I never thought I’d get so lucky. I had nothing to do with the design other than making some suggestions about colors, so I can’t take any credit there! I’m thrilled to have seen a lot of love for the cover, which includes a lot of hidden hints about the book—I think that’s one of the coolest things that Talia did with the design.
One of our favourite questions here on the Fantasy Hive: which fantastical creature would you ride into battle and why?
I would 100% be riding a dragon into battle. Why not go for the biggest and baddest fantasy creature out there?
Can you recommend any other Jewish inspired fantasy to our readers? Any hidden gems you’ve come across?
I’m a particular fan of Becca Podos, Ariel Kaplan, Aden Polydoros, and Leigh Bardugo! I’m always on the lookout for new Jewish fantasy writers, and I try to boost them on social media, so fans should keep a lookout for my recommendations.
Can you tell us a little something about your current work(s) in progress? Have you any upcoming projects which you can share?
I’m sitting on a good deal of publishing news which I’m not yet able to share, but I think I’m able to hint that next up, I’ll be exploring a different speculative fiction genre with another Jewish-inspired queer book. I hope that fans of The Sins On Their Bones will be excited when this next project in particular is announced!
Are you planning anything fun to celebrate your new release? Do you have any upcoming virtual or in person events our readers may be interested in?
I’m very lucky to be able to celebrate my book launch with friends and fans at The Ripped Bodice in Brooklyn! Readers who are local can sign up to attend. All other upcoming event will be available on my website at https://www.laurarsamotin.com/events
Finally, what is the one thing you hope readers take away from your writing?
I’ll paraphrase a part of the acknowledgements of my book: I hope for readers with whom the story resonates, they recognize that they’re not alone. It’s always important to remember that the stories you tell yourself aren’t always true. Know that it can get better, no matter what it is, and sometimes all it takes is time to mourn and mend. Be brave enough to let the grief out.
The Sins on their Bones is out today! You can order your copy HERE