Interview with Amy Leow (THE SCARLET THRONE)
Amy Leow is the author of The Scarlet Throne (Orbit US/UK). Currently residing in Kuala Lumpur, she graduated with a degree in linguistics and is currently pursuing a PhD in the same subject. She is often found dreaming up worlds of feral gods and even more feral girls.
Welcome to the Hive, Amy. Congratulations on your debut, The Scarlet Throne. Firstly, can you tell our readers a bit about it? What can they expect?
Thank you for having me here! The Scarlet Throne is about a girl who is a “living goddess”, chosen to dispense mercy and punishment on her people, but instead of channelling the wisdom of a goddess, she harbours a demon inside her. When her priests decide that her term has come to an end and a new living goddess is selected, she strikes a deal with the demon for more power to retain her place on the throne.
What initially drew you to write a villain story? Have villains always been your favourite type of characters?
Frankly speaking, I was tired of reading about morally grey characters who are “redeemed” at the end of the story. I wanted morally grey characters who were unapologetic about their actions, and did not have to go through a redemption arc in order to make them likeable or relatable. It’s safe to say that I have a soft spot for villains, even if their decision-making processes don’t make sense at times. I love exploring what makes a villain a villain, and I love to see them wreak havoc and revel in their evilness.
Let’s discuss Binsa in a little more detail. Did you plan out her dark path from the onset or did her story arc take shape as you began the writing process?
Binsa was always meant to be power-hungry and morally grey from the very start–as to what end, I did not plan that out. The writing process is very much exploratory for me; if I know all the details of the characters in my book, I lose interest in finishing it. So Binsa’s arc really took shape as I explored the details of her past trauma, and how her own inherent ambition contributes to the lengths she’s willing to go to keep her place on the throne.
And your side characters, what can you tell us about Ykta, Keran, and my personal favourite, Medha?
Coincidentally (or is it?) the side characters that you mention all serve a symbolic role in Binsa’s life. Ykta is supposed to represent the “past”, being her last living relative and the only long standing connection she has with another human being; Keran is the “present”, who comes into her life fairly recently and has helped her maintain her ruse as the living goddess; and Medha is the “future”, or Binsa’s fears materialised into the form a little, innocent girl.
I have to admit that it was challenging to write the side characters in a way that justified their actions, while at the same time demonstrating Binsa’s increasingly skewed perspective towards them, since this story is told solely through Binsa’s eyes. I really enjoyed the ambiguity in this though, as we’re meant to question if how Binsa is interpreting them is true.
Your novel is inspired by Nepalese mythology, can you tell us more about this? Was there a particular myth which sparked your interest the most?
The Scarlet Throne is very much based not on a myth, but a current practice within the Newari community in Nepal, where a prepubescent girl–also known as a kumari devi–is worshipped as a living goddess. I first learned of this custom through a BBC documentary, and upon doing more extensive research, became fascinated by the practice. A question immediately popped into my head: What if a living goddess refused to give up her position? Binsa’s story sprung to life then and would not let me go.
One of my favourite aspects of The Scarlet Throne is the way in which you explore the notion of living gods and goddesses. How important was it to you to show how that kind of power can be addictive and dangerous?
I’ve always enjoyed stories where the protagonist goes a little insane because they decided to pursue power, and what better way to showcase that by having the protagonist become a literal, living god? Through this, I also wanted to explore what a human would do when pushed to the brink of existence–to crave adoration and submission so much that they lose themselves in the process, and become so pitiful and lonely that all they have left is power.
In The Scarlet Throne, I more specifically explored the notion of power exercised through religious authorities. I grew up in a country and community where religion is a huge part of the governing system and is ingrained in the culture, so I wanted to take that experience and dig a little deeper into how religion–and morality–is weaponised to afford power to a small, select group of “elites”.
Tell us some of your favourite villains? They can be from books, films or tv series!
I love this question. Top 3 villains would be, in no particular order, Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Johann Liebert from Monster, and Adelina Amouteru from The Young Elites!
How did it feel when you first saw your book in a bookstore?
Honestly, it felt surreal right to the very end. I could hardly believe that I was already a published author. And it was even more surreal seeing my book being arranged beside some incredible books by veteran authors. I think I was more excited about how copies of The Scarlet Throne were on the same shelves as these other books rather than savouring the fact that my book is out.
The cover of your book is very eye-catching! How involved in the process were you? Did the artist depict Binsa and Ilam in the way you had envisioned them?
I really got lucky with the cover, and I’m incredibly grateful to the art team at Orbit, and of course, my cover artist, Marcos Chin. They showed me initial drafts of the cover art, and I told them which elements I liked from each one, and which ones I didn’t prefer. After sorting out a few final details, we had the conceptualisation of the final cover, and it’s history from there. I love how Binsa looks like a villain, and how Ilam is just so menacing on the cover!
One of our favourite questions here on the Fantasy Hive: which fantastical creature would you ride into battle and why?
I’d go with a gryphon, mostly because I think its feathers will be fluffy and comfortable to sit on for hours on end. Can you imagine dragon scales? No, thank you!
What can you tell us of the sequel to The Scarlet Throne? What more can we expect from Binsa?
Without giving away too many spoilers, we’re going to explore regions outside of Bakhtin, the shaman community in Aritsya, while further dissecting the theocratic system holding the country together. We can also expect more politics, more blood magic, and more betrayals. There’s also a slow-burn toxic enemies-to-lovers going on in the background, if that piques your interest (hint: it doesn’t really involve Binsa).
Finally, what is the one thing you hope readers take away from your writing?
Have fun! Well, not fun fun, but I had fun writing it, so I also hope that you’ll have fun reading it. While The Scarlet Throne takes on a dark, depressing atmosphere, ultimately it’s also a fantasy world that I hope readers can get themselves lost in. And I certainly hope they enjoy the process of watching a villainess go down a slippery, one-way path into pure darkness.
Thank you so much for joining us today!
The Scarlet Throne is available now. You can order your copy on Bookshop.org