Interview with Rin Chupeco for The Shadowglass blog tour

The Shadow Glass (The Bone Witch #3)

by Rin Chupeco
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: March 1st 2019

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:

The dramatic finale to The Bone Witch series! Tea's dark magic eats away at her, but she must save the one she loves most, even while her life—and the kingdoms—are on the brink of destruction.

In the Eight Kingdoms, none have greater strength or influence than the asha, who hold elemental magic. But only a bone witch has the power to raise the dead. Tea has used this dark magic to breathe life into those she has loved and lost...and those who would join her army against the deceitful royals. But Tea's quest to conjure a shadowglass, to achieve immortality for the one person she loves most in the world, threatens to consume her.

Tea's heartsglass only grows darker with each new betrayal. Her work with the monstrous azi, her thirst for retribution, her desire to unmask the Faceless—they all feed the darkrot that is gradually consuming her heartsglass. She is haunted by blackouts and strange visions, and when she wakes with blood on her hands, Tea must answer to a power greater than the elder asha or even her conscience. Tea's life—and the fate of the kingdoms—hangs in the balance.

Can you briefly describe the world in The Bone Witch series and their main characters and what’s happening in The Shadowglass?

The Bone Witch is about Tea Pahlavi, who learns she is a rare Dark asha when she accidentally raises her brother from the dead. Sent to be trained in the world of necromancy by asha, women who can also channel similar abilities, Tea discovers that Dark asha are feared (and called “bone witches” as a kind of slur) because they can also control and put down daeva – constantly resurrecting monsters that roam the land. Dark asha’s lifespans are shortened because of this, and that Dark asha are susceptible to darkrot, which can drive one mad with power. She is desperate to find a way to save her and her mentor’s life. At the same time she must contend with Faceless – a group of men and women who can also channel the Dark, and wishes to attain immortality and full control of all the daeva by creating shadowglass. Eventually, Tea sees most of society turning against her, including Fox (who fears the darkrot has taken hold of her), as she decides nothing will stop her from finding the eponymous Shadowglass – even if it means sacrificing almost everything else.

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?

I’m always going to be partial to Zoya I think, because so much of her personality is from my own. Likh is an easy second – it was difficult to define her as a trans woman in a world where the definitions of it do not exist yet, but I’d like to think I did well to honor her story. She was so easy to write and I love her status among readers as the world’s most beloved cinnamon roll! 

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?

The Bone Witch came at a difficult, sleep-deprived time in my life. I just had my first son, which was an emotional time. I had a brother I never knew, who died before I was born, and I started wondering about what our relationship would have been like had he lived. It’s how Fox first came to be, who’s sort of an idealized version of the brother I would have liked to have.

What’s your favourite quote from this third book?

It’s actually a huge spoiler, so this is the next best thing: this is a song Tea sings... when she’s blindingly drunk and pretty much making a fool of herself in a tavern:

Kiss me with your generous mouth,

That source of endless wine.

Kiss me close when season’s drouth,

Your lips a taste of mine.

Through storm-led skies and sun-dried fires,

Our love ’twas meant to be.

When roses fade on funeral pyres

I’ll carry your heart with me.

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be?

Like Real People Do, by Hozier. I think the lyrics are especially foreshadow-y for The Shadowglass:

I had a thought, dear

However scary

About that night

The bugs and the dirt

Why were you digging?

What did you bury

Before those hands pulled me

From the earth?

I will not ask you where you came from

I will not ask you, neither should you

Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips

We should just kiss like real people do

Which one would you say it is your favourite book in the Bone Witch series and why?

I think it would probably be the Heartforger, mainly because I was nearly driven out of my mind writing it. It’s got a fairly complex plot and I was juggling that with character development/romance, backstories, atmosphere, and side plots, and I wasn’t sure I could fit that all in in 120k words or less.

That said though, I’m gonna say that the Shadowglass is probably the best ending I’ve ever written so far. I’m a bit proud of it. I don’t know if people will consider it a happy ending per se, but it was a very satisfying ending to write.

Can you tell us 3 things Tea can’t live without?

Since she’s been living in exile on her own at the start of the series, she’s learned to let go of a lot of things. But-

1. Kalen, obviously

2. also Fox, obviously

3. a potion created specifically for her at the apothecary, that gives her feelings of confidence. 

Since it is still cold outside, what hot drink do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

hot buttered rum, because that’s how we roll (Use spiced apple cider and not water please, though. We’re not animals.)

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish The Shadowglass?

I want to sing the praises of this wonderfully beautiful book called GIDEON THE NINTH, by Tasmyn Nuir. This has every aesthetic I want in a book (sarcastic fighting lesbian necromancers? Hell yes) and the prose is so beautiful, I just want to drink it up! And Beth Revis’ GIVE THE DARK MY LOVE is an astoundingly beautiful book considering it is also about necromancy!

What’s next for you?

I have THE NEVER TILTING WORLD coming out from HarperTeen on October 15 of this year! It’s about twin goddesses trapped in a world permanently divided between night and day, trying to solve the reasons for the cataclysm that stopped their world from moving, before shadows and monsters can consume everything they hold dear.

I also have WICKED AS YOU WISH out in 2020, which is the first book in my A HUNDRED NAMES FOR MAGIC series. Here, fairytales are a part of history, and a young Filipina descended from the heroine Maria Makiling must aid a young prince in taking back his frozen kingdom of Avalon from the Snow Queen, when Avalon’s most powerful weapon, a firebird, arrives at her doorstep.

Pre-order Campaign!

Hi guys

Would you like to sign up for a pre-order campaign of THE SHADOWGLASS (out March 5, 2019) and get these goodies, guys

US/Canada: https://t.co/9TctpIdWPm
International: https://t.co/Gg0cZ6vMJb
Alternate option: https://t.co/wWQBHOpYrh pic.twitter.com/WJZOJnfMVD

— Rin Chupeco [The Shadowglass out 3/5/19] (@RinChupeco) January 12, 2019

Despite an unsettling resemblance to Japanese revenants, Rin always maintains her sense of hummus. Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, she keeps four pets: a dog, two birds, and a husband. Dances like the neighbors are watching.

She is represented by Rebecca Podos of the Helen Rees Agency. She is also fond of speaking in the third person, and may as well finish this short bio in this manner. While she does not always get to check her Goodreads page, she does answer questions posed to her here as promptly as she is able to.

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