I had the good fortune to meet Sarwat in London last year and let me tell you: He is smart, witty and always hilarious.
Here is the summary of DARK GODDESS from Goodreads:
Billi's back, and it seems like the Unholy just can't take a hint.
Still reeling from the death of her best friend, Kay, Billi's thrust back into action when the Templars are called to investigate werewolf activity. And these werewolves are like nothing Bilil's seen before.
They call themselves the Polenitsy - Man Killers. The ancient warrior women of Eastern Europe, supposedly wiped out centuries ago. But now they're out of hiding and on the hunt for a Spring Child -- an Oracle powerful enough to blow the volcano at Yellowstone -- precipitating a Fimbulwinter that will wipe out humankind for good.
The Templars follow the stolen Spring Child to Russia, and the only people there who can help are the Bogatyrs, a group of knights who may have gone to the dark side. To reclaim the Spring Child and save the world, Billi needs to earn the trust of Ivan Romanov, an arrogant young Bogatyr whose suspicious of people in general, and of Billi in particular.
Dark Goddess is a page-turning, action-packed sequel that spans continents, from England to the Russian underworld and back. This is an adventure of folklore and myth become darkly real. Of the world running out of time. And of Billi SanGreal, the only one who can save it.
Here's a bit of our conversation:
This is the second book you’ve written from Billi SanGreal’s point of view. Are there any challenges in writing from a girl’s point of view?
Ah, the romance. Action is so easy. The thing about writing romance is it’s so personal and specific and it’s all too easy to slip into laughable melodrama. The secret (for me, anyway) is keep it short and intense, but let it linger.
Also, I think as boys we’re so grateful for any sort of romantic entanglement we’re not so critical. From talking to females (like my wife, my editors, my agent) I believe girls have higher expectations than some boy just slobbering over their faces!
Part of the story is set in Russia and your descriptions are realistic and effortless. Have you been there or did you travel there to research the book?
Thanks, I’m glad you think so! It took a lot of work and a trip out to Russia to do it. Nothing beats walking the same streets as your heroes. I’d read a lot about Moscow before I went so I had some plan of where I wanted to go and what I wanted to see. It’s an awesome city and huge in comparison to London. Plus there’s stuff you see that never appears in the guide books like the road racing and the fire-dancers. Both developed into key scenes and would never have existed if I hadn’t gone out there.
Will there be a third book in Billi’s story?
I hope so! The title, the plot and the first 10,000 words are down. It just depends on how well Devil’ s Kiss and Dark Goddess do. Meanwhile, I have a new series ready. I hope to announce that soon. It’s set in the same world as Billi but with a male protagonist. It will kick ass to the highest level.
Your author bio, included on the flap of the book cover, says that you grew up on myths of Europe and the Middle East. Do you have plans to write any more myth re-tellings?
Oh, absolutely. If there is a third Billi book I plan to use the Middle East as one of the key settings and use the myths from that area.
The new series will also be based one of the classic world myths. I’ve been into reading mythology throughout my life and my writing’s heavily influenced by all the stories I read as a kid. Hence the references to King Arthur, the Iliad and all those fairy tales. The witch, Baba Yaga, is a huge figure in Russian fairy tales and a powerful early goddess archetype. For a long time now I knew I had to write a book about her. Dark Goddess is my homage to all those magical Russian fairy tales.
Though Billi is part of the Knights Templar, known in history as a Western Christian military group which became active in the 12th century, your character names: Arthur, Gwaine, Lance, Kay, Percy are clearly a nod to the knights of King Arthur and his Roundtable: Arthur, Gawain, Lancelot, Kay, Percivale. King Arthur was a legendary British leader in the late fifth and early sixth century. Is the naming of your characters a subtle suggestion that King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable were linked to the Knights Templar?
Billi’s world is not our world. There are things that are the same and things that are different. One difference is that the King Arthur myth doesn’t exist in her world. She, the Templars, her adventures are building that myth. As much as her world is influenced by my love of mythology I like the idea that Billi’s tales will become the myths of her world.
DARK GODDESS has threads of several folktales woven in: Baba Yaga, Vasalissa the Beautiful and The Death of Koschei the Deathless. When you started writing did you plan to entwine these particular myths or did that evolve as you wrote?
Baba Yaga and Vasilisa were very clear characters from the first draft. Baba Yaga in Dark Goddess isn’t so different from her fairy tale character, wise, cruel and ancient beyond all imagining. Vasilisa, the innocent heroine who turns out to be a match for the ancient witch is cut from the same cloth as her fairy tale equivalent. Koshchey changed a lot. In the old stories he’s a wizard, but that didn’t work in the context of Dark Goddess. He needed to be a warrior. So I made him this seemingly unkillable Russian special forces soldier. His nick-name is the ‘Undying’ because he’s survived Afghanistan, Chechnya and a dozen other war zones. He’s my ‘anti-Arthur’. But I had the most fun with Prince Ivan. He’s the main male hero in most of the Russia legends so he had to be a key player in Dark Goddess. I’m a bit tired of the clichéd bike riding bad boy in the leather jacket. I wanted someone who wore Armani, lived in a palace but was utterly deadly. Handsome, elegant and lethal, that’s my Prince Ivan.
You do a beautiful and believable job of taking the threads of these old myths and weaving them into a contemporary setting. What was your process to bring these age-old characters into the modern world?
The setting must suit the characters. Put them into a world where they are believable, something both modern and ancient. London and Moscow are both very old cities and still contain a lot of the architecture and atmosphere of their origins. Places like the Tower of London, Temple Church and the Kremlin are ancient yet exist beside 21st Century skyscrapers. It’s easier to add mythic characters in settings that are already mythic.
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
Probably the first couple of drafts. I’m big into rewriting. The first draft is freewheeling and you can go anywhere. But the next draft is when you start to chip away and try to find the core of the story, the purest bit.
You are very, very funny. Have you ever considered writing a humorous book?
Thanks! But it’s a very different skill to be funny in short snaps like in my blog than sustain it over 70,000 words. That said I think there’s some choice humour in both of my books, though it’s got a dark edge. I still laugh about Billi and the Holy Grail incident. (and I still laugh at your grassy knoll reference.)
What other projects are you working on?
I’ll be able to tell you in a few weeks! It’s a rather big project.
Well, that's a tantalizing way to close this conversation! Stay tuned!! Thank you Sarwat, for sitting down and talking to me and best of luck with DARK GODDESS as well as your *secret* project. Fingers crossed that we get to read that third book in the series. Be sure to check out Sarwat's website and blog.
As I mentioned above, I am giving away a copy of DARK GODDESS. Please tweet, FB and blog about this post and Sarwat's book and leave your info in the comments. Must be 13 years or older to participate. Please see my contest policy here. I will randomly select a winner on February 9th.
Thanks!
~Kiki
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