On March 5, the Wisconsin Book Festival hosted New York Times Bestselling Author Samantha Shannon in a discussion of her newest work, “The Dark Mirror,” the fifth installment in the fantasy series “The Bone Season.” The event was introduced by Jane Rotonda, director of the Wisconsin Book Festival, and was held in conversation with local author LaShawn M. Wanak.
Shannon, who has been writing “The Bone Season” since her undergraduate career, discussed her inspiration for the series. Shannon said her feelings of imposter syndrome while attending the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom coupled with visions of the university as both dystopian and occupied by fictional creatures led her to begin writing as a form of emotional outlet.
Shannon discussed her incorporation of characters designed as a teenager — including “The Bone Season’s” deuteragonist, Arcturus Mesarthim — that would later develop and mature as responses to how they were written when she was younger. The series’ protagonist, Paige Mahoney, came to Shannon’s mind as a rare instance of a first-person narrator that later developed into a concrete voice.
On the subject of Mahoney, Shannon — who has Irish heritage but has never lived in Ireland — decided to depict an Irish protagonist as a means of reconciling with her heritage. Shannon said learning about Britain’s historically poor treatment of Ireland as an adult informed her choice to tackle said real-world issues in a fantasy context.
“[When writing Paige I was] grappling with the sense a part of me came from somewhere I never lived,” Shannon said.
Shannon also discussed her depiction of queer relationships and non-binary characters in her works. While writing, Shannon believed the setting of the Republic of Scion, while oppressive in nature, would be queer-tolerant in accordance with its other values. Shannon also said she designed gender-neutral medieval titles for her non-binary characters through a mixture of etymological research and speaking with friends belonging to such communities.
Shannon also spoke on the antagonists that populate her series. Using Greek mythology as partial inspiration, she hoped to display antagonists with complicated relationships with her heroes, including a cyclical bond of abuse, and who shared similar frustrations as her — such as with humanity’s violent and destructive nature — while still writing characters who serve as solidly good people.
“[My] characters reflect my hate and my love for humankind,” Shannon said.
Shannon discussed her style of foreshadowing, which she said is usually planned far in advance. She utilizes a skeletal model for overarching narrative events while connecting them with tissue that is more flexible and open to organic changes that occur during the writing process.
Inspiration for her works includes classic dystopian narratives like “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “1984” as well as multiple fantasy novels which she highlights on her Instagram, according to Shannon,. Shannon said she feels content with how readers follow her narratives and feels constantly motivated — despite the ambition of her works — to continue her work.
“Even when it’s hard, I’m looking forward to writing the next scene,” Shannon said.
