Usually, interviews are pretty straightforward – I compile the questions and send them away. This interview is special though! Stories that capture my imagination and make me want to savour every word require some special attention so first time I bring an interview that is a conversation, a look into Between Starfalls, customs and legends… and all this to quench my thirst because I want more! Check out my reading experience of the book below and click on the graphic to read the review. But later, ok? This conversation is not to be missed with its two moons and more! Enjoy! 😀
On The World
A Stone Age inspired world is not one I have read often but Between Starfalls reminded me of one my dearest series growing up, Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver. Every couple years, I think about these books and long for them. I could not bring them with me when I moved but the world of Between Starfalls was like coming home again. What were some of your influences for this world?
You know Kriti, every time we have a conversation, you come up with some of the most thoughtful, in-depth questions, and I really love that! And I have more books to put in my TBR pile!
I didn’t consciously draw on any influences except my own love for being outside and in nature. Growing up, in the summers, I’d leave home early in the morning and not come back until dark. I’d spend the time hiking and wandering, thinking, and making up stories. I’d explore the woods and swim in the old swimming holes and drink from those old hand pump well fountain things. So every time I wrote the forest in Between Starfalls, I took myself back to those woods, from the homes and the settings, to the ecology of the forest meeting the prairies.
But mostly, my inspiration was to undo. I knew I didn’t want a medieval setting, and I knew I didn’t want to go more advanced technologically speaking (not for this book, anyway). So going for less technology was natural, and as I thought about how far back to go, I just naturally gravitated to Stone Age. It’s so different to our own time of technology with all its troubles and advantages, and exploring the nuances of that level of technology really drew me.
I think that is one of the things I really enjoyed about this book. So much of the fiction that I read has technology as part of it in some way or form. It is nice to disconnect from things and connect with real people and objects. Talking about real objects, I am curious about astronomy. There are two moons. What are their names? Do the people have stories about them?
There are two moons! Their names are Anathel and Tharahel. And yes! There are stories about them. Astronomy is important to the Rinaryns because not only does it mark time (the starfalls twice a year) but also the moons in their orbits affect the tides. Dead Man’s Sea is aptly named and the Rinaryns don’t cross it, but there are times it’s slightly more forgiving than others!
I need to look up the repercussions of having two moons. 🙂 Yes, I noticed the mention of Dead Man’s Sea too!
I did a ton of research. I chose to have co-orbital moons because I think it’s just absolutely incredible. So they’re a smaller and further out than our moon, which means night levels of brightness are going to vary dramatically, but be a bit dimmer than ours. They needed to be about the same size for this to work, so they round the planet at the same distance approximately, and when one catches up, they swap orbits. One moves inside and the other moves outside. And they go again, until they catch up and change places again. You can see this in our real life solar system with Saturn’s moons Janus and Epimetheus. Will this ever be important to the story? No, probably not, but it is mentioned in the sequel!
On The Culture in Between Starfalls
The little city I grew up in mostly had the same culture. Most families were either Punjabis or Haryanai, and the way they live was just the way I knew. I learned the distinctions as I grew older. I am still new to living in a multi-cultural society and recognizing the nuances of that takes time. There was law, order, hierarchy, occupations,… so much for both Kamalti and Rinaryns – they were so well thought out. How did you build such distinct cultures?
I would love to hear more about the differences you’ve seen sometime!
And, well, there’s a reason this book took years! For the Rinaryns, I wanted a somewhat egalitarian society, where it doesn’t really matter who your family is–you can still make a name for yourself. Family is still incredibly important to them, but as Kaemada and Taunos show, I think, having parents who made such a name for themselves can create lofty aspirations that themselves can be a hindrance when you don’t have the wealth divide that we have today.
Rather than be set up for success due to their honored mother, they were instead constantly compared to her. That’s not always a good thing.
Yes! I see that now. 🙂
For Kamalti, order is extremely important, so I used that as a guide with the decisions. It made sense to have a class system for them, and to have familial job types and for some to have more prestige than others, and for there to be strictly defined gender roles within those occupations. I was exploring just a couple aspects of the vast variations people are capable of, because while neither Rinaryns or Kamalti are human, I still think of them as people!
What? Haha! I totally thought of them as people and the cover solidified that too. But at the same time, knowing what I know about our human history, there were other species and species don’t have to look the same either.
Haha, yes, both are separate species from humans! I’ll have to get a drawing done sometime of the Kamalti, and they’re clearly, at a glance, not human. Rinaryns can pass for human.
I intentionally made the Rinaryns and the Kamalti mirror each other sometimes and reverse other times for reasons which make perfect sense to me! So while the Rinaryns were egalitarian, the Kamalti became class-system focused. Rinaryns had community harmony, and Kamalti had community order. Rinaryns and Kamalti both had priests but with different functions, mirroring individual faith for Rinaryns and organized religion for the Kamalti. Rinaryns allow for people to be whatever they want that day for occupation because Kamalti don’t. So making two cultures and riffing off each other I think helped me to flesh them both out.
That was very well done!
I also liked the ways of measuring time. While the Rinaryns used summers, the Kamalti’s system was a bit different since they did not have the sun to guide them. What inspired you to make such distinct peoples?
Thank you! I’m just fascinated by the possibilities of an underground civilization! It really made me think about things in a different way, which was awesome. I remember the moment I realized that the Kamalti would have no weather! Why would they need roofs without weather? There’s no sun to shade from, no rain, no snow, no real wind to speak of. And so, the uppermost stack of each set of buildings is roofless, which I thought was cool. And since they’re underground, space would be a premium. Because the lower levels would be warmer, it flipped things on their heads a bit. In normal life, the upper levels of a high rise tend to be considered richer. For the Kamalti, that would be flipped, I realized, and for two reasons: not only would the warmth be nicer, but can you imagine all those stairs? I could only figure elevator type mechanics going so high, leaving stairs for the rest, cinching the deal. And then because they’re underground, I was like, well how do they get their food? I figured insects and plants grown from those lights as well as fish from underground lakes and river systems would work, and then I added birds because I could see them being captured and brought in, and I figured they’d get creative with their food, so I went with vegetable gelatin cubes.
It just required a lot of re-thinking of norms and for me that’s refreshing and interesting.
Absolutely! You really have to run far with an idea to make it believable and plausible. Coming back to stories and cultures, one of the ancient stories I want to know of is that of Fānitos.
Yes! Fānitos is mentioned in the Interlude by Storyteller Zeroun, who absolutely loves to talk in metaphor.
Fānitos was a Storyteller of a kaetal many summers past. His kaetal was hit hard by the Darks, over and over, and grief crushed his song and that of his people. Fānitos knew this could not go on, and so, he determined to strike back. At the next Dark attack, as he and his kaetal fought off the attackers, he and a chosen band of warriors harried the Darks, never letting up. They were determined that their kaetal should never again be brought to tears by the Darks, and they had geared up with food and water for the chase. Traveling lightly, they hardly slept, chasing the Darks across the land. But sleep comes to everyone.
After a nap borne of exhaustion, Fānitos awoke before his band. He checked on the camp of the Darks only to find them gone. Anger coiled in his gut, for this was his land, and not the Darks’. They should not be able to simply disappear in such a fashion! He scouted out, further and further, desperate to catch a glimpse of where they had gone. Too late, he realized it was a trap when Dark warriors seized him.
Darks don’t take prisoners. Fānitos couldn’t understand why he was still alive until he saw the kaetal. Another kaetal, only a little ways ahead. The Darks were preparing for an attack and told him an example would be made of him during the attack, at nightfall.
The kaetal weighed in his mind, so peaceful, unaware of the doom to fall on them that evening. Fānitos tried to cry out a warning, but the Darks had him gagged and tied. His only hope now was his band of warriors. Would they come in time to save him and the other kaetal?
The Darks bedded down, slumbering but for a couple scouts left to watch for trouble. As the day wore long, a strange birdsong came to his ear. Fānitos peered into the brush, only to meet the eyes of two of his warriors. The warriors gestured that they were going to come rescue him, but Fānitos tried to warn them not only of the number of Darks, but also of the kaetal. The warriors didn’t seem to understand and Fānitos grew frustrated. His rage was muted only by the desire not to wake his captors too soon. Finally, as the rest of the band arrived to attack the Darks, the Darks themselves began to rouse.
The warriors leaped upon the sleepy Darks, but they were outnumbered and the Darks sprang awake and alert far faster than they’d anticipated. Fānitos lashed out in his bonds, tripping up Darks in the frenzy, and finally managed to get the gag undone. Shouting, he pled with the warriors to warn the kaetal. After all, the kaetal could provide further warriors to stop the Darks. But his warriors had acted in haste, too narrow in focus to see the possibility, and Fānitos rebuked them, even as they fought toward him.
Outnumbered, with their surprise gone, the warriors were turned back. Fānitos’s hobbled attempts to help them did not gain enough, and instead, the Darks ran him through, routing the warriors. Beaten, injured, and seeing their errors all too clearly, the warriors retreated in all directions. Five warriors managed to get to the kaetal ahead of the Darks, warning them in time to mount an effective defense. With the warriors scouting and the healers ready, no Rinaryn died in that kaetal that day. Yet even this defeat came at great cost, for Storyteller Fānitos was dead, his song across the rim of the sky and far beyond the reach of any healer.
Wow. I like that legend a lot. 🙂
Thanks! It’s one of several legends I wrote during a break so that I could refer to them inevitably with Storyteller Zeroun.
We have been having tough, yet much needed, conversations about race in recent months. As I read the book, I wondered about our origins. In one of the guest posts for the tour, you mentioned how the climate plays a role in deciding the color of the skin of the people. I discussed with Clinton a bit. With so many years of being on Earth, the place where we are born no longer influences our color. Genetics play a huge role in how we look. Maybe a century in the future, how do you envision the Rinaryns and Kamalti?
This is something I’ve thought of! And Rinaryn/Kamalti hybrids come up in the second book, actually, so you get to see it. The Kamalti in Book One live their entire lives (except for a few Scouts) never seeing the sun, which affects their physiology. Now, if you introduce more variation, there’s need for more color (also helps to not see the blood pumping!) and hair helps, and the eyes don’t have to be so big, etc).
I look forward to learning more about them! 🙂
Definitely more comes into play throughout the series including some variations between genetics and environment, and variations with the people who have ancestry of both!
On Storytelling
I really liked the journal entry and letter excerpts idea. It was mysterious and engaging at the same time, giving a foundation to every chapter. Why did you choose this format? Was this something that came up in later revisions of the book or you always planned to write this way?
Haha! I love that people love them. I tried really hard to get these advantageous bits of information across in the story itself, but it never worked well. So the idea came up to make them epigraphs, and I loved how Robin Hobb did hers (though I decided not to make mine so long). I wanted to make sure they were not essential to understanding the story, but yet would add some insight for the reader that the characters themselves may or may not have.
On the Quotes
(yes, that’s my sneaky way of sharing more from Between Starfalls, like there were not enough quotes in my review!)
lol I love this!
I found so many quotes in this book! I am excited to share and discuss a couple of them with you! 🙂
According to legend, the song the stars sang as they fell used to be louder, and there used to be another song, one sung by the stars while they shone in the deep night. Over the generations, the songs had faded, and no one heard the song of the stars anymore unless they were falling.
Songs are an integral part of the Rinaryn culture. Tell me more about them!
Gladly! Rinaryns use songs as a metaphor for life/souls, and stories as a metaphor for a person’s lifetime. They believe the universe was sung into existence and composed of song. It’s easier to memorize complexities when they’re set to music, and so this is how the thought occurred to me- they would likely use songs to remember things in addition to writing them down. Also, I love music, and I love stories. It made sense to bring them into the story.
I remember as a child being told stories of the stars singing. I love this concept and so, obviously brought it in, where the stars literally whistle as they fall twice a year. This combined with this metaphor and the importance of songs made for this gorgeous realization that this would be a sacred celebration of life for them. Life happens at the Feasts of Starfalls. People learn new skills and make new connections and change kaetals, maybe even court someone!
Between Starfalls also has angels – so many people have mentioned them. Do they have any relation to the stars? Will we see more angels in the upcoming books?
Yes! There’s so much of the Angels left to discover! Angels feature throughout the rest of the series, in various ways. There is no relation to the stars, but there definitely are other connections to be learned about.
In the end, the spirit must make its journey alone. How can we expect that it’s proper for another to guide that spirit?
Religion is part of culture. Belief systems often involve faith in a higher power. I found it intriguing that the Rinaryns believe in spirits and guides, but ultimately, they were still very individualistic in the growth of a person and their journey. How does community strength play into their journey?
Having two characters with deep faith, I needed to weave that into the story. However, it made no sense to have a centralized authority for religion when there was none for government. It can be very hard to discern the best way through a complex situation, even more so when that best way through varies from person to person. I wanted to capture that, and the comfort of knowing that everyone’s muddling through as best they can, together, and supporting each other while they all figure it out. Finding a supportive community like that is so important and enriching and I really wanted to try to bring that in.
Finding the right words is hard, but if you can do it, great good can come about.
I felt this spoke to the effort and time that went into the book. I can see how this took years to write and polish. What was it like working on this book?
Lol, that quote was more in regards to me and the stupid things that come out of my mouth sometimes! It really fit Kaemada, I felt, as she is so very earnest in trying to help bring about some good out of all the bad, and yet, when she goes about it with the wrong words, the wrong actions and frame of mind, things only get worse. It goes back to the idea of songs, really, as I separated songs out, figuring they were so very important to Rinaryns, each piece of the song would also be important. So you have the tune, the rhythm, the words, and the act of music making. The words of the song are important, as they lift up the meaning of the song, but you can absolutely sing along without knowing the right words!
If you could choose one quote from the book, which one would it be and why?
Oh man, favorite quote? This is hard! I’d say one of my favorite quotes comes from the climax.
“No song stands alone. … We build our songs from those who have gone before us. We build our stories from theirs.”
I love this sense of even when things look bleakest even when you don’t feel strong or up to the task,, you’re facing it with the strength of others standing with you. This sense of history effecting the present, and those who’ve come before still echoing through the now, lifting up the present to be able to reach higher, even in the darkest of nights… I just really love that and tried to capture it.
Hope you enjoyed this conversation with SK about Between Starfalls! Learn more about her work on her website and connect with her on Twitter.
** Between Starfalls is available for you to read! If you choose to get it, please let me know! I would to hear your thoughts on it! **
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This post is part of the WriteHive blog tour for Between Starfalls. Check out the full schedule here and be sure to visit the fabulous other blogs on the tour.
Cover image: Photo by Marc Guellerin on Unsplash
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