The Night Shade Interview: THE KING’S DAUGHTERS’s Nathalie Mallet

Ross E. Lockhart | July 20th 2009 at 8:46 am

Recently, I had a chance to sit down and chat with Nathalie Mallet, author of the Prince Amir mysteries, Princes of the Golden Cage and its recently-released sequel, The King’s Daughters, about real-world inspirations, worldbuilding without maps, literary influences, and writing across genres. So here you go, the Night Shade Interview with Nathalie Mallet:

Q: With PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE, you created a world quite different from the Norse and Celtic norms of most post-Tolkien fantasy. Prince Amir’s Ottoman Empire-influenced Sultanate of Telfar and the Kapisi Palace Cage which he calls home provide a striking, memorable setting reminiscent of Clark Ashton Smith’s Oriental contes cruel and The One Thousand and One Nights. With THE KING’S DAUGHTERS, you’ve moved Prince Amir beyond the Cage, into the frozen kingdom of Sorvinka, which bears more than a little resemblance to medieval Russia. How do you go about building a literary world this culturally-varied and encompassing, what other works have influenced your worldbuilding, and to what degree have you pre-planned and pre-built Prince Amir’s world? And, since maps aren’t included in the novels, what does the map of Amir’s world look like?

A: Our world with its multitude of cultures is the inspiration behind Amir’s; however, works by writers such as George R.R. Martin, C.J. Cherryh, Harry Turtledove and Guy Gavriel Kay have somewhat influence the direction I’ve taken with this series. Like them, I draw heavily from history, folklore, legends and myths for inspiration. It’s not quite historical fantasy, but it has flavors of it. To achieve this, I do an extensive amount of research for each book, which I actually enjoy doing. I absolutely love history. Actually, it was a small historical fact mentioned in a documentary that lead me to research the Topkapi palace’s kafes—the real cage—subsequently inspiring THE PRINCES.

The series is almost entirely pre-planned and the world pre-built. I’ve outlined most of the books already and decided which countries Amir would be visiting/exploring over the course of his adventures. I’ve picked settings underexplored in fantasy—countries with culture and folklore that intrigues and fascinates me and are as far removed from Amir’s as possible: Russia, Mongolia, Tibet, etc. Culture shock and cultural misunderstandings make for interesting situations. Funny you’re mentioning maps. I’ve often been asked if a map of Amir’s world would be included in forthcoming novels. Maybe I should sketch something and post it on the web, because describing land masses with borders, mountains and lakes doesn’t really cut it.

Q: A big part of Prince Amir’s appeal is his combination of intellectual curiosity and skepticism. These traits ensure that he’s well suited to his role as occult detective. How does Amir fit into the literary tradition of occult detectives, and were you looking at earlier examples of occult detectives when you created him?

A: Honestly, I wasn’t looking at anyone when I created him. I just built a protagonist I would enjoy writing about, someone intelligent and challenging. As for fitting in, well, for some reason I’m more comfortable placing Amir alongside mainstream detectives such as Sherlock Holmes and Franciscan friar William of Baskerville from Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, than true occult detectives like Van Helsing. However, all these detectives tend to have a more proactive approach to sleuthing than Amir, who is reluctant to get involved in… well, anything quite frankly.

Q: A common theme in the books concerns Amir’s reliance on his emotions and, for lack of a better phrase, his cultural baggage. Amir is a flawed protagonist, often finding himself in situations where he meets a character, and his immediate gut reaction is to dislike or distrust that character based on outward appearances and his own prejudices, only to have that character prove himself over time, forcing Amir to revise his opinion. Because of this, Amir really grows as a character over the course of the two novels. Is writing this sort of character growth a difficult balancing act?

A: No. I rather enjoy this slow process. In my opinion, character growth, to be believable, should be slow. Nobody changes overnight. And if I am to write about a character for a long period of time he needs to be able to grow, change, evolve… otherwise I’d get totally bored. But I must confess I had some concern when I wrote the first book. I was afraid that readers would not relate to him, and that nobody would like him. He’s not the typical “eager for action” hero who is quick to befriend everyone he meets. For my part, I love flawed characters; they seem so much more real to me. And being a sheltered Prince, Amir was bound to have some prejudices and misconceptions, and shattering those misconceptions is one of the many pleasures I get from writing these books.

Q: I often hear anecdotes from writers that certain characters seem to write themselves. Has Amir surprised you in this manner?

A: Not often. Amir is a very easy character to write; I know him inside out, plus his careful nature makes him easy to control. But once in a while a character slips out of my grip and gives the story a new direction or twist. Diego surprised me a few times by showing up in scenes he wasn’t supposed to be in. (Bold, unpredictable characters sometime end up being scene stealers. Lilloh is also one of those.) And although I found the experience very exciting, because it brought something new and unexpected to the story, it was also a tad frustrating. I don’t like to have my carefully laid plans disrupted.

Q: Speaking of characters, like PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE, THE KING’S DAUGHTERS is populated with all sorts of strange and quirky characters such as Milo, Prince Amir’s eunuch valet; the flamboyant Prince Diego, who is the sort of man that brings a handkerchief to a sword fight… and wins; and the “barbarians,” Khuan and Lilloh, who resemble Siberian shamans. What goes into creating these unusual secondary characters and making them feel like individuals, rather than stock characters or “types”?

A: Basically, I try to create characters that could be protagonists in some other stories. For this, fully developed back stories are a must, even if I’m not using them, as well as flaws, some emotional baggage, idiosyncrasies, goals and aspirations. Plus, they have to be different and exciting, and able to challenge Amir in someway—characters I can’t wait to write about.

Q: PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE and THE KING’S DAUGHTERS are murder mysteries as much as they are fantasies. What’s it like writing cross-genre, and do you consider yourself a fantasist, a mystery writer, or a little of both? And is the experience of writing between genres anywhere analogous to your own experience being someone who writes in English, but speaks French as a first language?

A: I’m definitely a fantasist first; the fact that I can write mystery and enjoy it as much as I do came as a surprise to me. THE PRINCES was my first attempt at a mystery. I couldn’t envision this story being done any other way. The cross-genre aspect of it wasn’t an issue for me then… still isn’t one now. I just do what feels right to me. And I don’t think it has anything to do with my being French, but writing in English either. I think it’s simply a question of taste; I adore cross-genre novels. I love to mix things up: history with fantasy with mystery. Voila!

Q: Do you write to music? If so, what would you recommend as an ideal soundtrack for THE PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE and THE KING’S DAUGHTERS?

A: No. I need peace and quiet to write. I love music, especially rock, but it would distract me too much if it played in the background while I’m working. I’ll end up listening to it instead of writing. Seriously. Nothing would get done.

Q: There’s a teaser for the next Prince Amir mystery, DEATH IN THE TRAVELING CITY, in the back of THE KING’S DAUGHTERS. Without giving too much away, what do you have in store for readers in this next installment?

A: With a Mongolian inspired backdrop, populated with shamans, spirits and demons, DEATH IN THE TRAVELING CITY is more adventure than mystery, even though there is much detective work being done in it. In this installment, Amir follows his friends, Khuan and Lilloh, to the Anchin’s Traveling City where he must discover who is murdering its citizens before the whole city is torn to bits. Despite being a fun romp, several important things happen in this book: Amir will meet the person who becomes his nemesis; he will also come to term with who he is. The fourth book, tentatively entitled THE RED BRIDE, returns to a more traditional mystery format. This one has a Tibetan inspired setting.

Q: What are you reading these days? Are there any forthcoming books you’re particularly looking forward to? What other Night Shade titles do you recommend?

A: Right now I’m reading After the Downfall by Harry Turtledove, and loving it. I’m a big fan of his. I recommend all the Detective Inspector Chen books by Liz Williams, Butcher Bird by Richard Kadrey and Alex Bledsoe’s The Sword-Edged Blonde, and the one I’m looking forward to reading is The Mall of Cthulhu by Seamus Cooper.

Nathalie Mallet is the author of the Prince Amir mysteries, Princes of the Golden Cage and The King’s Daughters, available now at better booksellers near you. You can find out more about Nathalie at http://www.nathaliemallet.com/.

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