1 00:00:00,630 --> 00:00:08,940 [Auto-generated transcript. Edits may have been applied for clarity.] Hi, my name is Tara Mikel Rana and I'm the author of the forthcoming epic fantasy trilogy Dawn of the Firebird. 2 00:00:09,300 --> 00:00:16,770 I'm also a student at the University of Oxford, doing my, um, fill at the intersection of human rights and economic policy. 3 00:00:17,250 --> 00:00:25,380 Outside of writing, I actually am the co-host of the On the Right Track podcast, where I love to interview bestselling authors and spill tea. 4 00:00:25,890 --> 00:00:32,790 Outside of that, I study in traditional martial arts, and I fall down a historical rabbit holes that inspires much of my writing. 5 00:00:44,540 --> 00:00:55,190 Fantasy is a veil that inspires me as a writer to explore different moral possibilities and moral spectrums that otherwise wouldn't exist in fiction. 6 00:00:55,490 --> 00:01:03,020 And what I mean by that is that essentially, when I'm writing a fantasy world of constructing it from scratch, that means the characters, 7 00:01:03,020 --> 00:01:12,230 the tradition, the cultures are all taking place in a land that's outside my present experience and what our ideologies and moral spectrum look like. 8 00:01:12,470 --> 00:01:16,010 That means I can explore morally great characters that make terrible decisions, 9 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:20,300 or morally good characters that have a different moral spectrum than us, 10 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:28,760 and that's important for us to empathise and basically humanise other cultures, other people that we otherwise wouldn't have access to. 11 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:48,120 So there are two authors. One of them is still a bit contemporary, but he was definitely like very famous in the 80s and 90s. 12 00:01:48,230 --> 00:01:52,960 So Orson Scott Card, who wrote Ender's Game, was my formative book. 13 00:01:52,970 --> 00:02:01,580 It basically inspired the entire kind of idea and plot of Dawn of the Firebird, because it is also a military academy story. 14 00:02:01,790 --> 00:02:05,720 It follows basically a young boy who's a military prodigy. 15 00:02:06,110 --> 00:02:10,200 Um, and it sees his rise within a military school. And that was fascinating. 16 00:02:10,220 --> 00:02:15,980 It was my first exposure to that idea of that academy setting trope that you 17 00:02:15,980 --> 00:02:20,420 see in fiction now that is so beloved and popular and many contemporaries. 18 00:02:20,900 --> 00:02:30,020 At the same time, it also confronted difficult questions of innovation, of weaponry, of genocide, because that was the arc of Endor. 19 00:02:30,500 --> 00:02:38,090 Similarly, within my work Dawn of the Firebird, we follow Camilla, my main character, and her discovery going through a magical academy. 20 00:02:38,090 --> 00:02:46,370 That military school being a prodigy, but also confronting very uncomfortable questions about war, justice and genocide. 21 00:02:46,730 --> 00:02:49,580 Um, the second inspiration for me is Jane Austen. 22 00:02:49,850 --> 00:02:57,230 I think for many female writers, she's a huge inspiration just because she was able to basically, in a woman's fiction, 23 00:02:57,590 --> 00:03:05,000 bring the agency of a woman forward, um, and grapple with questions of identity, self being, agency and romance. 24 00:03:05,390 --> 00:03:08,150 And so my book isn't romantic. 25 00:03:08,450 --> 00:03:15,830 It still deals with the idea of love and how that is a huge formative experience for an individual, especially my main character. 26 00:03:25,300 --> 00:03:30,790 Yes, I do think it's difficult to write fantasy without romance, and that's not coming from me individually. 27 00:03:31,090 --> 00:03:34,270 I think it's difficult because there's pressures in the market about it. 28 00:03:34,540 --> 00:03:40,929 But at the same time, epic fantasy has been a beloved subgenre for decades and decades, right? 29 00:03:40,930 --> 00:03:44,380 Tolkien, C.S. Lewis are like the classic monsters of the Stranraer. 30 00:03:45,100 --> 00:03:50,970 Also, science fiction I don't see as a separate genre. I think science fiction belongs to fantasy. 31 00:03:50,980 --> 00:03:57,160 I see it as a subgenre of fantasy. So Ender's Game, though it's a sci fi to me, it's very much fantasy, fantastical. 32 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:01,600 And so there's always going to be room for non-romantic fantasy. 33 00:04:01,900 --> 00:04:06,760 And Donna, the Firebird will eventually have romantic subplots, but it's never going to be a romantic. 34 00:04:07,270 --> 00:04:13,390 And even now we see popular books like the Will of the many, like the Poppy War, Like You Became the Sun, 35 00:04:13,570 --> 00:04:19,030 where romance is not at all central to the plot, but they are so beloved and popular in the current market. 36 00:04:19,030 --> 00:04:24,639 They've gone viral, and I find that Dawn of the Firebird is coming out at a time that can put its 37 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:29,530 book alongside other contemporaries in kind of the military fantasy genre. 38 00:04:40,130 --> 00:04:45,080 I disagree with that. Um, so I go off of the words of Ursula. 39 00:04:45,110 --> 00:04:53,150 I also go off of the words of Ken Leo, who I got to interview for my podcast recently, and he's also such a beloved figure in the fantasy space. 40 00:04:53,480 --> 00:05:00,260 Um, in short story space. They similarly believe that science fiction belongs under the as a subgenre under fantasy. 41 00:05:00,590 --> 00:05:09,050 And I believe that because of a key reason, which is that I don't think fantasy is in the realm of the impossible where you imagine it. 42 00:05:09,380 --> 00:05:16,220 I believe in so many elements that exist in fantasy, because even my book draws on Islamic law. 43 00:05:17,270 --> 00:05:21,290 That is law that I believe. I don't see it as a myth. That's a law that I believe. 44 00:05:21,590 --> 00:05:30,410 Similarly, people do bring and, uh, derive a lot of their fantasy and fiction from existing law. 45 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:35,600 And that existing law is stories that were passed down generation from generation to generation, 46 00:05:35,780 --> 00:05:43,310 through written script to the Bible, through religious scriptures, through oral storytelling, in folk telling traditions. 47 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:51,770 Um, and so story is a way to immortalise something, to bring it from the imagination to the, to the realm of existence. 48 00:05:52,010 --> 00:05:55,940 And so it is very much real, and I don't see it in the realm of impossibility. 49 00:05:56,270 --> 00:06:03,710 On the other hand, for science fiction, I actually think they derive the same kind of thought process and knowledge production you see in fantasy 50 00:06:04,250 --> 00:06:11,360 that is used in science fiction to a lot of that science that you read does not actually exist in science. 51 00:06:11,570 --> 00:06:18,320 They might loosely use concepts, or they might be using real scientific concepts, but there's still a realm of imagination in there. 52 00:06:18,530 --> 00:06:26,390 That's why so many beloved classics like George Orwell's a lot of that didn't exist in his time, but a lot of that exists now. 53 00:06:27,020 --> 00:06:32,150 Fantasy I actually see it's the same thing. It grapples with difficult questions, really good fantasy does. 54 00:06:32,750 --> 00:06:38,420 And a lot of that think those concepts you see in fantasy or sci fi are starting to happen in our world. 55 00:06:38,870 --> 00:06:42,229 And so storytelling is not something that's abstract. 56 00:06:42,230 --> 00:06:48,410 It brings it into the realm of existence. It deals with questions of human behaviour and human thought. 57 00:06:48,620 --> 00:06:53,450 Some of the darkest parts of our history, and it touches on traditions that are really real. 58 00:06:53,810 --> 00:06:56,840 And our actual belief systems that people like me do believe in. 59 00:06:57,170 --> 00:07:03,200 So we can't just see it as a false. That's a false dichotomy. We must see it as intrinsically tied to each other. 60 00:07:04,170 --> 00:07:15,510 Thank you. Yes. 61 00:07:15,510 --> 00:07:24,140 So my favourite fantasy tourism of all time is sort of taken by my wing and then the Will of the many, which is by James Ellington. 62 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:29,340 I'm actually reading a early copy of the sequel to the Will of the many, called The strength of the film, 63 00:07:29,820 --> 00:07:38,190 and it's even more amazing than the first book, and it has such an fantastical world, and it really the author just takes it to new heights. 64 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:47,129 So I strongly recommend both of those books and series, and I think people who are fans of the military fantasy subgenre or fans are like, 65 00:07:47,130 --> 00:07:50,880 the idea of this book would love both of those books because they were huge inspirations for me. 66 00:08:01,590 --> 00:08:05,700 So you mentioned before that Romania is dominating the markets. 67 00:08:05,700 --> 00:08:09,390 And I love romantic. I do love my occasional romantic book. 68 00:08:09,810 --> 00:08:16,470 Um, but I actually see epic fantasy making such a nice comeback, um, through the two books I just mentioned by my contemporaries. 69 00:08:16,770 --> 00:08:20,790 Um, my book is getting published, which is an epic fantasy that's not really romantic. 70 00:08:21,060 --> 00:08:27,060 And so what I see right now that's exciting about fantasy is you now start seeing kind of a bit of an equilibrium. 71 00:08:27,330 --> 00:08:30,120 You have romantic fantasy that's getting it to your moment. 72 00:08:30,300 --> 00:08:35,940 You see epic fantasy kind of having a resurgence because people are craving kind of that escapism, 73 00:08:35,940 --> 00:08:41,700 that really densely constructed world, um, where they can just escape into it. 74 00:08:42,060 --> 00:08:46,049 And I think people were craving that because sometimes some of those lower fantasy, 75 00:08:46,050 --> 00:08:49,680 uh, that don't have like card based magic systems, people escape into it. 76 00:08:49,860 --> 00:08:54,750 But it's a bit of a quicker read as well. I think people are starting to crave longer fantasy. 77 00:08:55,080 --> 00:09:01,560 Um, and I hope you know, Donna, The Firebird is a book that they love, and the world is something that they bond with. 78 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:10,400 Um, and I'm really loving that trend at the moment. That's an excellent question. 79 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:16,130 Firstly, I think every author should have the mission and the, uh, 80 00:09:16,430 --> 00:09:23,120 capability to write a story based on other cultures as long as it's done with sensitivity, research and nuance. 81 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:28,550 What that means is hiring sensitivity readers. What that means is making sure that you're critical of yourself. 82 00:09:28,730 --> 00:09:33,230 You're decentring yourself, and you're open to basically rewriting. 83 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:39,470 Accepting that your first try probably won't be good, probably won't be the representation that the world needs. 84 00:09:39,980 --> 00:09:44,270 It also means that you also make room for authors of those backgrounds to write their stories. 85 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:48,350 Perhaps you have a side character that's diverse, not just a main character. 86 00:09:49,070 --> 00:09:51,110 It also means that you have to be well read. 87 00:09:51,500 --> 00:09:58,730 You have to start researching other cultures, knowing that the Bible is not the only kind of religious tradition. 88 00:09:59,270 --> 00:10:07,850 Um, and secondly, it means you should also read the books of other colleagues, um, that are from non-traditional backgrounds. 89 00:10:08,510 --> 00:10:15,860 Just because an author is from a certain ethnic group, nationality or religious identity does not mean their book is that. 90 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:19,160 So my book, known as A Firebird, is not South Asian. 91 00:10:19,370 --> 00:10:26,990 It's not in the Islamic period, but it is definitely a new culture or something that's made up. 92 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:32,450 It does draw on biblical, the Islamic version of biblical stories. 93 00:10:32,810 --> 00:10:38,209 Um, to construct the world. You know, that is not my particular background. 94 00:10:38,210 --> 00:10:44,690 I am Muslim, but I'm not Christian. I'm not. You know, you can't subscribe a book based on ethnicity. 95 00:10:45,020 --> 00:10:48,230 The last example I will give is that this book takes place after Noah's flood. 96 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:53,530 What is the ethnicity of people after Noah's flood? We don't know. 97 00:10:53,540 --> 00:10:56,270 Like, obviously there's certain research and academia behind it, 98 00:10:56,510 --> 00:11:01,790 but we actually can't point to real life people and be like, that's your same identity. 99 00:11:02,030 --> 00:11:09,500 So you should have the permission to explore these ages, these time periods, but you have to do with research and nuance and with an open mind. 100 00:11:09,770 --> 00:11:13,220 And so I was able to write that time period kind of. 101 00:11:13,460 --> 00:11:18,020 But I did it with a lot of research and looking at different religious interpretations. 102 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:23,720 All authors have to do is have an open mind, take criticism, and I think we'll have better fiction that way.