Ep. 121: Who Gets to Be the Hero w/ Author Natasha Bowen

EQ: How can storytelling rooted in myth, history, and identity help reclaim forgotten narratives and reimagine who gets to be the hero in fantasy worlds?

Guest: Natasha Bowen; follow her on Instagram @natasha_bowen_

YA author Natasha Bowen takes a moment from her writing deadline to join us on the podcast to discuss how she moved from the classroom to full time writing, why the fantasy genre (and especially mermaids captured her imagination) and what it feels like to build a world shaped by real folklore, history, and creativity. We talk about the moment she knew she had to write Skin of the Sea, the research behind West African mythology and the Mami Wata, and the role the sea plays as both a setting and a symbol. Natasha explains how her writing choices are influenced by her obsessive personality, her resistance to being told what to do, and her joy of fun, fast-paced and visceral reading experiences. Natasha shares why it was important to her to center protagonists that exist outside the lens of colonization, showing a wider range of representation, joy, power, and myth. She also gives us a look at her upcoming novel, Call of the Dragon.

• Annie: Please support Natasha’s work via a local bookseller like King’s Books in Tacoma and please heed my perpetual advice–just read. Don’t make excuses. Pick up a book, okay? It’s a good time to be super literate. 

• Hope: Find the thing your obsessed with and find what another culture or country believes about that topic.

• Natasha: Go out of your comfort zone and try to find books and authors who write stories you haven’t read before.