She has a degree in political science from Barnard College, focusing on religion and ethnonationalism. She has worked for a refugee resettlement organization, for a U. The Wolf and the Woodsman is her first novel. Congratulations on your debut The Wolf and the Woodsman! Can you tell us a little bit about it? What can readers expect? The Wolf and the Woodsman is an epic but literary-leaning standalone fantasy primarily focusing on religious issues in medieval Eastern Europe.
Tell us a little something about your writing process β do you have a certain method? Do you find music helps? Give us a glimpse into your world! All my books coalesce around a central theme and the details shake out as I write. Speaking of worlds, your book is inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology, which sounds absolutely fantastic. Can you tell us a bit more about how you drew inspiration from both of these? Did you have to do a lot of research? I did, most of it centered around the history of medieval Hungaryβits demographics, its royalty, and its identity yes, countries have identities too!
Christianity is what unites Europe, but there was still a significant and influential pagan element, so Hungary was sort of undergoing an identity crisis over what kind of nation it wanted to be. There were a lot of oppositional forces. Paganism was oppressed and annihilated with swift, breathtaking violence. I also read a lot of political monographs about state-building, religion, and identity, by authors like Benedict Anderson, Charles Tilly, and Edward Said.
Those were arguably my biggest influences. As for the Jewish elements, I have always been drawn to the story of Queen Esther around which the holiday of Purim is centered. I used that as a starting point. In a way, The Wolf and the Woodsman is a very, very loose retelling of that story.
There are actually several different magic systems, but they all center around the concept of faith. The more strongly you believe in your godβor godsβthe stronger your magic purportedly is.
