Author Interview: Sonia Tagliareni

Get the inside scoop on ‘Deathbringer’!

Sonia Tagliareni is the author of our May Adult ‘Venomous Academia’ featured book: Deathbringer. Read on to get the inside scoop from inspiration to favourite scenes and more!

Where did the initial inspiration for Deathbringer come from, and how did it develop from that first idea?

I like to refer to Deathbringer as a hat trick of ideas. It all started when I found out that our house was built on a French cemetery, so a slight fascination of the dead came from there. I was like 10 years old, so I was like what if the dead can crawl out of the ground? What if we could talk to the dead? I bagged that in my idea bank, and then fast forward to many, many years later, the snakes came to me as I was playing around with a story. I thought that would be such a fresh magic system — someone wielding these snakes with different powers. So that came to me separately, and I thought they were brilliant ideas, but didn’t know what to do with them. Then, I think it was towards the end of 2022, the picture of Olivia grabbing Viola’s wrists at the lake came to me so vividly, and I just knew I had to write the story! I had to know what happens, so then I started working backwards and asking questions from there. Funnily enough, by that time I basically had Sylas in a story that didn’t quite fit or make sense, until I had Viola. Then I meshed them together and it turned into Deathbringer!

The story takes us back to 1939. What drew you to this era, and how did it influence the story?

So I originally did not set it in any time period, but then my agent, who is so brilliant, was like ‘what if we set this story in the 1920s or 30s?’. And now that I think about it, it’s a very low-tech world, you know, it’s prohibition era. It’s me as a writer; I just hate writing with cell phones. I don’t know why, but every story I write I figure out a way to not have high technology as I just don’t like dealing with it. But I think by setting it in 1939, what really changed was me trying to streamline what they had in that time, while innovating their world. It is second world fantasy, but I didn’t want it to be jarring, the fact they didn’t have laptops and cell phones, and I put in little tidbits of what they were wearing, etc. It’s not our world, but rather what their world would be like in 1939.

We adore dark academia, and Gorhail Institute of Magic instantly drew us in. How did you develop a strong identity for the academy?

Gorhail in itself is an institution rich in history. It’s steeped in tradition, it’s been there for hundreds of years, and I think it was very important for me to anchor that in the details. You get a lot of that history in the epigraphs, in the settings, in the infrastructure itself. I work in the details, I think I’m a very detail-orientated writer. I’m not going to shove it in your face, I will weave it in the staircase, for example. By doing that, I think it helped develop a very strong identity for the academy. And then, for the houses, I think giving them a concrete reason for them to be how they are, that contributed to a lot of the heavy sense of belonging and pride.

Gorhail is split into three houses: Arcane, Poison, and Death. Which house would you belong to and why?

I say all the time that I am just house of Poison through and through! Just because, obviously we all love the snakes, but I feel I’m just a fiercely loyal person to the people around me. That’s the trait that I identify with the most.

Viola hates her magic. What did this allow you to explore that a protagonist who embraces their magic wouldn’t?

Death magic, on it’s own, I wrote in a way that it is kind of a burden. It’s not easy and it comes with a lot of sacrifices. While most train from a young age, Viola was left to fend for herself with magic that she can’t quite turn off. There are a lot of consequences that I got to explore, I got to take the reader through what magic really does to someone who literally has no choice but to deal with it. I think one thing that I really liked about Viola and the story is that it was very terrifying to her. Not only is it this new thing that she doesn’t want, it has killed everyone she loves and took so much from her, which allowed me to explore what happens when our fear becomes who we are.

In Deathbringer, magic is channeled through relics. What relic would you use and why?

Absolutely an aspier, who wouldn’t love their own small snake to stand off to their enemies?! They’re adorable, I love them.

Sylas is tormented, reckless, and immortal; all traits that make him such a fascinating character with a lot of depth. Which aspects of his character were you most excited for readers to discover?

Sylas is a very interesting character because he’s a huge softie with a huge heart, at his core, if you get past his very hard and cold exterior who hates everyone and hates everything. What I wanted to get across is that when he loves, he loves deeply, and he’s just really committed to the people he loves.

Many characters are shaped by grief, guilt, or expectation. What would you like readers to take away from their journeys?

It’s not your fault, is kind of what I wanted to get across. I wrote something in Deathbringer that said ‘We don’t choose our blood, however we can choose to alter our legacy.’ I think I want the reader to really take away that we cannot always necessarily control the things that happen to us, but we can control how we react to them, and we can only do what we realistically can do. We cannot change our past, we cannot change our circumstances, but we can change our future.

The story follows a string of suspicious murders that had us constantly guessing and questioning characters. What do you think makes a mystery feel satisfying rather than simply surprising?

I love this question! So when I write, I think everything needs a very heavy reason why. So every reveal must have weight, every person must have had a reason as to why they’re doing what they’re doing. I think it’s not the shock factor, but the moment of the reveal that makes you question everything before. Every interaction, every decision, every scene the character was in, that feeling of wanting to go back to figure out what that person was doing before and how did they end up here. I think, personally, that’s the most thrilling part of a mystery.

Who was you favourite side character and why did you love writing their part of the story?

This is where everyone expects me to say Beau, but actually, Lyria is my favourite side character because she represents every single thing that’s pure and good in the book. Against all of the adversity going around, she has that fierce optimism that we really need sometimes. She’s very special to me.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

I have loads of advice, but mostly, read widely. That’s a very, very important thing that we tend to forget. When people start writing, they focus on that and can forget the reading, but it’s by reading that you start to understand your craft better. Two, write whatever makes you the happiest. It was something that was said to me often but I didn’t quite get it for a very long time. But if you’re having fun on the page, your readers can have fun on the page as well. They’re going to feel that, because excitement is contagious. Also, please edit your book. Editing is quite literally where the magic happens. It’s where you put the story together in a way that in shines, like you’ve polished it into the piece that you’re going to share with people. And lastly, especially to BIPOC authors, persevere, because your stories matter and your stories deserve to be heard. It’s not an easy industry, but we need these voices. We need new voices, we need writers, we need people who actually love storytelling.

What is your favourite thing about the FairyLoot Exclusive Edition of Deathbringer?

Can I just say everything?! Honestly, I just love this edition so much and could talk about it forever.  But let’s start with the dust jacket. When I saw it, I quite literally had no notes! It was so clever to have a jacket design with a journal, with the font almost looking handwritten and with the clasp. And the details! To the spires, to the snakes, to the raven. Once you’ve read the book, it all makes so much sense. There’s so many little Easter eggs, so I was really happy to see that. And then, I think the hardback is so hauntingly beautiful. The artist is just absolutely brilliant. And that bird… if I wasn’t scared of needles, I’d get that tattooed! And I love, love, love the endpapers, because they’re so simple and yet so evocative of their relationship. The artist just managed to capture all of that in a very simple frame. I’m so lucky and happy to be a FairyLoot author!

Author Recommends

Have you ever wondered which books your favourite author thinks are an absolute must read? Well, wonder no more! Here are four books Sonia Tagliareni thinks everyone needs on their TBR: