“I’m really honored to be part of this rapidly developing landscape of fantasy written by Black authors,” says Mina Fears while discussing her debut YA novel, The Scorpion Queen (Flatiron, Jan. 28), a fantasy novel based in often unexplored Malian history and mythology. The novel follows 16-year-old Amie who, based on lies told by her own sister, is disgraced by her family, forbidden to marry the man she loves, and forced to work as a handmaid for the princess of the Mali Empire. Princess Mariama is haunted by trials implemented by her father, Emperor Suleyman, where her suitors must face an impossible task to marry her, and be boiled alive when they fail. As Amie plots her escape, she grows closer to the guilt-ridden princess and agrees to help end the trials once and for all. Fears talked with PW about her passion for history, her desire to spotlight Black girls in fantasy settings, and the parts of history her writing will explore in the future.
What drew you to write historical fiction?
I love history. I grew up watching the History Channel with my dad, who’s a big World War II and Civil War buff. And I also always loved Jane Austen, Edith Wharton, all of the romantic 19th-century authors. I knew I wanted to write something grounded in real history. And I wanted to expand on that by writing something that centers Black girls and leans into history that isn’t examined quite so much. So I kind of wanted to be like Philippa Gregory, but for medieval West Africa.
The Scorpion Queen was inspired by a Malian fairy tale. What are your thoughts on Malian representation in books and media?
There’s not a lot. I think that Maryse Conde is somebody who everyone should read. She wrote, I Tituba, Black Witch of Salem. She also wrote a book called Segu about pre-colonial Mali, but yeah, there’s just not a ton of representation. And I myself am not Malian, I’m Black American, like several generations American, but I do have a lot of family friends who are from Francophone West Africa, and that sparked my interest in the region.
Your novel blends dark fantasy with historical elements. How did you approach creating a tone that balanced the fantastical with the historical?
Historical fantasy is a growing genre. I think that a lot of the historical media that I consumed as a kid, and as a young adult, lacked that fantasy element. But we’re starting to see more historical fantasy in the media. Most recently, I really loved Interview with a Vampire because it tells the story of being early 20th-century New Orleans, but also vampires. I’ve always really liked the concept of historical fantasy. The fantasy element I created is very much based on Malian mythology. Specifically, the magic system in The Scorpion Queen is based on the seven major deities of Songhai traditional religion. And the Songhai were one of the major ethnic groups that created the Mali Empire. So I looked at their traditional mythology. They have these seven or more gods; there’s a God of the hunt, there’s a river goddess, there’s a blacksmith God. And I really thought that that was so important, when I leaned into magic for The Scorpion Queen, to really highlight what’s already in the culture.
The setting of Timbuktu during a time of imperial power and political unrest is vivid and intricate. How did you research or conceptualize the courtly life and its customs?
Honestly, I cold-emailed historians. I was shocked by how friendly and how responsive a lot of historians are. I went to Columbia; I had a professor I took a West African history course from. His name is Gregory Mann, and I learned a lot from him. He pointed me toward other historians at other universities. And I would just email these historians and say, “Hey, I have a question about like, “what were toilets like?” or “what was trade like along the river Niger?” They answered my questions pretty quickly, and they were very forthcoming.
I also looked really closely at both primary and secondary sources, such as the Tariikh-al-Sudan, which is a primary source written in the 14th century by Ibn Battuta, an Arabic explorer who went down to Mali. He actually went to the court of Emperor Suleiman in 1355, and hesat down with the emperor, and was entertained by court dancers, and stayed in the court. So it was really important for me to lean both on primary sources and secondary sources, because I really wanted to make sure that the research I did brought to life not only stuff that’s written by current experts of medieval Africa, but also I wanted to incorporate some of these really important primary sources.
Is there a particular aspect of Amie’s journey that you personally relate to or find particularly meaningful?
Yes, I would say that I really, really relate to Amie having a boyfriend who she thinks is a great guy, and he’s just okay. He’s a relatable love interest. He’s not a bad person, but he lets Amie down, and that made him an enjoyable character to write. Because I’ve had my own share of bad boyfriends. Kader and Amie’s relationship was so important to write. And writing a character like Kader was a bit like planting Easter eggs in a video game. Because even though Amie views Kader through these rose-tinted glasses, I tried to include subtle hints that she might not be seeing him very clearly. When he ultimately betrays her and chooses his family’s approval over her, Amie is shocked, but I think readers can pick up on those moments and feel savvier than Amie who maybe doesn’t have the tools to understand him. Because I think a lot of fictional men are either, like, super, super great, like, unrealistically good male love interests. Or they’re, like, cartoonishly bad. And I just want to write a love interest who, he’s just a guy.
You have a background in the tech industry—what was the journey from tech to writing like for you?
I always knew that I wanted to be a writer, and I didn’t start working in tech until after I got my MFA. I was working in tech PR, mostly writing press releases and writing content marketing for tech companies. So I think I still got to use the muscle of writing and editing, but it was on topics that I wasn’t nearly as passionate about. But I still think it was really important for me to be in the editor’s seat as a publicist because now I understand what my editor goes through when she’s reviewing my work.
What surprised you most about the process of writing and publishing your debut book?
Having such a big team that was very much involved in helping me write, and rewrite, and edit. The editing process took longer than I expected, but with every draft, the work got better and better. First, I worked on it with my agent for about a year, and then I worked on it with the team at Macmillan for another two and a half years. And I went through a lot of drafts,. The team I was working with was so expert at creating young adult fantasy books that are both very literary but also commercially viable. They kept the soul of the book, but they really helped me to improve it, and helped me to understand what young readers, especially, are looking for. They would say things like “more magic, more romance.” And I was initially, “no, I just want to focus on history!” They helped me craft something that was better and more exciting and more fun than what I would have written on my own without any input.
Are there any historical periods or legends you’re interested in exploring for future works?
Yes, in fact, my next project is already in the works, and it’s going to be set in Gilded Age New York City and the 1880s. I’ve always really been interested in 19th-century literature. So I think I’m going to continue to do 18th century, 19th century as a time period, because there’s so much rich Black history in that time period.
What excites you most about writing for young readers?
I’m really honored to be part of this rapidly developing landscape of fantasy written by Black authors. When I was a kid in the early 2000s, there were Black books. But I feel like, right now, we’re in a renaissance with young adult literature starring young Black protagonists. Tomi Adeyemi is an amazing trailblazer in the space, and also Nnedi Okorafor. I’m just so excited to be writing what I write at this time, and to hopefully one day be included in the canon of really talented writers who write Black fantasy and Black history for young people, and especially for young girls. Because the fantasy books that I read as a kid, they were really fun, but they were almost always about white girls. So I feel like incredibly lucky and excited to write at this particular time.
The Scorpion Queen by Mina Fears. Flatiron, $19.99 Jan. 28 ISBN 978-1-250-39235-0
