The Bone Witch (#1) by Rin Chupeco
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: March 7, 2017
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Synopsis:
The beast raged; it punctured the air with its spite. But the girl was fiercer.
Tea is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy makes her a bone witch, who are feared and ostracized in the kingdom. For theirs is a powerful, elemental magic that can reach beyond the boundaries of the living—and of the human.
Great power comes at a price, forcing Tea to leave her homeland to train under the guidance of an older, wiser bone witch. There, Tea puts all of her energy into becoming an asha, learning to control her elemental magic and those beasts who will submit by no other force. And Tea must be strong—stronger than she even believes possible. Because war is brewing in the eight king-doms, war that will threaten the sovereignty of her homeland…and threaten the very survival of those she loves.
The Bone Witch had one main inspiration: my brother.
This comes as a surprise to many who know me, because I never had a brother.
I wasn’t supposed to be the family firstborn; my mother was initially pregnant with a son. Much to my parents’ grief, she miscarried. A year later, they had me and then, a couple of years later, my sister.
They don’t talk a lot about it, understandably. My dad had always wanted a son. According to conservative Chinese traditions, it was the son who carried the family name and therefore many of the family privileges. Fortunately, my family wasn’t like that, nor was my father hostile or resentful for my sister and I being female.
But I was a tomboy growing up. I love my sister, but she was (and still is) pretty enough to be an actress, is quite girly, and therefore my complete opposite – she liked dolls and dresses back when I considered my Ninja Turtles sweater a fashion statement. All the things my dad was hoping to do with a son – sports (basketball, mostly – he coached both adults and students, and won them championships.), playing games, tinkering with gadgets, pop culture (he taught me Klingon), etc. – he did with me. It was in his library, with his collection of books, where I first started reading. He was a frustrated writer himself, and was the first to ever encourage me to write.
As I grew older, I started thinking more and more about the brother that I never had. I still pick up on my folks’ unspoken longing. Sometimes it’s a conversation threaded with quiet what-ifs; sometimes it’s the way my dad would mercilessly tease one of my male cousins, proof of his favoritism. It’s become a bit more obvious nowadays, considering his delight and excitement when my son, and then my sister’s son, were born. He’s already planned his schedule around eventually teaching them basketball, and wants to negotiate how many weekends they’ll be spending at his and my mom’s place (he wants all their weekends till they turn twenty-one).
The Bone Witch came about after wondering what it would be like to have the ability to raise a brother from the dead. There’s a lot of elements of me in Tea – her personality was partly based on teenage me. Like Tea, I had a lot of bitterness and anger. But unlike her, I felt powerless at that time to affect any change. I’ve always wondered about the kind of brother I might have had then, and Fox was a product of that curiosity. Fox was based on the kind of brother I’d hoped I had – protective, quick to tease but also quick to tell me when I’m being an idiot. The very act of choosing to have her brother back changed Tea’s whole life and is the very reason this book exists. Sometimes people forget the importance of having siblings, I think.
It’s not all just about my brother, of course. Sisterhood is just as important in the books, and Tea’s connections with her fellow asha is just as much about my sister through all our highs and lows. But while The Bone Witch’s magical setting and plot was my ode to the slow-burn, panoramic Asian fantasies I read growing up, the relationship between Tea and Fox remains the heart of the story. And I hope that’s what other people come to realize when they read it, too.
- Open Internationally
- Please read our Rules and Guidelines in the Rafflecop-ter
- (1) winner will win a crochet Tea doll and Signed Hard-back copy of The Bone Witch
- (2) winners will win a Bottlecap Necklace and a crochet Tea doll each
I keep seeing this book everywhere lately! I think that the author’s inspiration to write this book based on her own family history is so interesting. The whole concept of this one is really different and I am looking forward to reading it. Thanks for sharing this. 🙂
Olivia @ The Candid Cover recently posted…Friday Reads #1: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
I agree! I honestly didn’t realize that the author wrote this book because of her family history, and I found it fascinating, to be honest. It’s definitely one of those books that have an interesting background and premise!
I really enjoyed this book and all the little details the author included in it. Really interesting insights into how the author came up with this story.
It definitely was interesting to see how the story was put together – thanks for stopping by!
I love reading inspiration stories! (Mostly because I lack so much inspiration myself when it comes to writing LOL) Pretty interesting story as well; I’m excited to read this book!
Coming up with ideas when writing can be a really trying thing sometimes, so I have to agree with you that it is incredibly interesting to read about the inspiration that authors get for their stories! I hope you enjoy the book if you read it!
I loved reading the inspiration for this story! So interesting!
Deanna @ A Novel Glimpse recently posted…Review: Holding by Mignon Mykel
I love reading stories about how authors come up with the ideas for their novels, and I think this was a really interesting one. Glad you enjoyed it!
This is such a lovely, personal guest post that I really appreciated, particularly about the different personalities and upbringings of the author. I loved the post, thanks for featuring Kelly!
Jeann @ Happy Indulgence recently posted…The Hate U Give Review: Fighting Against Black Oppression
The personal touch from both the guest post and the actual book make it sound like a much more exciting read than before reading the post on the author’s inspiration! It’s interesting to see how she drew personal elements and wove them together to create such an amazing sounding novel.
My reaction to the book itself when I read it was a bit mixed, but I do love what the author has said here about what inspired her to write it. Great post!
Suzanne @ The Bookish Libra recently posted…#BeatTheBacklist Book Review: A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
Although I’ve seen a lot of mixed reviews for this one, now that I’ve seen the inspiration behind the author’s writing, I have to say I’m really intrigued! Thanks for stopping by!
I love Rin’s inspiration. As an only child (from a family of only child), I always wonder what it would be like if my parents would have gave me a brother or sister. I think a book based on something like what her family has gone through is super inspiring. Thanks for participating in the tour!!
Michelle @ Pink Polka Dot Books recently posted…YA Dystopian Books– Where Are They?
Thanks for having me on the tour! I loved having the chance to read the guest post about the author’s inspiration for the book – it was definitely interesting!
Such a thought-provoking guest post! Thank you so much for sharing 😀 I really liked this book 🙂
Brittany @ Brittany’s Book Rambles
Brittany recently posted…First We Were IV Blog Tour: Excerpt + Giveaway!
I’m so glad to hear that you really liked the book! It has such a gorgeous cover and an interesting premise, and it sounds even more amazing now that we know the idea behind the book!
I am SO excited about this book! I have heard that it’s super diverse, which always makes me keen in general, but the fact that this is a diverse fantasy book makes me double keen.
The guest post from the author was really lovely and sad. I think going into The Bone Witch knowing the background inspiration will make the reading experience all the more emotional.
I really love books with strong familial relationships so this book is looking more and more to my taste. 🙂
Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity recently posted…Radio Silence by Alice Oseman: Seeing Yourself in Fiction