Bex Hogan is the author of the rip-roaring, heart-pounding The Isles of Storm and Sorrow trilogy. My sole pitch when telling friends to read it is 'lady pirates!' which usually sees them scampering straightaway to the (online) bookshops. In reality, this trilogy is far more than that - it hooks you with a brilliant, bad-ass female pirate heroine, and keeps you with politics, magic, and a world to you'd give your writing arm to swim in (have I made enough sea-based puns yet?)
Bex kindly answered questions about her world-building, her fantasy casting, and what's in store for her and her heroine Marianne. Be warned that there are a few spoilers for Venom and (very lightly) for Vulture.
- Hi Bex! Can you start us off by introducing the world of Viper?
I would love to! The Isles of Storm and Sorrow series is set on the Twelve Isles – six eastern and six western. The two used to be allied, but have long been divided by war. Viper is set primarily in the Eastern Isles, the six without magic, and the six which the Viper ‘defends’. The Viper is the most feared man in all the Isles, supposedly working for the King to protect the people, but in actuality is terrorising the lands, stealing and murdering as he wishes. Marianne is his daughter and his heir, but despite being raised on a ship of assassins, she’s not so keen on killing. She’d rather be a healer, but that would mean standing up to her father, something no one’s done and lived to tell the tale.
- Marianne goes on some incredible journeys - both physical and emotional - during the course of the first two books. Can you give us some idea of where she ends up at the end of book two, Venom?
Oh poor Marianne! By the end of Venom she is in a bad, bad place. It’s fair to say she’s made some mistakes – because who doesn’t? – and she’s put her trust in the wrong people. One of the things I like about Marianne is that she really is torn between wanting to do the best for others and putting her own desires first and she doesn’t always get the balance right. During Venom it’s the first time we see her living outside of the very large, oppressive shadow of Captain Adler, and she’s still very much figuring out the kind of woman she wants to be, while having a lot to prove. She’s young and impulsive, often a bit reckless, though her heart is always in the right place. But the events of Venom leave her utterly betrayed and that’s going to have an impact on her.
- Can you give us any hints as to what we can expect from Vulture?
Vulture picks up directly where we left off in Venom, and we’re straight back into the action. I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to say Marianne is alive (it says so in the blurb!) but she’s not doing so well after the events of Venom. And things only go from bad to worse! I describe Viper as quite a piratey book, lots of action on the water, whereas Venom is more land-based, and maybe more political. Vulture is a combination of the two – there are sea battles and land battles, so it’s a good balance to conclude the series.
- You've created a vast world with the Twelve Isles. Did you have any inspiration for the islands, and (this feels like a bit of a silly question, because why wouldn't you want to write about pirates, but...) what made you want to write about pirates?
The whole idea for the series stemmed from a dream I had, a very vivid scene from Viper. So I knew from the beginning that it was set on at least one island. When I started envisaging the world, it made sense for me to draw a huge amount of inspiration both from the Cornish coastlines where I’m from, and the Isles of Scilly which I visited a lot growing up. And if you’re going to have a world with ships and islands, why wouldn’t you make your sailors pirates?! Especially when they’re a particularly cruel lot!
- Well quite, why wouldn't you?! I love that the story came to you in a dream! The magic system that Marianne learns in Venom is beautifully drawn and so grounded in the geography of the Isles - can you talk a bit about how you came up with it?
Ooh, I love this question! So, about seven years ago, we bought our first house and with it, our first garden. I had never been particularly interested in gardening before that, and although I’d always been a lover of nature, it was only when I started getting my hands in the earth that I realised quite how magical it was. How grounding. I take an enormous amount of comfort from the natural world, whether it’s the resilience of plants, the warmth of the soil, or the beam of the moon, and knew that the magic in the Twelve Isles would be entirely based around its own natural world.
- That love of the natural world is so evident in Marianne's story. Each book - and the trilogy as a whole - are so intricately planned. Do you have any plotting tips for writers who are currently struggling to map multi-book, epic fantasies?
Firstly, be kind to yourself! These things take time and so be prepared for lots of brainstorming hours, some of which will be productive, others not so much! But no time is ever wasted. Find a way that works for you – for me, I like to make chaotic notes in my trusty notebook, but I know some people prefer a more orderly approach! There really is no right way. And don’t expect it to all happen at once. It’s very much a layering process, I think. Start with the big, essential basic – so for me that was Marianne’s arc. I knew very early on the main beats of all three books, and then built around them, finding the right path to connect them.
- This is your first series - how are you feeling about coming to the end of the trilogy, and what are you doing to distract yourself?!
Honestly, I’m trying not to think about it too much! Having two-thirds of your trilogy come out during lockdown is far from ideal, and I haven’t been able to celebrate either Venom or Vulture the way I would have liked. I’ve distracted myself by working on other projects, investing in new characters and their journeys, but honestly, it’s going to be very hard saying goodbye to Marianne and her crew. They’ll always hold a special place in my heart.
- Are you able to tell us a little about what you're working on next?
I’ve been working on a couple of adult projects, one epic fantasy which is going to take me some time to complete, and another one that’s quite a different beast. But there’s a couple of YA fantasies I’m busy with too. Plus something else that’s neither adult or YA! I like to keep myself busy to breaking point!
- There's busy and then there's... that. How are you finding the time?! Which may make my next question a bit redundant but... what are you reading at the moment? Any recent recommendations?
I wasn’t going to answer this question at first, because I’ve honestly barely managed to read anything this year. But actually, I think it’s important to admit stuff like this. With everything going on in the world, and finding myself homeschooling along with trying to do my own writing, something had to give. I really struggle with this, because I truly believe reading is essential for writing, but there are only so many hours in the day! So instead of focusing on what I haven’t done, I’m going to look forward and share the things in my TBR pile I’m most excited to get to – The City of Tears by Kate Mosse, The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna, Death and the Maiden by Ariana Franklin and Samantha Norman – and later in the year I’m looking forward to The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani, Monstrous Designs by Kat Dunn, and A Gathering Midnight by you! (Holly Race, be professional, Bex!)
- You are too kind, thank you! That's a fantastic list of books to have on one's TBR, no matter when you get around to reading them. Finally, which actors would you want to play Marianne, Bronn and Torin in a screen adaptation of the books?
Two of these are so easy, I don’t even have to think! Zendaya is my dream Marianne, and Colin Morgan my perfect Torin. But when it comes to Bronn? I honestly have spent years trying to head-cast him, and still can’t think of the right person. He’ll have to be a newcomer who can capture that mysterious, tortured soul!
And we'll be swooning over him when he does appear, I'm sure! Thank you so much, Bex, I can't wait for everyone to lose their minds over Vulture, which is published on 8th April 2021. You can find out more about Bex at her website, here.
You can buy Viper here, Venom here and pre-order Vulture here - I'd urge you to get all three because I made the mistake of only getting one and then had to wait a full TWO DAYS for Venom to arrive, which was unacceptable.
Her debut novel, Midnight's Twins, is published by Hot Key Books. Its sequel, A Gathering Midnight, will be released in June 2021. She also selectively undertakes freelance script editing and story consultant work.
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