In 2019, we made it our goal is to work with as many debut authors as possible and to spread the word about their debut novels. It was such a success last year that we decided to continue the fun for years to come! Follow us this year as we pick the minds of the 2021 debuts and chat with them about their writing process and what it's like to be a new author. Also stay tuned for news of giveaways, Twitter chats, and more!
At the end of 2020, we Tweeted about wanting to discover more debut authors and their books. Our longtime blogger friends Sarena & Sasha Nanua's debut novel SISTERS OF THE SNAKE comes out this year, and we are so excited to have Sarena & Sasha on the blog today to answer some of our questions!
Sarena Nanua and Sasha Nanua are twin sisters living in Ontario, Canada. Born on Diwali ten minutes apart from each other, they grew up loving stories about twins and magic, and began writing books together when they were nine years old. They are graduates of the English and Professional Writing programs at the University of Toronto and are also the authors of The Pendant Trilogy.
The Book Bratz: First of all, congratulations! How does it feel to be a debut author?
Sarena & Sasha: It feels absolutely amazing! This has been many years in the making, so it feels quite surreal that it’s really happening, even if we are in the middle of a pandemic! Haha.
The Book Bratz: In your opinion, what's the best part of the writing process? What's the hardest?
Sarena & Sasha: I think the best part of the writing process for this book was actually the very beginning. When the seeds of the idea grew into an actual first draft – it was such an incredible feeling. The hardest part was probably all of the edits we had to do afterward . . . though we got a MUCH stronger book out of it in the end!
The Book Bratz: Where did you get the idea for SISTERS OF THE SNAKE?
Sarena & Sasha: Funnily enough, the idea sprouted from a question we’d been asked by an author: what if we wrote a book from our experience as twins? The author who asked us that question was none other than Sabaa Tahir, at a dinner we attended with her and other authors after winning an Indigo Teen giveaway. In other words, take the advice of authors you look up to!
The Book Bratz: Who was your favorite character to write? Who was the most difficult?
Sarena & Sasha: In the beginning, Rani’s voice came to us naturally. Then during edits, writing her perspective felt like pulling teeth. It took a very long time for us to come up with what would happen in her sections, whereas Ria’s palace chapters always felt fun to come back to.
The Book Bratz: You were YA book bloggers/influencers before becoming published authors. Do you think that affected your experience/process in any way?
Sarena & Sasha: It definitely gave us a lot of time and perspective. We were in university when we started blogging, and we were also querying a different book at the same time. In essence, we’ve always been balancing writing with blogging and school. We still love to post about and shout about our favourite books, so it doesn’t feel like a ton has changed, except that we’ve finally got our foot in the door in the trad-pub realm!
The Book Bratz: What do you hope that readers will take away from SISTERS OF THE SNAKE?
Sarena & Sasha: We hope readers find a wholly immersive story that they can plunge into headfirst. We want this book to be a fun experience for readers, and hopefully for our South Asian readers, they can feel seen, too!
The Book Bratz: Do you plan on returning to the world of SISTERS OF THE SNAKE in the future, or do you have any other projects in mind? Can you tell us anything about them?
Sarena & Sasha: We definitely *do* have an idea related to Sisters of the Snake, but we’ll have to keep our lips sealed for now!
Title: Sisters of the Snake
Author: Sarena & Sasha Nanua
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: June 15th, 2021
Summary: A lost princess. A dark puppet master. And a race against time—before all is lost. Princess Rani longs for a chance to escape her gilded cage and prove herself. Ria is a street urchin, stealing just to keep herself alive. When these two lives collide, everything turns on its head: because Ria and Rani, orphan and royal, are unmistakably identical. A deal is struck to switch places—but danger lurks in both worlds, and to save their home, thief and princess must work together. Or watch it all fall into ruin. Deadly magic, hidden temples, and dark prophecies: Sisters of the Snake is an action-packed, immersive fantasy that will thrill fans of The Crown’s Game and The Tiger at Midnight.
Thank you so much to Sarena & Sasha for stopping by and answering our questions! We are super excited about SISTERS OF THE SNAKE and can't wait for it to be out in the world on June 15th!
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