Happy Tuesday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for SOUL OF THE DEEP! I’m so excited because today I have an interview with Natasha Bowen to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I’m so excited to for you to find out more about it!
Soul of the Deep by Natasha Bowen Series: Of Mermaids and Orisa #2
Published on September 27, 2022 by Random House Books for Young Readers
Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Retellings, YA
Pages: 304
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram
The highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestseller Skin of the Sea, in which the world must pay the price for one mermaid's choice, and a dark force reverberates across realms.
One life. One choice. One sacrifice.
To save those closest to her, Simi traded away everything: her freedom, her family, and the boy she loves. Now she is sworn to serve a new god, watching over the Land of the Dead at the bottom of the ocean.
But when signs of demons begin to appear, it's clear there are deeper consequences of Simi's trade. These demons spell the world's ruin... and because of Simi, they now have a way into the human realm.
With the fate of the world at stake, Simi must break her promise and team up with a scheming trickster of a god. And if they succeed, perhaps Simi can also unbreak her heart along the way, and find herself again.
What would you do if you spent the day with Simi? Where would you go to eat, hang out, relax, etc.?
We’d swim for sure! I’d quite like to go back to Oyo-Ile with her, visit the market and buy some fresh mango and papaya. Then in the evening we’d have a game of ayoayo before listening to one of her mother’s stories.
If Simi were to hang out with other fictional characters, who would they be and why?
I think she’d definitely be friends with Deka [from] The Gilded Ones. Their tenacity and drive to do the right thing would be something they’d bond over.
If there was one fictional place you could travel to for a day, where would it be and why?
I’d love to visit Atlantis… but I don’t like to think of it as being fictional! It would be perfect to explore a magical city under the ocean and discover all it holds.
If you buried a time capsule with three items inside, what three items would you choose and why?
This is a hard question! I’d bury one of my favourite notebooks as writing is so important to me, my afro comb because I can’t live without it, and copies of both my books!
What was your favorite bit of research you ended up not using?
I spent a lot of time learning about different Egungun ceremonies (where the ancestors are embodied on earth) and they vary a lot. There are so many costumes and rituals used that I wanted to write about them all.
What is your favorite quote, scene, or moment from Soul of the Deep?
My favorite scene in Soul of the Deep is where Simi and Folasade come across the water drummers. To find out about the Baka women who use water as drums fascinated me. While it’s only a small scene in the book, much like the research on fractals in Skin of the Sea, I was so intrigued and inspired by them that I spent a lot of time finding out what I could. The connection of water and music is very unique.
About Natasha Bowen
Natasha Bowen is a New York Times bestselling author, a teacher, and a mother of three children. She is of Nigerian and Welsh descent and lives in Cambridge, England, where she grew up. Natasha studied English and creative writing at Bath Spa University before moving to East London, where she taught for nearly ten years. She is obsessed with Japanese and German stationery and spends stupid amounts on notebooks, which she then features on her secret Instagram. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, watched over carefully by Milk and Honey, her cat and dog.
What do you think about Soul of the Deep? Have you added it to your tbr yet? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous day!
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