Releasing and promoting during the pandemic hasn’t been bad at all, I think because the 2020 debut authors really paved the way for us in 2021. But it’s been so wonderful to experience everything for the first time. I also find that since everything is new, it’s all an exploration, and I’m learning a lot of things as I go.

It’s been such an exciting process because this is truly my childhood dream coming true. Things really began from these simple high concept points that I had thought of and then slowly evolved through multiple drafts.Ĭulturess: Blood Like Magic is your debut novel – how exciting has this process been for you? How has trying to release – and promote – a book during a pandemic been? From there, I started with simple rules for the magic system, and this idea that she had to kill her first love to save her family’s magic. When I began the story, I had an image of a girl lying in a bath of blood, and a desire to write about a family of Black witches in a future Toronto. With each revision, I added on more and more depth, which is how it came to where it is today. Liselle Sambury: Thank you so much! It’s funny that you mention layers because that’s truly how the components of this book came together. We got the chance to chat with Sambury about everything that went into crafting Blood Like Magic, how she came up with the story’s complex world, publishing during a pandemic, and lots more.Ĭulturess: First, I love this book! It’s so layered and rich – in terms of world-building, relationships, and characters. The novel feels like one fantasy fans will be buzzing about all summer, and rightly so.

What follows isn’t just a story about magic, but a complicated and compelling look at identity, family, self-determination, and the ways we allow others’ expectations to define who we are (or aren’t). But since she’s never been in love before, Voya’s going to have to find a boy, fall in love with him, and kill him, all in a month’s time. To pass her Calling, Voya must destroy her first love.

But when she’s Called, she learns things are even worse than she could have imagined. and that’s basically what this entire event is about. If she accepts her tasks and fails, every witch in her family will lose the magic that helps provide their livelihood.Ī Thomas hasn’t failed a Calling in a century, but Voya’s always struggled with making choices. If she refuses to participate, no future members of her family will become witches. The story follows Voya Thomas, a 16-year-old Black witch preparing for her Calling – an ancestor-given trial that she must pass in order to inherit her magic. Liselle Sambury’s Blood Like Magic is one of the most exciting contemporary fantasy releases hitting shelves this month, a story of literal Black Girl Magic set in a complex future where magic and technology exist side by side.

Liselle sambury