“So Let Them Burn” by Kamilah Cole is a smart and immersive Jamaican-inspired fantasy following a gods-blessed heroine who is forced to choose between saving her sister or protecting her homeland—perfect for fans of “Iron Widow” and “The Priory of the Orange Tree.”
Cole’s heroine, Faron Vincent, can channel the power of the gods. Five years ago, she used her divine magic to liberate her island from its enemies, the dragon-riding Langley Empire. But now, at seventeen, Faron is all powered up with no wars to fight. She’s a legend to her people and a nuisance to her neighbors.
When she’s forced to attend an international peace summit, Faron expects that she will perform tricks like a trained pet and then go home. She doesn’t expect her older sister, Elara, forming an unprecedented bond with an enemy dragon—or the gods claiming the only way to break that bond is to kill her sister.
As Faron’s desperation to find another solution takes her down a dark path, and Elara discovers the shocking secrets at the heart of the Langley Empire, both must make difficult choices that will shape each other’s lives, as well as the fate of their world.
For this Author Spotlight, I interviewed Cole about the historical aspects behind her book along with her journey at NYU and how her book was inspired by her heritage.
Why do you say that “So Let Them Burn” was inspired by Zendaya’s 2018 Met Gala outfit? Can you share this story?
I had a lot of different elements of the story in my head for years before the 2018 Met Gala, such as my love for dragons and the story of Joan of Arc, as well as a world in which giant metal dragons fought real dragons and a small town called “Deadegg,” but I had no plot.
The 2018 Met Gala theme was “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination,” and Zendaya came dressed as Joan of Arc. It was like something clicked in my brain: Joan of Arc could be Black. In fact, her story was a perfect analogy for an anti-colonialist fantasy. A few days later, I saw a fanart by @BossLogic with Zendaya dressed as Joan of Arc with her foot on the head of a dragon, and everything snapped together. A Joan of Arc-esque Chosen One who wielded the power of the gods to fight a dragon-riding empire, to save an island nation inspired by Jamaica. Without Zendaya’s outfit—and the outpouring of fanart it inspired—I don’t know if I ever would have had the idea.
For Elara and Faron, what parts of yourself do you see in them?
I gave Elara all of my eldest daughter trauma. There’s a line in the second chapter that goes “[She was] the experimental first child whose personality was a diamond formed under the extreme pressure of her parents’ expectations,” and I hurt myself writing that because it’s so true to how I feel.
I gave Faron all my social anxiety and reckless impulsiveness, especially the kind I had when I was around her age. The thing about being a former gifted child is that you start to dread when eyes are on you and dread when they aren’t, and Faron struggles with that throughout the book.
Oh, but I gave them good things too: Elara has my love for books and knowledge, and Faron has my sarcasm and loyalty.
What inspired you to turn to Jamaican mythology? Was there a certain myth that you had never heard of or any that you altered for this book? What about Jamaican mythology do you hope readers will enjoy?
“So Let Them Burn” is the first time I wrote Black leads into my books; before that, I really did believe that a story needed to have white leads in order to be marketable. When I first tried to write the book, it wasn’t explicitly Jamaican; the characters were just Black. But then I had a conversation with a friend who made me realize that this story was a perfect way to connect with my own heritage as a Jamaican. Joan of Arc wanted to free France from the English. The English were the last nation to colonize Jamaica. It just worked. My story weaves more cornerstones from Jamaican history into its framework than from Jamaican mythology, but it’s my hope that you can feel my love for my culture in every line, every food description, every mention of patois.
As an NYU alumni, did anything during your college years contribute to who you are today? Is there anything you want to tell NYU students?
At NYU, I met one of my best friends, Zach, who has been an enthusiastic supporter of mine from day one. He’s preordered so many copies of my book! That kind of loyalty doesn’t come around every day, and I try to return that to him and to all of my close friends. I think NYU is a place that’s easy to get lost in, since it has no campus and is in the middle of one of the biggest and busiest cities in the world, so I would tell NYU students present and future to find your people—your real people, the one who are kind to you, who love you, who show up for you as much as you show up for them—and hold onto them. They’ll help you grow into the best version of yourself.
What is something you looked forward to when drafting “So Let Them Burn?” Was there something you look forward to with your debut publication?
I loved coming up with the different dragon breeds and the different kinds of drakes. Worldbuilding has always been my favorite thing about writing any story, and I have a ton of little details saved up that didn’t make it into the book. As for what I look forward to about publication, I’m just excited for this story to be out in the world. It’s been just mine for so long, and it’s been such an honor to see how many people are excited for it and how many people have loved it so far. Sharing a book I wrote with the world has been my dream since I was a kid, and I’m so, so excited to do it.
How do you think your career in publishing affects or helps your role as an author? What about your career do you think gives you an advantage compared to other writers?
I try to keep my day job and my author career as separate as possible—to the point that none of my co-workers knew I was a writer let alone that I was about to be published until they saw the deal announcement in Publishers Weekly! But one thing I always say is that publishing is a very, very opaque industry with no real “standard process” that authors can rely on. Working in publishing has given me a wealth of knowledge about things like marketing timelines and ARC printings and such that many authors just don’t know or don’t feel comfortable asking about. Whenever possible, I try to answer the questions my fellow authors might have about that kind of stuff, because it’s absolutely not intuitive and we all have so much anxiety. I know I do!
Thanks so much, Kamilah for answering my questions! I had such a fun time reading “So Let Them Burn” and learning a bit more about your writing process for the book. Jamaican mythology is still unfamiliar to me so it was entertaining to learn more about it in your magical world. Thank you Cassie Malmo from the Hachette Book Group who forwarded me this chance to interview Kamilah. Without either of them, this interview wouldn’t have been possible.
Finally, I want to thank my amazing editor, Ellie, who is so quick to respond to my endless Author Spotlights that need editing. It is so great to have you on the team and even better to call you my friend.