I stumbled upon And I Darken by accident. I was very sick, and my mom and me decided to go to a pharmacy and pick up some medicine. While my mom waited in line, I wandered by the book section. My phone battery had run out; I wanted something to go. It was sheer luck that I saw the purple and black book tucked between some magazines. As they say, the rest is history.
Luna: Hi! It’s a pleasure to be interviewing you today. I am an avid fan of your book series, The Conqueror’s Saga. I have read the first two novels and am progressing with the third. With all the sincerity in the world, I can attest that these books easily make their way into my list of all time favorite novels. I love Lada and her remorseless attitude. I love Radu and his kindness, and I love Mehmed and his thirst for Constantinople.
It is beyond me how you managed to make the first book so wondrous while it sets up the entire plot. I thank you for having written such beautifully devastating books.
L: First of all, when did you know you want to be a writer?
Kiersten White: I always wanted to be a writer. I was fortunate to have very encouraging parents and teachers from a young age. I remember in second grade career day, every boy was putting together a fireman and every girl was putting together a nurse (which, wow, we’ll unpack that another time). I asked if I could leave the nurse hat off, because my career woman was a writer. It took me quite a bit longer to find my way to writing my first novel, but, there was never any other career for me.
L: What inspired you to write the story of Lada? Did you have a sudden moment where she came to you?
KW: It was a weird combination of years of thinking and stewing about things, and then a single moment where the spark lit it all on fire. In 2010, my husband and I were able to travel around Romania. We ended up visiting almost all of Vlad the Impaler’s major historical sites. It was incredible walking through history like that. I came home inspired to write…a high fantasy series. I never could get it off the ground, though. In the meantime, I kept learning more about Romanian history, the Ottoman Empire, and specifically Vlad the Impaler. One day, as I listened to my husband telling my mom about how Vlad never backed down, even when it made sense to, I had the thought: Wouldn’t Vlad’s ruthless brutality have made so much more sense if he had been a girl? And just like that, six years of thought turned into a story.
L: What was the writing process for And I Darken this book like?
KW: It was definitely the most challenging project I’ve ever set myself to. I did thousands of pages of research. Even though I was changing history, I wanted to be as faithful as I could and also really deliberate in my choices about what to change and what to keep. So before the first book (and the subsequent sequels), I’d spend several months just researching, outlining, and taking notes. But I’d always hit a point where I’d realize I was using research as a procrastination tool. Then I’d make myself start writing and not let myself do any more research until I had a full draft and knew where my research gaps were. Then of course the editorial stage was pretty intense. Typically I had to flesh out motivations and characterizations, as my first drafts tended to be more about setting all the plot pieces in action.
I’ll be honest: I don’t think I’ll write historical fiction again any time soon. But I’m also prouder of these books than any others I’ve ever written.
L: What motivated you to make the center environment of your novel the struggles of northeastern Europe and the Ottoman Empire?
KW: I found it so fascinating how connected Vlad was to Mehmed the Conqueror, the Ottoman sultan who overthrew Constantinople at just twenty-one years old. And I also couldn’t stop thinking about how Vlad and his brother, Radu the Handsome, were raised in exactly the same circumstances but had polar opposite reactions to it. One fought the Ottomans for the rest of his life, and the other converted to Islam and stayed loyal to them for the rest of his. Everything about it fascinated me, and I loved the chance to bring Ottoman history to the forefront. They changed the shape of Europe in so many ways, but Western education largely glosses over them.
L: I would describe this as a very feminist book. Without sacrificing the narrative style, you manage to make points about femininity, life in those times, LGTBQ+ representation, women in power, fair and just government. You manage to deliver a story that still transports one to the struggles of power in the region. Did this come naturally or did you actively work on your language sounding like english of old? What would you say to writers who want to talk representation but are afraid of backlash?
KW: I did actively try to make my language feel less modern in order to capture the era. One very easy tool I used was taking out contractions. It’s a small thing, but it makes a big difference.
As far as representation, there’s no easy answer. First and foremost, it has to be done with integrity. One of the main characters converts to Islam. It’s a hopeful, healing thing in his life, just as it is and has been for countless people across the centuries. While I wanted to portray the power and importance of his faith, I was also very aware of what is sacred. So, for example, I never quoted scripture or prayer. I didn’t want to take what is rightfully sacred to so many and use it in a fictional account.
As far as LGBTQ+ representation, it would be dishonest to pretend those people didn’t live and love in every era, in every part of the world. Writing a queer person of faith was important to me, personally, and I worked very hard to make certain that journey was thoughtfully constructed.
In the end, you have to ask yourself very bluntly if you are the right person to tell that particular story, and then do the absolute best you can, writing with respect and care.
L: Consequently, many writers, filmmakers, screenplay writers, directors oftentimes use the excuse that some things aren’t talked about in those times, so, it is not necessary to add them into their stories. What is your outlook on that?
KW: That’s a lazy, garbage take, ha! Any amount of historical research will reveal that LGBTQ+ people have always been there. My favorite (oddly sweet) account I found was a medieval Muslim physician who wrote a very academic article about why his daughter needed to have relations with other women instead of men—something about having hot humors where she was supposed to have cold humors, or vice versa. Yes, prejudice has always been around, but so has hope and love.
L: I have read hundreds of books, and I would say that I have never experienced such a simple, obvious, and normal representation of menstruation. Once more, was Lada’s behavior to her period a decision that you made consciously?
KW: It was. Periods are a part of half the world’s daily life. They are both very important and utterly mundane. It feels silly to leave them out of fiction.
L: One thing I particularly like about the books is how you present Christianity and Islam. You pose both from a very neutral perspective, never establishing one as the true One. Was that difficult to write? I genuinely think there is no bias at all when you present Radu and his Iislam, for example, versus Lada and her Christianitychirstianity. Was it a conscious effort to try and be as objective as possible? How does the way religion come into the story help develop the characters?
It was not difficult to write, no. I have wanted for a long time to portray a conversion to faith story, and it felt very natural that the conversion be to Islam. You can’t tell stories in this time period and region without addressing religion. It was an every-day, all-encompassing aspect of their lives. Religion was politics, as well. And since I was writing dual POV, and everyone thinks their opinion is the right one, that made balancing the two easier.
Was the dynamic between Lada and Radu something that evolved on its own or did you have it outlined from the very start? Do you think the sibling dynamic would have played out in a much different way if you had made Radu a girl as well?
Definitely making Radu a girl would have changed it. Radu was much happier to work within society’s boundaries, but since he was a man, that wasn’t difficult for him. His would have been a much quieter story had he been a girl. As far as their dynamic, I always wanted the story to revolve around the push and pull between them, even when they spend an entire book apart. I have four siblings myself, and sibling dynamics are endlessly fascinating to me.
Why is being empress not enough for Lada? Is it because it implies that she is a complementary role to someone else?
Yes. She would owe that role and power to Mehmed. And she would lose it if he died. Lada wants power on her own terms, and thinks she deserves it, as well. And her desire for power is intimately tied to her love of her homeland. She would take Prince of Wallachia any day over Empress of far greater lands.
What symbolism or imagery are you trying to convey when you wrote Lada and Mehmed as two people who are extraordinarily determined to gain what they believe are their rightful thrones, and then throw Radu into the mix as a bond between them or as a counterweight?
Often in history you have very big, ambitious, brilliant personalities that clash and push each other to do greater (and more terrible) things. Those people are incredibly interesting. But I also wonder about the people around them. Who supported them? Who pulled them back from the brink? Who was left behind in their ruthless pursuits? Radu was the perfect counterbalance. Though in many ways, he is just as ruthless as Lada. He just has different goals.
Is Mehmed bisexual? Some of his behavior towards Radu seems to suggest something. Would the character have explored that side of sSexuality? Would it have been from plain sexual curiosity, or to satisfy Radu, or from genuine feelings, or a mix of all three?
Mehmed’s sexuality is something I deliberately left open. A lot of historical accounts claim he was bisexual. But when researching you always have to read for bias, and all the accounts that claimed this were written by his enemies—people who hated and wanted to discredit him. Claiming he had a male harem was a way of slandering him. And, frankly, that pisses me off. If he was bisexual, great! But I hate that bisexuality historically and even today is used against people. Does he have an intense relationship with Radu? Absolutely. Without any spoilers, I can say that it would never have been what Radu needed.
Thank you for your time! I really appreciate it, and I hope you enjoyed these questions. ❤️
Readers, Rambles & Reviews 