Samantha Shannon
Samantha Shannon
Samantha Shannonis a British writer of dystopian and paranormal fiction...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth8 November 1991
oxford small town
What I like about Oxford is how small it is; it's really more of a big town than a city.
allowed cord extremely link silver snap spirit
My silver cord - the link between my body and my spirit - was extremely sensitive. It was what allowed me to sense dreamscapes at a distance. It could also snap me back into my skin.
describe worked
I have always been driven; I've always wanted to be published, and I wanted to make that happen, so I worked very hard. 'Perfectionist' would be a word to describe me.
create cultures deeply english events favourite fell historical imaginary literature locations love studying tolkien
I fell even more deeply in love with Tolkien's legendarium after studying Old English literature at uni, as I got a sense of the historical events and cultures that Tolkien used to create his world. My favourite of his imaginary locations is Lothlorien.
belonged bit fantasy felt freedom gave genre seemed
I always felt that sci-fi and fantasy were my thing. Bit of a geek, I'm afraid. But I like creating worlds, and I felt it was a genre that gave me more freedom. It just seemed like I belonged there.
whenever
Whenever anyone calls me 'The new J..K. Rowling,' I think, 'What's wrong with the old one?'
appeal associated girls loads women
I wanted to write a sci-fi story that would appeal to young women. Loads of girls like sci-fi, but it's more culturally associated with guys.
convert mentally versions
I often look at places and kind of mentally convert them to fantasy versions of themselves.
I'm not going to give it the big 'I am' now that I'm a New York Times bestseller.
I was born in 1991, and 'Harry Potter' came out in '97, so, you know, I was really obsessed. I used to read them in one night.
I was always more interested in my books and my writing than going out. It's OK to say I'm a nerd. That's me.
bone
I am never not thinking about stories. 'The Bone Season' is 90% of my brain - 10% is interacting with the rest of the world.
success
For me, just being published feels like success.
aspire bone built humor intricate love luminous readers writers wrote
Rowling is a luminous storyteller. I love her sense of humor and the intricate wizarding world she built around Hogwarts. I think all writers aspire to be like her, to capture readers like she does. But I didn't think about 'Harry Potter' when I wrote 'The Bone Season.'