Mundie Moms

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Interview with VESSEL author Sarah Beth Durst

I'm thrilled to have author Sarah Beth Durst on the blog today! She graciously took the time to answer a few of my questions I had for her about her upcoming release, VESSEL. Check out that cover! It's stunning. I'm a huge fan of Sarah's writing and the world's she creates, and I can not wait to read this book. I have a feeling you'll be adding this to your TBR lists after you the book blub, and my interview with Sarah. Here's a little bit about the book:


Published by: Simon & Schuster
To Be Released on: September 11th, 2012
Pre-Order from: Simon & Schuster | Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble 

In a desert world of sandstorms and sand-wolves, a teen girl must defy the gods to save her tribe in this mystical, atmospheric tale from the author of Drink, Slay, Love.Liyana has trained her entire life to be the vessel of a goddess. The goddess will inhabit Liyana’s body and use magic to bring rain to the desert. But Liyana’s goddess never comes. Abandoned by her angry tribe, Liyana expects to die in the desert. Until a boy walks out of the dust in search of her.

     Korbyn is a god inside his vessel, and a trickster god at that. He tells Liyana that five other gods are missing, and they set off across the desert in search of the other vessels. For the desert tribes cannot survive without the magic of their gods. But the journey is dangerous, even with a god’s help. And not everyone is willing to believe the trickster god’s tale.

     The closer she grows to Korbyn, the less Liyana wants to disappear to make way for her goddess. But she has no choice: She must die for her tribe to live. Unless a trickster god can help her to trick fate—or a human girl can muster some magic of her own.


Hi Sarah! Congratulations on your upcoming release. How would you describe VESSEL in 5 words or less?

Epic desert fantasy.

What inspired your desert setting?

In my novel ICE, I wrote about the Arctic, and I immersed myself in a frozen world.  For VESSEL, I wanted to write about a desert and live in a land of sun and sand.  But I didn't want it to be an ordinary desert; I wanted it to be the most fantastical desert that I could imagine with wolves made of sand and serpents of unbreakable glass and monstrous worms and gods and goddesses... I see writing as the ultimate armchair traveler's experience.  You get to live inside a place that you'll never see (because it's too far or simply doesn't exist), and you can take yourself on adventures that you'd never otherwise experience.  And if you do it right... you take readers with you!

I'm really intrigued with your story's synopsis. Is your story inspired by or based on a particular lore or mythology?

Yes and no.

It is inspired by various mythologies.  (For example, my hero is a trickster god.)  I wanted my desert land to feel steeped in a rich oral storytelling tradition, so I worked hard to create a mythology that feels real.

I'm looking forward to reading Liyana's story. What is one thing you admire about your main character?

Liyana is destined to sacrifice herself so that her goddess can inhabit her body and use it to summon the magic that will keep her clan alive.  And Liyana is willing to do it.  She doesn't want to die, but she's practical and fearless and willing to sacrifice herself to keep her family -- especially her four-year-old brother -- alive.

What did you have the most fun creating, the setting, the elements or your characters?

I loved creating the desert in VESSEL.  As a kid, I used to spend hours drawing imaginary maps, filling them with impossible animals and plants, inventing people to live there...  So writing this novel was, in many ways, fulfilling a childhood dream.

Thank you to Sarah for stopping by Mundie Moms today!
Thanks so much for interviewing me!

Please be sure to visit Sarah via her: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook
Don't miss your chance to meet Sarah in person. Find out where she's going to be traveling to here

1 comment:

  1. Ahh thanks for posting this interview! I have yet to read anything by Sarah Beth Durst, but after seeing this cover and reading that description, I knew that I had to read Vessel! It's nice to know a little bit of the author's thoughts behind the book and I can't wait for it to get released!

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