Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (z-lib.org).mobi

WHAT SPARKED YOUR IMAGINATION FOR SHADOW AND BONE ?
The idea for the Small Science came to me years ago, after a heated debate over
the movie Minority Report. But the story of Shadow and Bone really began one
night at a friend’s house, when I stood at the end of a darkened hallway, sure that
something with too many teeth was waiting for me in the dark. When I got back
to bed, I lay awake wondering, what if darkness was a place? What if the
monsters we imagined there were real, and we had to fight them on their own
territory? In fantasy, darkness usually operates as a metaphor. I wanted to make
it a literal, physical thing. That idea became the Shadow Fold.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF RESEARCH FOR THE NOVEL? DID YOU FIND ANYTHING FASCINATING THAT YOU DIDN’T END UP
USING?
I think the nature of research is that a lot of things don’t make it into the book. I
enjoy anything that takes me into daily life—the foods served at a particular
party, games children played, small superstitions like the gesture of leaving
vodka behind the stove for ghosts.
WHAT WAS THE WORLD-BUILDING PROCESS LIKE FOR YOU?
When I wrote the first draft, I had the magical system in place and understood
the basic way that power—political and magical—operated in the world. When
it came to creating a sense of place, I knew I wanted to step away from the
classic medieval European fantasy setting, but I still wanted a cultural
touchstone to keep the world consistent and tangible. I also knew that I wanted
the advent of modern warfare to play a role in the book. I was browsing through
the travel section of a used bookstore when I came across an Imperial Russian
atlas, and I just thought, “Of course.” It was a natural fit for the world I was
creating—the vast discrepancy in wealth between the classes, the failure to
industrialize, the largely conscripted army. But for me, Russia was always a
point of departure rather than a final destination. I think that difference can be
felt in big choices like the geography and history of the world, and smaller
choices like not strictly gendering surnames, the construction of plurals, or using
kvas as a stand-in for strong spirits.
WHICH OF YOUR CHARACTERS IS MOST LIKE YOU?
I have something in common with all of my characters. But if any of them were
too much like me, I’d probably just end up sending them on vacation and giving
them ponies.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SCENE IN SHADOW AND BONE ?
The moment in the snowy glade, right before Mal and Alina find the stag.