Five With Fisher - Tanvi Berwah
Tanvi Berwah is a South Asian writer who grew up wanting to touch the stars and reach back in time. Her debut YA novel MONSTERS BORN AND MADE, and its followup SOMEWHERE IN THE DEEP, are both available now!
Tell me about a book you read that evoked strong emotion.
I mean, a lot. I'll pick a recent read--the final book in the Book of the Ice trilogy, The Girl and the Moon. It's the culmination of four (five? I can't remember) interconnected but easily readable on their own trilogies from Mark Lawrence and the way he wrote the ending had me crying with delight. Like, that's what a fantasy writer worth their salt can do. The absolute magic of reading something so satisfying, so brilliant. I still feel giddy happiness when I think of these books.
If you had a writer mascot, what would it be?
Girl, it has to be a maristag--the chimeric monstrous sea creature from my books.
Tell me about a favorite side character!
Sasha, Vasya's older brother in The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden, is absolutely one of my favorite side characters. In each book, there's always one scene with him that Arden drew so beautifully that it becomes the defining moment for me for the entire book. I want to know this world from his perspective and I genuinely wish I got to know his story in his words.
What’s a comfort read for you and how has it shaped you as an author?
It's probably The Secret History--familiar and still startling every time I read it. Charles Dickens is actually a favorite despite what my beloved WritingFolks have to say about that, so having a modern writer update the Dickensian novel is an absolute delight for me. I love the time we spend with these characters, getting to know them, and that definitely is something I want to do more of in my own writing, know my characters as I would any other human being.
Talk about a research hole you fell into while writing.
There is a strange world deep in the oceans that our simple human minds can simply not come to terms with. Like the cosmos above, whatever is down there, it's not for us and never will be. It's both comforting and frightening.
Speaking of the depths of the ocean, now is a great time to check out Somewhere in the Deep, Tanvi’s sophomore novel where something lives in the darkness… something with teeth.