We are pleased to share an interview with Transatlantic client Genoveva Dimova, author of FOUL DAYS, from Publisher’s Weekly!
Publisher’s Weekly sat down with the debut fantasy author to chat about monsters, folklore, and what makes a fun character dynamic. Here is a small excerpt:
PW: What inspired the monsters?
GD: The monsters are a part of Bulgarian folklore. All of them have their beginnings in the various stories and fairy tales that I grew up with, but I’ve added a few tweaks of my own. Folklore is always oral, so every storyteller adds their own interpretation and little tweaks, and I did a bit of that as well. The Yudas, for example, are based on several different legends I’ve read about: monsters that come from the forest, one that can tell the future, another one that’s human-shaped.
Read the full exchange here: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/94684-monsters-and-mayhem-pw-talks-with-genoveva-dimova.html
FOUL DAYS by Genoveva Dimova also recently received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly!
“Dimova dazzles in her immersive fantasy debut… Dimova’s atmospheric worldbuilding and well-shaded cast make it easy to sink into this fantasy adventure. Kosara is especially vividly rendered and her witty narrative voice is sure to get readers on her side. This is a standout.” –Publisher’s Weekly, starred review
About FOUL DAYS:
The Witcher meets Naomi Novik in this fast-paced fantasy rooted in Slavic folklore, from an assured new voice in genre fiction.
As a witch in the walled city of Chernograd, Kosara has plenty of practice treating lycanthrope bites, bargaining with kikimoras, and slaying bloodsucking upirs. There’s only one monster she can’t defeat: her ex, the Zmey, known as the Tsar of Monsters. She’s defied him one too many times and now he’s hunting her. Betrayed by someone close to her, Kosara’s only choice is to trade her shadow—the source of her powers—for a quick escape.
Unfortunately, Kosara soon develops the deadly sickness that plagues shadowless witches—and only reclaiming her magic can cure her. To find it, she’s forced to team up with a suspiciously honorable detective. Even worse, all the clues point in a single direction: To get her shadow back, Kosara will have to face the Foul Days’ biggest threats without it. And she’s only got twelve days.
But in a city where everyone is out for themselves, who can Kosara trust to assist her in outwitting the biggest monster from her past?
About the author:
Genoveva Dimova is a fantasy author and archaeologist. Originally from Bulgaria, she now lives in Scotland with her partner and a small army of houseplants. She believes in writing what you know, so her work often features Balkan folklore, the immigrant experience, and protagonists who get into incredible messes out of pure stubbornness. When she’s not writing, she likes to explore old ruins, climb even older hills, and listen to practically ancient rock music.
Genoveva is represented by Brenna English-Loeb.