All about the novel Somewhere in the Deep

Thank you to Tanvi for letting me interview! I’m so excited to read Somewhere in the Deep.

Who is 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, a book that has something to say and isn’t afraid to say it to your face (Lightspeed Magazine), is out now, and her second YA novel SOMEWHERE IN THE DEEP releases in January 2024.

What is Somewhere in the Deep?

Seventeen-year-old Krescent Dune is buried under the weight of her dead parents’ debt and the ruinous legacy they left behind. The only way she can earn enough money to escape her unforgiving island is by battling monstrous creatures in an underground fighting pit.

After a fight goes terribly wrong, she’s banned from the pits. Now hopeless, she is offered a deal: in exchange for the erasure of her debts, she must join and protect a hunting party for a rescue mission deep within the mining caves beneath the island. 

Krescent is determined to keep her head down and fulfill her role as the dutiful bodyguard, even though she is trapped underground with her childhood enemy and a company of people who would gladly kill her if they knew who her parents were. As they come across creatures she believed only existed in legends, it becomes clear they are in far more danger than she could have imagined.

But someone doesn’t want her to make it out alive. And she’ll have to figure out who before she’s left alone…in the dark. 

Interview

What was your inspiration for Somewhere in the Deep?

Somewhere in the Deep is inspired by my love of fantasy creatures, and the wish to explore how history becomes myths, and what role it plays when people and land come into conflict.

What drew you to writing?

From early childhood I was surrounded by stories–my grandmother and aunts telling me bedtime stories, my parents encouraging my reading, so it was only natural that as a child I was also making up my own tales. That love quickly became a home, and I think even if I wasn’t a professional author, I would always be writing anyway.

What are your favourite parts of writing fantasy?

Fantasy to me is an elevated reality. Everything that feels dull in the real world can be brighter, sharper, better in fantasy. Even in a book with a darker edge like Somewhere in the Deep, I got to build a thrilling, awe-inspiring world with monsters and myths–all of my favorite things, which is simply fun.

How did you choose which character to centre the story around?

It comes down to the kind of story you’re trying to tell. Somewhere in the Deep is an exploration of the existence of a people on a land that has existed long before them. There are multiple arcs and themes, of course, but my main strand was Kress finding out about the truth of the land and of her parents. So I knew the type of character I wanted was someone who was alienated from the land, but still had some connection, which made for an internal conflict in her and made the story move forward in the exact direction I wanted it to.

In my previous book, Monsters Born and Made, too, I wanted to explore the breakdown of communities and that’s why it’s a tight first-person narrative of Koral, the main character, despite there being multiple strands in the story.

What was your process for writing Somewhere in the Deep?

Somewhere in the Deep was written on one of the shortest timelines I’ve ever had, and I owe it to picking up my friend Isabel Canas’s disciplinary approach to writing in short, timed sprints throughout the day and getting to a daily word count goal.

I had brainstormed this project while writing my previous book, Monsters Born and Made, which is set in the same world and takes place simultaneously to this story, so the brainstorming sessions were easier to handle than if I was in a completely new world.

What is your approach to world and character building?

I spend a lot of time building a world, from its geography to politics and backward into its myths and origins. I think any world, any people, are shaped by their past and having that framework is helpful in understanding how they would behave in the present. Once I have a world, it’s much easier to come up with the sort of character that could carry the story I want to tell. For example, the world of Somewhere in the Deep is obviously larger than what we see, but I was telling a very particular story and it was easy to keep the focus tight with Kress’s POV–what she’s gone through directly informs how she behaves in her world. So, for me, both world and character building work in tandem and are complimentary.

How would you describe Somewhere in the Deep in five words?

Inej Ghafa meets The Witcher

Did you have a favourite moment in the book to write?

There’s a big monster fight scene near the middle of the book set along a chasm in the deep, which I loved writing. It was one of the very earliest scenes I had brainstormed and was very excited for. And it remains my favorite!

What was your favourite book growing up?

This is the single toughest question you can ask any writer or reader. For me, it would be a toss between Pride & Prejudice and The Thief Lord.

Do you have a favourite genre to read?

Fantasy is my first love always. I grew up reading second-world and epic fantasies, like Eragon and Narnia, and the 2010s YA fantasies. Right now I’m exploring more fabulist and surreal speculative fiction.