Exclusive Interview: Maiya Ibrahim On New Novel, Serpent Sea

Another month, another author interview! We know you’ve all been anticipating our newest interview, and we’re especially excited about this one with Maiya Ibrahim!

Maiya Ibrahim is back with Serpent Sea, the sequel to her debut novel, Spice Road! If you’ve been following along with our book team for awhile, then you’ll recognize this title from early 2023. We can’t wait for you all to meet the author of The Spice Road Trilogy, an Arabian-inspired fantasy series!

Remember to check out our in-depth review of Serpent Sea right here. In the meantime, let’s get into our exclusive author interview with Maiya Ibrahim!

Welcome to The Honey POP! We’re excited to talk to you today. To start things off, what are three things you’d like readers to know about you?
Thank you for having me! Readers might be interested to know that I’m Australian, I’m an avid collector of Pokémon cards, and I love anything history, art, or true-crime related.

Writing The Sequel

Congratulations on the release of Serpent Sea, the second book of The Spice Road Trilogy! Can you describe your journey writing this sequel compared to the first book?
Thank you, it’s more surreal having a book out in the world the second time round! Serpent Sea took a bit longer to write than initially expected. This was partly due to the scope and complexity of the narrative, and partly due to the fact that I’ve never written a sequel before and had to learn some new fundamentals in plotting and pacing.

Oftentimes, the second book of a trilogy can be the most difficult one to write. What are some things you did to navigate the dreaded “middle book syndrome?”
I started plotting Serpent Sea by deciding what I wanted it to accomplish for the trilogy—things like lore revelations and character developments—then paired that with a self-contained plot, which I hope has resulted in a thrilling, satisfying book that is much more than just a stepping stone to the climax.

Serpent Sea

Misra tea made from Spice is the root of magic in this world. What is the origin story for this idea?
I was inspired by historical accounts of Arab spice traders operating along the Silk Road. To protect their highly lucrative trade, they spread rumors that their spices grew in remote places guarded by magical creatures. That gave me the idea for an isolated, secret land where monsters and mythical beasts roam, and a spice grows that grants magical powers when ingested. I chose tea as the Spice’s ‘medium’ because of its significance in Arab culture.

We get a new perspective in Serpent Sea with Taha’s narration now added to the mix. How easy or difficult was it to weave in this new voice?
It was a bit of both. I wanted to tell Taha’s side of the story since Spice Road (especially after the intense reader response), so writing from his perspective felt natural and was really exciting. The challenge came from the technical aspects of adding a new POV: keeping the voices distinct to avoid confusing readers (which is partly why Taha’s narration is in third person while Imani’s retains first); making sure the narrators’ stories are equally compelling and their pacing is in sync; and weaving the stories together into a seamless narrative. Difficulties aside, I’m happy with the end result. I think Taha’s voice adds valuable emotional depth to the trilogy.

More On Her Characters

Which of the main characters do you relate to the most, and why?
That would probably be Taha. I like to think I share his level-headedness (most of the time), and I value the personal qualities of determination and rationality that typify him.

The cast is one of the things we love most about this series. We can already imagine the supporting characters who will (hopefully) return in book three. Who are some of your favorite characters to write?
Qayn is always a lot of fun to write because he’s larger-than-life in every way. When he’s clever, he’s brilliant; when he’s charming, he’s irresistible, and as readers may have guessed, he has a significant role to play in the overarching story. But surprisingly, I had just as much fun writing some of the supporting characters who are introduced in Serpent Sea, many of them Harrowlanders. I don’t want to spoil anything, but two of my favorite characters shape Imani’s and Taha’s respective journeys in quite meaningful ways.

Imani finds herself farther away from home in Serpent Sea, making her physical and mental worldviews expand even more. How will her character continue to change as she starts to separate the truth about her world from what she’s been made to believe?
At the start of Spice Road, Imani’s potential is stifled by the lies she has been told about her world, so one of the best parts about writing Serpent Sea was getting to undo all of that. As Imani lets go of her biases, she grows as an individual, a friend, a sister, and a warrior.

What’s Next

We appreciate how Serpent Sea is so cohesive, and it sets up the conflict for the third book really well. Can you give us any hints about the conclusion to this trilogy?
Good intentions can lead to monstrous outcomes.

Finally, now that your new novel is out, what are your plans for the rest of 2024?
I’d like to say my plans consist entirely of doing sweet nothing, but I’ll be finishing off the last book in this trilogy before doing edits on a secret fantasy novel (which hopefully I’ll get to talk more about in the new year!)

You can order a copy of Maiya Ibrahim’s Serpent Sea here!

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TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MAIYA IBRAHIM:
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