Twin thieves attempt to pull off a daring heist in Stolen City, the sophomore fantasy novel from Dauntless author Elisa A. Bonnin.
The city of Leithon is under Imperial occupation and Arian Athensor has made it her playground.
In stealing magical artifacts for the Resistance, bounding over rooftops to evade Imperial soldiers, and establishing herself as the darling thief of the underground, Arian lives a life wrapped in danger and trained towards survival. She’ll steal anything for the right price, and if she runs fast enough, she can almost escape the fact that her mother is dead, her father is missing, and her brother, Liam, is tamping down a wealth of power in a city that has outlawed magic.
But then the mysterious Cavar comes to town with a job for the twins: to steal an artifact capable of ripping the souls from the living–the same artifact that used to hang around the neck of Arian’s mother. Suddenly, her past is no longer buried under adrenaline but intimately tied to the mission at hand, and Arian must face her guilt and pain head-on in order to pull off the heist.
As Arian and Cavar infiltrate the strongest fortress in Leithon and Liam joins the Resistance as their resident mage, the twins find themselves embroiled in court politics and family secrets, and the mission becomes more than just another artifact theft. The target is now the Imperial rule, and Arian will go to any length necessary to steal her city back.
Publication date: September 20th 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Writing Interview questions.
What inspired you to write this book?
I’ve always really enjoyed heist stories. I love the mix of clever banter, problem solving, and unexpected twists that make up a well-done heist, and I always knew that I wanted to write one someday. At the same time, I had these characters that my best friend and I developed in high school. I knew these characters inside and out because we had spent years putting them in various situations, and I thought they would make the perfect POV characters for a heist. When I asked my friend if I could use them, she agreed, and so STOLEN CITY was born.
Can you share something about the book that isn’t covered in the blurb?
The book has four POV characters: the twins, who are mentioned in the blurb; Cavar, a stranger who comes to town looking to hire the twins to steal back an artifact from him, and Zephyr, a traitor who works for the Empire. The book also has autism representation. Liam, one of the POV characters, is autistic, and although I didn’t specifically intend it, some early readers have spotted autistic tendencies from Arian, the protagonist. If they’re there, it’s unintentional, but since I’m autistic myself, it’s entirely possible that I could have written it in without meaning to.
If you had to describe your protagonist(s), in three words, what would those three words be and why?
I would say Arian is independent, lonely, and conflicted. Independent because she’s determined to live life on her own terms, without relying on anyone else or being beholden to anyone else. Lonely, because she’s a young woman who has lost most of her family and close contacts in an extremely traumatic fashion and despite what she says, she misses them terribly and is desperate to hold on to the ones she has left. And conflicted, because she has to make a decision that will define her, and one that you’ll have to read the book to learn more about.
What was the most challenging part about writing your book?
I mentioned before that the book has four POV characters. Each of these characters has different goals, and many of those goals clash and overlap. They each exist on a different point along the spectrum between the Empire and Leithon and are each dealing with the occupation of the city in their own ways.
One of the most challenging parts of writing this book was making sure that each POV was important to the story and that each character had a role to play that was both relevant to the plot and not redundant with any of the other characters. I also had to make sure each character’s arc ended in a satisfactory way, even though the characters couldn’t get everything they wanted. I had to fix this a few times in revision, but I’m happy with the way it worked out in the end.
Was there anything that you edited out of this book that would have drastically affected the story, should it be left in?
The original draft of Stolen City had flashback chapters, telling the story of the twins’ parents and Cavar’s mom when they first met in Leithon as teenagers and accidentally kicked off the events of the plot. That ended up getting removed because there were already too many POVs in the book without getting three more, and because all the information in the flashbacks is later revealed over the course of the story. If they were kept in, it would definitely be a much longer book, and I’m not sure that it would have been much better.
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on a project that will be published in 2024. The working title is Exiles of Ellery West, but the title will probably change in revision. It’s a YA contemporary fantasy / dark academia about a Filipino-American girl in her last year of magic school. The year before, she and her best friend used some dark magic and her best friend is believed to be dead. She enters her last year on probation. If she can keep her head down for a year, she’ll graduate, but if she gets into any more trouble, she’ll be expelled. But it turns out that her friend isn’t actually dead, so she and the other probationary students must team up to get her back.
I’m finishing up the first draft of the story now, and I can’t wait to tell you all more about it when it’s ready.
What would you tell an aspiring author who had some doubts about their writing abilities?
That depends on where in their writing journey they are. If they’re just starting out, I would tell them that the only way to get better at writing is to do more of it, and as long as they’re writing what they enjoy, they will eventually improve. If this is you, just remember that everyone starts somewhere. If you keep at it, you definitely will improve, and in the meantime, you should try to have as much fun as you can. Trust the process.
But for writers who have been writing for a while, I have noticed a tendency to get doubtful about one’s own skill. It’s common to compare your first drafts to someone else’s final product, or to worry that we’ll never write anything as good as our favorite books. So for those writers, I’d like to remind them that everyone’s first draft is bad. The first draft is you telling the story to yourself, and it’s allowed to be messy. No one writes a perfect first draft, and the whole point of editing is to make it better.
Also, many writers are terrible at seeing the good in their own work. We spend so much time with our stories that it’s like we’re looking at our words up close, with a magnifying glass. Small flaws or things that someone else might not even notice become enormous to us. Sometimes, it can help to let a trusted friend read your writing. You might be surprised at how much good someone else can find in your work.
Personal Interview questions.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I’m an enormous nerd, so I really enjoy reading and playing video games. I love games and books that take me to different worlds or alternate realities. My non-writerly hobbies include baking, and I’ve recently gotten back into cross-stitch. I also really love to travel, and I live in Europe now so I do try to make sure that I get out of the house every now and then.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
A writer. I started writing when I was eight and since then I made it my mission and my dream to become published. I haven’t really stopped writing since then. I wrote my first full-length novel at 12, and I’ve been working on refining those skills ever since.
What’s for dinner tonight? What would you rather be eating?
This year, my partner and I decided we wanted to learn more dishes, so we signed up for a meal-prep subscription box. We ended up cancelling once we accumulated a lot of recipe cards, but we still go back to those cards and make those meals. Tonight, I’m making chicken saltimbocca with a side of oven-roasted veggies and chickpeas. I like learning how to cook different kinds of recipes, which is why I sometimes pick up new cookbooks for fun! But when I cook Filipino food, I can never get it to taste like my mom’s cooking, which is why I’m happy I’ll be going home for Christmas this year.
What would be a perfect day?
A day at the beach! Switching between swimming in the ocean and curling up in a lounge chair in the sun. Reading a book, sipping a cold drink and feeling the breeze. I grew up always making trips to the beach with my family, and I still really love the ocean. Nowadays, beach trips are my favorite part of summer.
What is the best part of your day?
That moment in the evening where I realize that I’ve finished all that I want to do today and that my time is my own. I can do whatever I want. I can read a book, or play a video game, or watch something on TV with my partner, or sew. I like working on a schedule, but I also really enjoy my unstructured time too.
Either or!
Tea or coffee: Coffee
Hot or cold: Hot
Movie or book: Book
Morning person or Night owl: Night owl
City or country: City
Social Media or book: Book
Paperback or ebook: Paperback
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