Hi Reddit! I'm Shannon Chakraborty, fantasy author and history nerd. My first book was The City of Brass, which kicked off The Daevabad Trilogy, and my latest is The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. I write books heavily inspired by history (which will always be my first love), particularly the medieval Islamicate world. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is about an (unhappily) retired pirate in the 12th century Indian Ocean who puts together her old crew for "one last job" and ends up in all sorts of mischief and mayhem. I wrote it during the pandemic when I was trying to create something joyous and funny but with serious nods to the struggles of parenthood and the ways in which history–and legends–are crafted. Ask me about my favorite rogues, what you would want to pack in your cloak before stepping aboard a medieval sailing vessel, or y'know writing, worldbuilding, and my actual books.
You can find me at https://www.sachakraborty.com/ or on Instagram at @SAChakrabooks. If you're interested in learning more about some of the real-life people and places behind the books, I keep a reading list here: https://www.sachakraborty.com/reading-list.html
EDIT: I got started a bit late, but my baby is currently losing it so I'm going to hope off for a bit in hopes of consoling her and come back to answer more questions later!
EDIT 2: I came back to way more questions than I can answer before I need to make dinner so I'm going to hop around and try to answer some I haven't gotten before and maybe figure out how to upload my proof at the same time
EDIT 3: There is frankly an alarming amount of crashing and yelling outside my office, so I'm going to call it a wrap. On the odd chance I get some time later, I'll try to answer more. Otherwise thank you so much for participating!
Proof: the reddit app isn't letting me upload my photo right now but I'm going to try again when I get home (and hopefully convince my seven month old to nap)!
by SAChakraborty