Take 5: G.R. Macallister and ARCA

Five hundred years of peace between queendoms shatters when girls inexplicably stop being born. As the Drought of Girls stretches across a generation, it sets off a cascade of political and personal consequences across this matriarchal society, throwing long-standing alliances into disarray as each queendom begins to turn on each other—and new threats to each nation rise from within.

That intriguing premise established longtime contributor Greer Macallister’s epic fantasy series, The Five Queendoms. For those of us captivated by her debut, Scorpica, the wait is finally over, as the second book in the series, Arca, releases this coming Tuesday.

“The Drought of Girls has ended but all is not well in Macallister’s enthralling second Five Queendoms epic fantasy (after Scorpica). The usually harmonious matriarchal societies are in disarray and heading toward war…. Macallister keeps the tension high, brilliantly weaving together political intrigue and adventure. The refreshing worldbuilding and intricate character work remain highlights. This takes the series to new heights.” — Publishers Weekly

We’re thrilled to bring you this interview with Greer, and to get a sneak peek into the evolving conflicts in and intricately woven world of the Five Queendoms.

“G.R. Macallister raises the stakes superbly in ARCA, powerhouse second installment in her matriarchal fantasy series THE FIVE QUEENDOMS. Readers will be all too happy to dive back into this fascinating world!” — Kate Quinn, NYT bestselling author of The Alice Network, The Diamond Eye and Mistress of Rome

Q: What’s the premise of your new book?

GRM: Arca is the second novel in the Five Queendoms series, epic fantasy set in a matriarchal world. In the first book, Scorpica, the people of the Five Queendoms dealt with the Drought of Girls, a generation in which no girls were born; in Arca, the Drought has ended, but its effects are still being felt all across the queendoms. One queen vows to make her son the nation’s first ruling King or die trying. Another is amassing her troops for battle. A third, who has just taken power, finds herself beset on all sides—even in her dreams. Will the resulting chaos rip the Queendoms apart?

Q: What would you like people to know about the story itself?

GRM: I’m so excited to have this great big canvas to tell an epic story—especially using a predominantly female cast of characters in a classic sword-and-sorcery tale. Because I built the world I could include anything I wanted, like women who fall everywhere on the hero/villain spectrum from righteous to reprehensible, and leave out anything I didn’t want to include, such as sexual violence. The matriarchal world is an unusual setting but not every plot line or character is supposed to be a comment on female power or power structures in general—I just wanted to tell a rip-roaring good story, which I hope I have.

Q: What do your characters have to overcome in this story? What challenge do you set before them?

GRM: Ha, what challenges don’t these poor women have to overcome? Everything from mysterious dreams to military ambushes, from enemy magicians to scheming senators—and of course, the confusing but intoxicating throes of first love. Thank goodness none of them has that whole list of challenges to herself. But it’s, well, it’s a lot. Which is a big part of the fun, as a writer!

Q: What unique challenges did this book pose for you, if any?

GRM: I’ve never written a series before, so this is my first book that had to pick up where a previous book left off. It should still make sense to readers who haven’t read the first book (Scorpica) but reward those who read that book closely and/or recently. That’s a real challenge. But like most challenges, keeping continuity across the series is also a wonderful opportunity. There wasn’t room in Scorpica to follow every character’s trajectory, and in Arca, I can pick up and follow characters whose stories weren’t thoroughly explored in Book 1—like Khara’s daughter Ama, last seen being dropped off as a child at the Orphan Tree. I’m excited for readers to find out where she’s been.

Q: What has been the most rewarding aspect of having written this book?

Just being able to prove to myself that I could do it is its own reward, for one thing. But even more rewarding is knowing that there are fans of the first book waiting for the second. It’s made a few “most anticipated” lists, like at Paste Magazine and PopSugar, and that’s so satisfying. I got to make these characters up from scratch and now I’m not the only one invested in where they go from here. Series writing and series reading are both an extra level of commitment, so I’m glad there are so many others willing to make the journey with me.

Have questions of your own for Greer? The floor is yours!

Writer Unboxed

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