“In a world where girls and women have few rights, rebellious Rehya fights back against an appallingly unjust society, entrenched inequality, political deception and unregulated power.”
DYMOCKS Q&A | Demet Divaroren on Blood Moon Bride
Blood Moon Bride is a fierce and powerful fantasy novel from the award-winning Australian author of Living on Hope Street. In Demet Divaroren’s fantasy debut, Rehya is forced into marriage for her valley’s survival, where she must decide: submit or rebel against a ruthless system?
A visceral tale of fierce women and unyielding, burning hope, Blood Moon Bride shows us that despite overwhelming adversity, magic can find a way.
In this exclusive Q&A, Demet Divaroren talks on her experience writing Blood Moon Bride, the inspiration behind it, and what readers can expect!
Tell us a bit about Blood Moon Bride! What can readers expect?
Blood Moon Bride is set in Mennama Valley, a patriarchal world where women and girls are stripped of their rights and forced into early marriages, often to older men, to breed children and boost the valley’s longevity. Rehya, 15, is a hunter and despises the practice. She does not want to get married and the story follows her fight for justice, equality and the freedom to have agency over her mind and body.
Readers can expect to meet intriguing characters, some they will love, others they may loathe, and embark on a ride that may shock, challenge, move and leave them breathless as they fight alongside Rehya.
Do you remember the moment you first conjured the idea for Blood Moon Bride? When and how did this story come to you?
Blood Moon Bride started its life as The Bone Collector with protagonist Orion who lived in Mennama Valley. I wrote a few drafts before I had to face the truth that it didn’t have enough substance. So, I took a risk and scrapped three years’ worth of work and changed the protagonist to a girl and found Rehya. Once I did, it instantly increased the stakes for her and girls like her from poor villages, and completely transformed the story.
Although it is fiction, and the world and characters have no resemblance to real people or places, the book echoes the plight of millions of girls around the world who become child brides every year. My mum is one of them. Her family couldn’t afford for her to study past primary school so she worked on a cotton field at the age of 12. By 14 she was married and a year later I was born. While she married by choice, it should never have been an option. Not then. Not now.
Mum’s experience of having limited life and educational choices as a girl and resorting to an early marriage got me thinking about patriarchal systems and the detrimental impact they have on women’s rights across the world. And, soon Mennama Valley was born.
What do you love most about your heroine, Rehya?
Argh! I can’t pick just one! I love Rehya’s courage to resist injustice and fight for equality and agency over her life and body. I also admire her unshakable spirit.
How did your experiences differ between writing Living on Hope Street and Blood Moon Bride? Was one distinctively more challenging than the other?
Great question! They were two very different processes. While Living on Hope Street’s subject matter was emotionally challenging, the writing process itself was quite straight forward. It took around three years from first draft to publication.
Blood Moon Bride was…something else entirely. It took seven years from idea to publication. By the time I started the initial version that I later reinvented, I’d become a mother of two. This meant writing in small scrappy bursts, while dealing with the profound physical, emotional and mental transformation of labour and motherhood. Most of which I channelled into this book. Once we got to proper draft stage, every edit required more and more. Deleting a character, gutting scenes, upping the stakes, reinventing the climax, more action scenes, world building…the list goes on! Writing fantasy has been the biggest and most rewarding challenge of my career.
The cover for this book is gorgeous! How involved are you in the cover design process?
Isn’t it beautiful? I am so incredibly lucky to work with a team who respects my vision and input. This cover went through many, many drafts. Each stage took us closer to capturing the mystery and intrigue of the world and Rehya’s strength and resilience.
Finally, what’s coming next for you? Anything you can share?
Nothing tangible to share BUT I love writing fantasy and I’m having fun exploring many new ideas. Stay tuned.
“Richly folkloric and tragically timely, Blood Moon Bride is a visceral tale of fierce women and bright, raging hope, drenched with blood and the light of stars.”
