Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Tracy Deonn

Tracy Deonn is a writer, fangirl, and a passionate advocate for diversity and representation in science-fiction and fantasy literature and media. The pre-release praise surrounding her debut young adult novel, Legendborn, is well deserved. This modern reimagining of the King Arthur legend is brimming with magic, mystery, mayhem, and a sizzling love triangle that is sure to captivate readers looking for a unique spin on a popular legend. Trust us, when we say that you do not want to miss out on the next breakout YA fantasy book of the year.

Pop Culturalist had a chance to speak with Tracy about Legendborn, Arthurian legends, and the important lesson she has learned as a debut author.

PC: Hi! Welcome to Pop Culturalist, Tracy! To start, please tell our readers about your debut novel, Legendborn.
Tracy: Legendborn is a contemporary fantasy story about Bree, a grieving teenage girl who infiltrates a campus secret society that she believes may have a connection to her mother’s death. When the secret society, who call themselves the Legendborn, reveal that they are the descendants of the knights of the Round Table and are fighting a centuries-old magical war, Bree’s mission to find the truth gets more complicated. Soon, Bree is drawn deeper into the ancient order of the Legendborn, she comes face-to-face with the demons they fight, and she uncovers a variety of secret histories. Legendborn tackles modern day issues of race, explores American history, and has its fair share of magical action sequences, fight scenes, romance, and mysteries.

PC: What sparked the idea to write a reimagining of the King Arthur legend?
Tracy: Interestingly, I didn’t start with King Arthur at all! I started with Bree and her question: “What happened to my mother?” When my own mother passed away, I learned that she had lost her mother at the same age that I lost her, and that the same had occurred with my grandmother and great-grandmother. So, I began writing from a place of grief and mystery, just as Bree begins from grief in the prologue to the book. I wanted to explore the idea of legacy and whose lives and deaths get to become legendary. As a big fantasy fan, there was a natural connection to what feels like our most long-lived legend, King Arthur, and as someone who grew up in the American South, where legacies are a constant source of discourse, the setting for the book felt ready-made. I’ve always been a big fan of King Arthur and the stories surrounding him, in particular the way that Arthuriana gets explored in Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising Sequence, a contemporary fantasy series I fell in love with as a young reader. There’s something really compelling about a motley band of warriors and a wild wizard fighting against evil in the world, but, to me, the legends ask questions about legacy and power. It felt like a given to weave them into my own exploration.

PC: How did you decide which parts of King Arthur’s legend to include in your story and still make Legendborn a fresh take on a classic tale?
Tracy: This was one of the more challenging aspects of working with the legends of King Arthur, because there are so many stories! I call it “fifteen hundred year-old global fanfic” because there truly is no single King Arthur story or legend; there are multiplicities of them. Writers and storytellers across the centuries and in different countries have introduced new characters, put their own spin on existing stories, and found new ways to tell even the same story in movie or TV adaptations. I treated the big wide canon of Arthuriana like a giant toolbox, and pulled the aspects I knew I wanted to most work with to tell my story and left others behind. There’s a certain spirit to some of the legends (and even particular knights) regarding legacy, history, duty, and found family that I knew I wanted for Legendborn, so I picked those early on. I honestly never thought of Legendborn as a fresh take on a classic, but more as a continuation of, and challenge to, the original promise of the Round Table. Just the act of keeping the idea of the legend intact, but bringing it forward into the modern day, created all sorts of new opportunities to push Arthuriana in new directions. I like to think I’ve joined a long line of King Arthur storytellers and that Legendborn could be viewed as a new addition to the collection.

PC: What did you enjoy most about writing Legendborn?
Tracy: I really loved playing with all my favorite tropes and flipping them on their heads, while also putting a Black girl at the center of the story. People say they are tired of certain tropes, that they’re overdone, but tropes truly aren’t overdone when marginalized authors haven’t had ample opportunities to play with and employ them. And the reality is, those familiar storytelling devices don’t look the same when a marginalized protagonist is at the heart of the narrative. It was deeply satisfying to subvert the parts of YA fantasy that I always wanted more from as a Black girl reader, and it was very exciting to push at the boundaries of fantasy by putting it in conversation with contemporary issues.

PC: What message do you hope Legendborn conveys to readers?
Tracy: It’s hard to choose just one! I’ll start with Bree, since she’s our main character. Bree’s journey is driven forward by the mystery of her mother’s death, but as a character she’s also driven forward by her emotional response to trauma, her pain, and her anger. Regarding Bree’s arc, I hope readers take away the message that their feelings, particularly in the wake of trauma or injustice, are valid. And that healing from trauma does not mean a disappearance of pain and anger, but an integration of those things. In regard to the whole of the story, one of the things I hope I leave readers with is the strong sense that history is still alive and walking beside us, and that it must be reckoned with in order for us to move forward.

PC: How many books are planned for this series? Can you tease anything about the sequel?
Tracy: The sequel is currently underway! I can’t share anything too juicy, but I will say that the sequel builds on what is exposed in the first book, all of the magic levels up, and we meet brand new characters.

PC: What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned on your journey as a debut author?
Tracy: The most important lesson I’ve learned as a debut is that, truly, no one can tell your story the way you can. It’s easy to question yourself once so many eyes are on your work, but, in the end, your perspective and unique voice is what resonates with audiences and fulfills you as an artist.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Writing session must have? (ex: music, food, drink, etc)
Tracy: Coffee, the Captain America: Winter Soldier movie score, and amber incense.

PC: Plotter or pantser?
Tracy: Plantser! I always know the opening and closing images, 6-10 turning points, and the final chapter. I plot, write, then reassess.

PC: Audiobooks, physical books, or e-books?
Tracy: E-books! Physical and audiobooks are tied for second.

PC: Genre(s) other than contemporary fantasy you would like to write?
Tracy: Paranormal fantasy, fantasy rom-com.

PC: Favorite fandoms?
Tracy: Always changing! Right now my top 3 are: Avatar: The Last Airbender, MCU, My Hero Academia

PC: Go to self-care activity?
Tracy: Cooking. And Webtoons.

Follow Tracy Deonn on Twitter, Instagram, and online. 

Legendborn goes on sale September 15^th. Check back next week for our review!