The Order of the Banshee by Robyn Singer

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Welcome to It's Raining Books. Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

I’ve always loved both science fiction and romance, for different reasons. Science fiction allows for stories to discuss relevant, important themes with a degree of separation from our own world, allowing readers/audiences to take in and potentially learn from the story’s messages, without being bogged down in all-too-real misery, and often with a layer of power fantasy and wish fulfillment mixed in. With romance, I’m a sucker for two things: drama and happy endings. Sometimes these things go together, sometimes they don’t, but few moments in stories have the power of a well-written couple finally getting together, or tragically being split apart. When I conceived The Sunrisers, the predecessor to The Order of the Banshee, the basic pitch was, “Killing Eve in Space”, because I realized there weren’t many, if any, high-stakes, action-packed, lesbian romances in the sci-fi genre.

What research is required?

No idea is wholly original. When designing a fantastical/paranormal setting, particularly the cultures within that setting, intentionally or not, a writer’s ideas for that setting will come from what they know. Studying real cultures and real technology not only allows a writer to create a more diverse, fleshed-out setting but also allows the setting to connect more with the reader/audience because it’s based on reality.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

One thing I’ve learned from my heroine, Yael Pavnick, is that failing to achieve your dreams doesn’t make you a failure. As explored in The Sunrisers, Yael was a child prodigy who dreamed of joining the eponymous intergalactic peacekeeping organization. Despite being mentally and physically far more capable than her peers, she was denied her dream, as her Autism and ADHD had her deemed, “Mentally Unfit”. While she initially thought this meant her life was over, she found a new purpose, a new way to use the skills she’d honed and a new family, and by the time of The Order of the Banshee, she’s become one of the richest and most infamous thieves in the universe.

Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

To my embarrassment, yes ha ha. When I’m conceiving or visualizing a scene in my head, I will “act it out” with my hands and fingers. This includes when I’m in public, and I don’t always realize I’m doing it until I get a stare.

Are you a plotter or pantser?

I’m a plantser. I have an outline for my stories, but only the events at the beginning and the ending are completely set in stone. I allow the characters to guide me through my general idea for the middle, based on what I think they’d do.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

No one. As I write this, I’m alone, with two of my roommates asleep, and one of my roommates at work. I’m off from my job as a teacher today.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

I have an ongoing comic book series from Band of Bards, which has, to date, released three issues. We’ve been on hiatus for some time now, but we’re going to be working to finish the first arc very soon!

Do you have a question for our readers?

Do you prefer fantastical happy endings, or endings where the harsh realities of life crash down on the protagonists?

It’s been five years since Yael and Molina reunited. Yael is one of the richest and most infamous thieves in the universe and a member of the Order of the Banshee. She is rising through the ranks of the elite organization with her wife and her ride-or-die best friends, Aarif and P’Ken, at her side, and she’s even running her own school for thieves. Molina, former captain in the universe’s premiere peacekeeping organization, the Sunrisers, is happily married to Yael and tells herself that’s enough.

Their seemingly perfect lives are interrupted when they receive news of the death of Molina’s father. When Molina returns home for his funeral, she reunites with her former friend and now enemy: Kaybell, the emperor of the Cykebian Empire. Kaybell, eager to mend the relationship, informs Molina that her father was murdered and offers to help Molina find those responsible and bring them to justice.

While Molina and Kaybell hunt the people responsible for her father’s death, Yael is hunted by an invincible assassin – one with a terrible secret. These two seemingly unrelated events are more connected than Yael or Molina could possibly imagine.

Read an Excerpt

“Yael, you must get up and shower,” P’Ken declared, standing right over me, both hands on her stick.

“Seriously, you’re starting to stink pretty bad,” Aarif followed, standing right next to her.

“Waaaaaaaah!” I cried, curled up in a ball in my bed. “I miss my Moli!”

The past few days had been absolutely miserable. For security reasons, I couldn’t contact Molina while she was on Cykeb, and living in the school without her around was too weird. As much as I’d been staying in bed, I couldn’t even sleep in such a big one without her. My only comforts had come from my endless supply of beer, instant ramen, and gummies, the bottles, cups, and bags they’d come in all over my bed and floor.

“She’ll be back soon. And then you can make up for lost time.”

“For now, however, you promised Shun you’d spar with her today, and a thief of your distinction shouldn’t be gaining a reputation as a lying thief.”

“Come on, let’s get ready for the day.”

I groaned for an extended period, rubbing my temples. “You’re not my parents.”

“Obviously not,” P’Ken rolled her eyes. “My child will never be allowed to make their room a pigsty.”

Aarif plopped down next to me, shaking the mattress. “We may not be your parents, but we are your family. We want to help you.”

I shook my head. “You can’t.”

About the Author:

Robyn Singer is a lifelong New Yorker, and since she was a kid playing with her action figures, all she’s wanted to do is tell stories. She went to SUNY Purchase to get a degree in Playwriting & Screenwriting with a minor in Film and has produced several comic books, but she’s always had her eye on becoming a published novelist.

As an Autistic, bisexual trans woman, diversity and inclusion in stories are vitally important to her, and she seeks to represent as many groups as possible in her work. While she wants to show characters of marginalized groups experiencing joy, she also draws inspiration from real-world problems which bother her.

The Sunrisers (Cinnabar Moth Publishing, November 2022) is her debut novel. Order of the Banshee is book in the The Ricochet Trilogy. Robyn was the author in residence for quester 1 of 20222 for Cinnabar Moth Literary Collections. She writes novels and short stories of all genres and for all ages, and she continues to produce comic books. Her ongoing series, Final Gamble, began publiscation by Band of Bards in 2022.

See her ramble about her passions on Twitter https://twitter.com/emmalsinger
Follow her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/emmalsinger/

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