I had just finished an epic sci-fi fantasy manuscript that was pretty heavy in tone. I liked it, and I do plan on taking it somewhere eventually, but I really needed a break from that style.
So I started thinking about writing something that was just... fun?
And yeah! The Duchess of Kokora really did begin as an exercise in just having fun with writing. But along the way, I found myself really engaged by the characters, the world building, the themes, so I decided to continue editing past the first draft and really refine it. And now we're here!
How is queerness depicted or explored in the novel? Has that changed at all between your drafts?Queer identities are totally normalized in this setting! Rynish society even has a pretty well developed culture around surrogacy, which makes political marriages between same sex heirs a viable and sometimes optimal tactic. It's only a problem if you try dating another contestant during the game because the voters don't like it when one player actively doesn't care about winning.
Having a queer relationship at the center of this romance setting also really helps make common tropes quite a bit more original. I didn't anticipate that when I started writing, but over time that pattern became apparent.
In my first drafts, queer identities were forbidden in Rynish courtship, but I realized quickly that that was not only unnecessary but actively soured the tension and overall flow of the narrative. So I ditched that idea, and it was one of the best decisions I made for the story.
Do you have any other projects that you're working on?I do! I've got a Pratchettesque urban fantasy existentialist comedy (say that three times fast!) in the works. I'm also working on the sequel to this book. And I've got another story I want to come back to about a human princess who lets herself get kidnapped by dragons because she's their world's first sociologist and wants to study them for her book, and the nearby lord of monsters has to step in as a hostage negotiator.
I also might go back to my epic sci fi novel. And I'm toying with the idea of releasing some short stories and vignettes set in the world of The Duchess of Kokora as well as my other work as a sort of teaser for the projects I've got in motion.
Where can readers go to find more about you and your work? The best place to go for updates will be my socials: @nprabala on Instagram and TikTok.
My website will also be a good landing page for finding my stuff as I continue with my career: https://www.nikhilprabala.com/
And check out the Goodreads for The Duchess of Kokora! Please do drop a review if you've read the book:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213920072-the-duchess-of-kokora