1 Author, 7 Questions: Kamilah Cole

Fans of the dragon fantasy, rejoice! This Ends in Embers, sequel to So Let Them Burn, is just on the horizon! We got to sit down with author Kamilah Cole to talk all things about this beautiful epic duology, including her writing process, her worldbuilding work, and even what she’s working on next! So if you’re not already a fan, prepare to become one because this series (and her next project) is not to be missed!

What was your initial inspiration for So Let Them Burn and This Ends in Embers?

My inspiration for the duology was built from a lot of disparate pieces over many years, but it wasn’t until I saw Zendaya styled as Joan of Arc for the 2018 Met Gala that the story began to come together. More specifically, an artist named @BossLogic did an edit of Zendaya holding two swords and standing on the head of a defeated dragon that made me think to combine the history of Joan of Arc—which has always fascinated me—with a world of dragons and giant metal dragons that I had scribbled in a random notebook until I could find a plot to happen in it.

The other big inspiration for the books was Pacific Rim, a movie about all the nations of the world coming together to pilot giant mechas—two pilots at a time who must be mentally, or “drift,” compatible with each other—against giant monsters emerging from, well, the Pacific Rim. I wondered what that concept would be like if the monsters were dragons, and why someone else would craft metal dragons as a shield against them, and those questions snowballed into what would become the Divine Traitors duology.

Can you describe your writing process? Are you more of a pre-plotter or do you let the plot develop as you write?

My writing process is chaotic. At first, I was very regimented. I would research the common word count for books in that age category and genre, and then I would take the average of those numbers to find my final word count. Then, I would divide that by 2,500—which is about how long each of my chapters tend to be—and that would tell me how many chapters I would need to tell the story. Then I would make a chapter plan, filling each of those chapters with a guideline that I would follow or come back to if I drifted too far while drafting. Finally, I would write about 1,000 words a day, because that was the most I could write even when I was totally exhausted.

This is how I got five books done; So Let Them Burn was that fifth.

For This Ends in Embers, I had to write on deadline for the first time. I had no more time to be regimented because I was on someone else’s schedule. I wrote chaotically, whenever I was in the mood, just pouring out as many words as possible. I did no editing; I turned it into my editor as a turd, and not even a polished one. And my process has remained that chaotic ever since, including the time I wrote 20,000 words in two days. (Do not recommend.)

In So Let Them Burn, we have ROMANCE! Each sister has her own romantic storyline, and they are both swoony in their own ways! I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone who might be new to the series, but things… occur at the end of book one that put our romantic pairings on the brink! What was it like creating those romances in book one and then developing them further in book two?

The romances in So Let Them Burn are very different, because Elara is a lesbian and Faron is demisexual. Elara has been in relationships of various kinds before, while Faron has never once been attracted to someone in that way before now. So that was really interesting to explore and contrast between them. Elara is immediately attracted to someone, but will deeper feelings develop? Meanwhile, I often have readers say they could see Faron falling for her love interest long before she expresses any kind of heated interest in their appearance.

I found it so fun to play with the way both sisters approach romance, and how their love interests approach them, filling needs the Vincents didn’t even know they had.

And then in book two I just ruin everyone’s lives. And I’m so sorry.

In book one, we mostly see San Irie and the Langley Empire, but in this book the world expands to other nations and cultures! What was it like building out these other cultures and magic systems versus building the magics and cultures of San Irie and Langley?

It was very difficult because worldbuilding is my favorite part of writing a fantasy book! I have a Worldbuilding Bible with so much more information than ever makes it into the book; it’s my dream to one day be asked to write an encyclopedia of one of my worlds like The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones. I’m so extensive about it that one of my editor’s notes was that readers didn’t need to know as many place and people names as I was including in my drafts; there were so many cities (that are never visited) included in San Irie on my map that it became cluttered and we had to remove them!

All of which to say it was hard to kind of step back and realize that, for the purposes of this particular story, I didn’t need to give as much development and page time to every culture and magic system as I did with San Irie and Langley. My books are first and foremost character-driven, and the purpose of the expansion of the world was to show how Elara and Faron feel overwhelmed, harried, and stressed no matter where they are.

By narrowing in on the characters and conversations, at the expense of more depth to the countries, I think the story was stronger. San Irie and Langley are so important they are like characters in and of themselves; each of the other nations serve a particular purpose, and that’s what matters for this book.

Of course we need to talk about our sisters Faron and Elara! My babies, my sweets – I adore these sisters and their relationship! How did you approach writing them both as individuals, and then their relationship as sisters?

Elara was the most like me, which made her the hardest to write. For Faron, I knew she was a burnt out former gifted kid (like me), who literally peaked when she was a child and had no idea what to do now. For Elara, I knew she was an anxious people-pleaser, whose role as the eldest daughter weighed heavily on her because it means she’s defined by her sister at home and outside. They both suffer from PTSD from their experiences during the war, but it manifests in different ways. Faron is impulsive and reckless and self-destructive; Elara is insecure and avoidant and hypervigilant.

Faron was easy to write because I could go, “What is the worst possible choice she could make right now?” and follow her down that rabbit hole. But Elara was difficult because she tries very, very hard and never feels like it’s enough which sometimes makes her scared to try at all—so I felt like I had to wrangle her to certain plot points. But, ultimately, their bond is based on the one I have with my sister. I mean, my sister has been very clear that she would never end the world to save my life (“If there’s no world, where are we going to live?”), but we’re very close and supportive of each other while also being envious of things the other has that we feel we lack. So that was a very easy relationship to write with my own to draw from.

What are some books you’ve been reading recently or would recommend?

The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah (April 2025), The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker, I Am Made of Death by Kelly Andrew (March 2025), The Queen’s Spade by Sarah Raughley, The Manor of Dreams by Christina Li (May 2025), Hollow by Taylor Grothe (October 2025), I’ll Pretend You’re Mine by Tashie Bhuiyan (June 2025), and To Steal from Thieves by M.K. Lobb (March 2025)!

What are you working on now? Any exciting ideas you can share

Currently, I’m on deadline for my next YA duology, which begins in Summer 2026 with Wicked Endeavors. It’s “a romantasy duology set in a Spanish Renaissance-inspired kingdom, about a vengeful teen who cons her way into a high society of elite witches, only for her revenge to be threatened by her warring feelings for both a manipulative enemy prince and the stoic childhood friend who betrayed her, pitched as a love letter to the power of Black women’s anger.”

I’m also working on edits for my adult dark academia fantasy debut, An Arcane Inheritance!