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- [00:00]
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S.C. Bondretti (Author)
style, every home welcome to the New Books Network.
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Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
Hi, this is Rebecca Buchanan, host at New Books Network, and today I'm here with S.C. bondretti to talk about her novel, the Game of Oaths. Thanks for being here with me, Somia.
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S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Yeah, thanks so much for having me.
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Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
Could you start out by giving a synopsis about the book? Tell us a little bit what it's about.
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S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Yeah, sure. So the Game of Oats basically is about a trapeze artist who works in a magical circus in 1896, Paris. And the circus every year holds a tournament called the Game of Oats. And basically it's a tournament where 12 of the performers in the circus, they compete in this tournament of deadly games for the upper class in Paris, and 11 of them die and only one survive. So the main character, Fallon, her sister died in the last year's games. So this year she's out for revenge against the ringmaster and kind of wants to bring the whole thing down. And to do that, you know, she has to win this year's games first. And she does that, you know, like she tries to do that by allying with people and, you know, just kind of playing dirty. So it's definitely a book about, like, revenge. You know, revenge and power, but also love.
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Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
So can you talk about, like, how this book came to be? Like, how you came up with this idea and wrote it?
- [03:05]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Yeah, sure. So I think it definitely came sort of in chunks, because the very first thing I can remember from this book is just thinking, I want to write a game about. Oh, sorry. I want to write a book about a circus and something deadly with it, like a very, like, you know, dark circus sort of theme. And from there, it kind of started to unfold where I was like, well, I think it'd be cool if this circus, you know, had this, like, deadly gain each year. And from there, I sort of started to kind of think about whether I want it to be like a second world fantasy or historical fantasy. But I eventually decided to go historical because the more I really thought about it, the more I realized there was just a lot to say about the time period and a lot of commentary to make on it. And from there, you know, it just unfolded. The characters. I think that's probably my favorite part. Just building up this whole ensemble cast of characters. And then it kind of, yeah, as I said, came in, like, chunks, like in layers, and then eventually it was a more solid product.
- [04:16]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
So I want to eventually talk about the characters, but let's talk about Paris for. Right. Can you talk a little bit about why 1896? Why sort of Paris? Do you have a map at the front? I love a book with a map.
- [04:29]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
So I was like, there's a map. Yeah, we do. We do have a map at the front of the book. I was really excited to get it because I was told that we'd be getting a map, and then we actually did it. The illustrator, he did, like, a super good job on it. And I guess it really also helped envision that sort of alternate magical Paris, 1896, because you realize this is where everything is, Paris. That, you know, that time period where I chose it was because the Belle Epoque was a really interesting time period. It was, you know, a time where, like, you think of it, it's called the Beautiful Period, you know, the Belle Epoch. It translates to the Beautiful Period. And it was a time of known for its, you know, indulgence and wealth. And it also definitely had a lot of the whole performing arts and entertainment scene flourished during that time period. So I think it went really, you know, hand in hand with this magical circus. But it also Was, you know, a setting I chose because it gave me, I guess, a platform to talk about, you know, French colonialism. Because, as, you know, an author of color, I'm Indian and fallen, the main character is Indian. And actually, the whole ensemble cast in, like, the main ensemble cast is people of color. And, you know, that sort of setting it really gave me, when I did, you know, research about, really gave me, I guess, this chance to sort of bring up the topic of French colonialism and, you know, how people of color, as I like to say, the Belle epoch is known as a beautiful period, but it really wasn't beautiful for people of color. So that's kind of where the setting came into play.
- [06:20]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
Yeah, you brought up another thing I wanted to ask you about, because you have these characters who are ending up in Paris, ending up in France, because they're moving back and forth from, like, India. They're trying to get to somewhere, maybe in the UK or somewhere else. And. Yeah, can you talk a little bit more about that and why maybe that was important for you to really show kind of what was going on in that sort of diaspora as well?
- [06:47]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Yeah, because, you know, when I was. I know which characters, you know, you're talking about when you refer to that, but I think when I was coming up with their, you know, their backstories, you know, there's obviously, you know, different. I really had to think of different circumstances that everyone would sort of be in, you know, Paris at that time period. And it gave me, I guess, more insight to, you know, how, you know, people were treated during the time period, you know. And again, as an author of color, I definitely was. No, you know, I'm. I knew about French colonialism, like, because my own family in India, they kind of live in that area, like, that southeast area where the French definitely had most of their colonialism take place. So I knew about it from a young age. But when I was writing this book, I found out some people didn't even know the French colonized India. So that was definitely also another sort of something important to me to be like, this happened, and we shouldn't forget it, you know.
- [07:55]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
So let's talk a little bit about the characters. Like, you know, Fallon is kind of your main protagonist, so we can talk about her a little, and then I'd love. I mean, you do have this huge ensemble cast. Right. So I want to talk a little bit, too about, like, your process of writing and keeping everybody, you know, keeping it all in, like, you know, in your head, knowing, like, okay, this person is doing this. This timeline. So first, Fallon, can you share a little bit about. A little bit more about her and, like, her motivation for participating in what she's trying to do in this game?
- [08:33]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Yeah, sure. Fallon was really interesting to write, you know, because most of her motivation comes from her anger, you know, her anger at her sister being killed. But it's not just that. As the book unfolds, you know, you realize it's not just anger at. Sorry. It's not just anger at her sister being killed. It was more, you know, towards the system and how she's been treated unfairly, like, her whole life. So she. I guess that anger is a really big part of her personality and her motivation. So it was, I guess, one thing with her was trying to make sure she didn't come off as one dimensional, because while it's a big part of her character, I did want to ensure that she felt grounded in a way. So I definitely think her interactions with the other ensemble cast members that really helped kind of make her feel more real. Yeah.
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Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
Can you talk a little bit about those casts? I mean, you have so many that are going on. So maybe let's start with, like, the world of the kind of trapeze artists, like, they're at there, or the world of the circus performers. I mean, she's a trapeze artist, but. Right. Because you have different kind of layers in there and different, you know, there's a hierarchy within the. The circus performers as well.
- [09:58]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Yeah, I think. I think that was really interesting also when I was kind of figuring out how. Because obviously, you know, I did research on how circuses ran, but, uh, the circus in the book is not a regular circus. So I definitely took some, you know, some liberty with how it ran and how it functioned. So one thing about the circus that's important in the books, I guess, is that there are certain performers who get more privilege. And they're called lilies in the books. And that's because, you know, it's simply due to, like, you know, racial racism, because the white performers in the circus, they get treated a lot better than the performers of color. You know, the. In the book, the white forms, you know, they get to live, you know, in a hotel that is connected to the circus. They get to live in this hotel. You know, they get, you know, more, I guess, comfortable accommodations, while, you know, the performers of color, they live in this boarding house. Um, and I think, you know, it's. It was. I guess that sort of treatment came up, you know, when I was thinking about it, because I Was like, wondering if something similar might really happen, you know, because obviously back then, like. And I think it also kind of proved to be, you know, when you really think about it, in the end, everyone is competing in these games for, you know, the very privileged at the top. So I guess that sort of treatment is interesting to think about, but it's also part of why Fallon is so angry, because she looks at them and she's like, I know why they're treated this way. And it's not fair because it's not something, you know, like, how I look and where I'm from is not something that should be, you know, treated as inferior.
- [11:45]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
Right. And you also see it extend to, you know, the. The. The wealthy who are. And the privileged who are watching this competition want the. The lilies. They want those who, you know, the. The white folks, the ones who are more privileged, want them to win anyway. Right. There's this sort of history of, like, Fallon and Fallon. The people that Fallon is aligns with come into this behind anyway. They come into it probably, or with the assumption that they're probably going to lose. Right. So there's a little.
- [12:17]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
I think, yeah. In the books, it's very much like she's, like, there hasn't really. They always want, like, the lilies to win. And that's part of the reason, I guess, why they're also put into these games, because, as she says, they want, you know, someone to, like, they want a winner that they want, you know, so every time, like, there's been a Border winner, like they call themselves, you know, Borders because they live in the boarding house, um, the audience has not been. It's not been that favorable with them. Um, but obviously, you know, she doesn't care. You know, she doesn't care what the audience likes. So. But that is, you know, something that comes up in the book.
- [13:00]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
So you have all. So we have this circus, we have this game. And can we talk a little bit about how you end up playing the Game of Oats? Right? Like, how, like, you have 12 people care. They have 12 people play. So how do they end up even being put into it?
- [13:16]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Yeah, sure. So basically every year they have, you know, like, sort of a gathering which they call the Reckoning. And it's basically when this panel of people, I guess, not to spoil too much, but like a panel of people, they essentially, you know, meet with each performer, you know, and then they decide whether to put them in or not based on how they think the audience would react. But I think really the, you know, The. The bottom line, though, is that there's no escape for any of these performers. Like, they kind of realize that, like, one of the ensemble cats, she's a new. She's new to the circus. She's a new performer. So this is her first time there. Right. So the kind of realization, you know, was that, like, none of them are getting out of this. You know, if not this year, they may pick next year, but, like, they're not going to get out of it. So I think the horror of that realization really sets in on her, and. But for Fallon, it's more like, well, I saw this coming, so.
- [14:30]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
Well, and one thing, I don't think this is a spoiler, really, but if you are like, yes, it is, but. But another thing that really comes up is that they're kind of. Along with that, they're. They are stuck in this situation because they have sort of signed paperwork, right? They have committed to being a part of this circus, and they can't just leave. Right. It's not like, oh, I'm done being in the circus. I want to leave. Right. Like, they're indentured servants kind of to the circus. So, yeah, can you talk a little bit about that and why that becomes really important. Important in the story, but also as part of that sort of horror of, you're never going to leave.
- [15:07]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Yeah, it's because, you know, I think of Jump here, the ringmaster of the circus. You know, I think him almost as this, like, devil sort of figure. Like, he. He comes to people when they're at their most, like, desperate or their most helpless, and he presents himself as this. He presents himself as this savior, you know, and he's like, oh, you know, like, I have a. You know, I have a place for you. I can save you. And then people, you know, they go with him because they're like, okay, this is my only option. And at first you're like, wow, I actually, you know, I found somewhere that I could be happy, but it's not, obviously, you know, like, he. He makes them, you know, sign a contract with them. And I think of it almost like signing a deal with the devil, you know, because, like, at the moment, you don't realize how, you know, how consequential signing that, you know, contract is. And that's also, I guess, why they don't. There's a rule at the Cirque where they don't talk about their past because, I guess, partially because they don't want to get attached to each other, you know, because they eventually realize, oh, we're all going to go into this game so there's no reason to be attached to each other. Um, but you know, it's also because of that sort of like once you sign a contract, you know, with him, it, it almost doesn't matter because you're stuck in this situation.
- [16:31]
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Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
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S.C. Bondretti (Author)
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S.C. Bondretti (Author)
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- [18:32]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Yeah.
- [18:32]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
Like, and it's this. You're stuck there. And they're teenagers, too, right? Like, she's what, 7 Valentine? She's. And so it's like this extra thing where you're like, oh, I can be here for, you know, a year.
- [18:45]
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Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
You know, you don't really know. And then you're like, I have committed, you know.
- [18:51]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Yeah. I think. I think also that adds more to the horror of it, too. Like, when you realize that these are, you know, these are just kids, you know, like, Fallon is 17 and the youngest member of the ensemble. She's 15. So it really. It really makes you think because, like, these are, you know, these are teenagers put in this sort of situation that they shouldn't be in the first place, you know, and they're being, you know, exploited. They're being mistreated. So, you know, that's also why Fallon as a main character was. You know, her anger, you know, is something that never really softened throughout the story. Because personally, I mean, when I was writing her, I was like, I. I don't think it should, because, you know, she's been in this situation of being, you know, mistreated. You know, she's been, like, a victim of, like, you know, racism and, like, sexism and prejudice, and there's no reason, you know, she should apologize for her anger. Yeah.
- [19:52]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
And we learn a little bit about her past. Right. And again, like, this comes up pretty early. Like, she is traveling to find her father who had left India, and she's watched her brother die. She watched her mother die. Right. Like, so at a very young age. She's been through lots of trauma in her life, and then she gets here and watches her, like, sister die the year before. Right? So she, like, by the time she's 16, has seen lots of death and, you know, like, within her life. Like, so. Yeah, like, agree with you that, like, it's. It's really hard for her. Right?
- [20:25]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
No, I agree. I think, you know, I think that's also part of why, like, I think from the start, she was a pretty, you know, closed off sort of character. But I think these things happening in her life only made her more closed off.
- [20:38]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
So you. So we have this sort of, you know, the folks in the circus and the folks who are competing in this game, but you also have this cast of characters outside, right? So you have, like, multiple ensemble casts going on. So you also have her kind of partners in, like, literal partners in crime. So can you talk a little bit about like, that other sort of side, the other world, and who is kind of helping her out in these games and what's going on there.
- [21:13]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Yeah, so I think. I think that was definitely, again, I love writing ensemble cast. I think they're just so fun to write because you just get so many different personalities and backstories and just so much to work with and explore. So I guess, you know, there's a big part of the Cirque that's also. It's connected to a hotel. And the hotel also runs a casino, you know, an underground casino. And there are dealers in that casino who kind of live among the Cirque performers because they're technically, you know, working under the hotel owner. And one of these dealers happens to be kind of a partner in crime to Ballon, you know, because they've done, you know, they. They have a little kind of history and of, like, kind of pulling off pawns and stuff and maybe some, you know, a little feelings here and there, but they haven't admitted it, so. So there, you know, I think her. And the dealer's name, by the way, is Bellamy. Bellamy, I think, is just such a great foil to Fallon because they're just such total opposites. Fallon is just so closed off and, like, cold. But Bellamy is super, you know, flippant. He's super charming, even though, you know, you kind of see how, like, trauma shaped both of them. But they're both, again, so different from each other, and they bring out almost, like, the best and the worst in each other.
- [22:45]
Ryan Reynolds (Mint Mobile Advertiser)
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S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Totally loved writing. You know, Bellamy and Fallon's little, like, duo of, like, pulling things off together. And then, you know, you have other members in the ensemble, too. You know, I think another one of my favorite characters to write was Jules, and he's the son of the hotelier, the hotel's owner, and he has his own little character arc of. He's, you know, very anxious, you know, And I'm trying not to dive into, you know, spoiler territory, so I'm just kind of being a little vague. I'm not sure if this is a spoiler because it happens early on in the book, but, yeah, you can.
- [23:28]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
I feel like you can be like, whatever you decide is spoiler or not spoiler, you get to go with. Right?
- [23:36]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
I mean, gosh, I guess let's just say that he, you know, he's hiding a lot of stuff, and he has to learn. I guess his character arc is about sort of, like, battling that anxiety and, like, you know, what he feels like, because he, you know, he he is the hotelier's son, but, you know, at the same time, he's not treated like one and he's never really been accepted in this world. And then another part of the ensemble cast is the Cirque's winner from last year, Lucien. And Lucien also was very interesting for me to write, I think. Also, I'm not sure this is a little spoilery, but it probably becomes clear early on anyway. His little dynamic with Jewels and they're little, you know, like back and forth with each other, but almost, you know, a little flirtatious eventually was so, so fun for me to write. You know, I. I really like those two as a pairing. It was just like. Because, you know, I think part of this book also was that romance wasn't really a big factor, but the little crumbs that were in there were, like, perfect. I feel like they were just so, you know, like you were waiting for them and then when they hit at the right moment, you're like the payoff.
- [24:59]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
So, yeah, see, you know, when you're doing this huge cat, right? When you have this huge cast of characters, can you talk as a writer? Like, how do you kind of create backstories for all of them? Like, how do you keep them in? Like, how do you keep track of all of them? How do they kind of sort of form for you? But because not everything about them can appear on the page, right? There's just too many. But, yeah, can you talk a little bit about that? Like, keeping them in line, figuring out, like, how, like, making them sort of rich characters for your reader, even though you can't go delve into them like you can, some of your main protagonists and stuff?
- [25:39]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Well, I think, you know, since. Since there's like five point of views in the story, five main ones, I guess I was definitely allowed to kind of view all of them, all of these point of views as, like, main characters. So even though Fallon, I guess, is more of the primary protagonist, I definitely viewed Bellamy, Lucien and Jules and even Ari as the main characters, too. So, you know, when I. When I write them, I really love, when I write ensemble cast to, like, kind of dive into each one of their paths and see what all of them want. You know, I think that's so important to making a character, to just know what shaped them and to know what they want, what they desire. So how I keep track of it usually is I have, for each of my books, I have something called a planning doc. And the planning doc is very big. I think it's about 31,000 words. So it's very long. Yeah. It contains, like, you know, old outlines, old timelines, old character descriptions. You know, like, just so much stuff. And, you know, I described it before to people and, like, it's almost like a messy room, really. I feel like someone else going into it wouldn't know where anything is, but I would know where everything is. So I think that was the very. For me, it was a functional way to keep track of all these characters and their backstories. We definitely had to cut out some stuff just because not everything, as you said, not everything can make it onto the page. For a writer, obviously, that's super sad because it's almost like killing your darlings. But at the end, I do feel like it was probably necessary because there's so much. There's already so much in the book going on. You know, I feel like it might have even become a little confusing with a lot of extra stuff, so. But that was. That was essentially how I kept track of them. There were some backstories, you know, that shifted here and there, but I think for the most part, once you figure out what your characters want and, like, you know, how what got them there, that. That direction is pretty. Pretty solid.
- [27:56]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
So in this world, right, magic also exists, and. And there's kind of rules for magic, and some people get to use magic and some people don't. And so can you talk a little bit about the magic of your world and what is going on and who. Who gets to benefit from it?
- [28:15]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Yeah, good question. So there's basically, the people in this world that have magic are called enchanters. And they essentially were. I guess, you know, there's like, a little history of them. They're looked up as kind of like witches or sorcerers before in that sort of history. One thing that I really had fun with also when writing the book was at the start of each part, there's a little quote from, like, a textbook from, like, teaching about this magic. So that in world textbook, I had a lot of fun kind of coming up with. But so the rules have kind of shifted, though, at this, like, 1896 alternate Paris, where now certain people can only use magic legally, but they have to have certificates or certs. And, you know, these have to be awarded in a way where you can only use magic if it's beneficial to society. So however it becomes clear that the people that are allowed that are, you know, awarded certs are people who are, you know, white, privileged men. So, yeah, the most straightforward way I can say that, yeah, like, it's essentially just white privileged men. So I guess I do have to reveal this about Jules to talk about this point. But Jules is an enchanter, but he's been keeping it a secret because, you know, so it kind of speaks about his lineage because his father is not an enchantor, so. And neither was his, you know, his stepmother. But people did not know this wasn't his real mother. So Jules essentially throughout the entire book kind of has to teach himself how to use this magic because in the end he's not allowed to. So I think definitely defining this world of like, you know, magic use and magic rules was one of the most challenging aspects of the book because it's probably like rite of fantasy. I mean, rite of passage, sorry, when you're a fantasy writer because the moment you fix a plot hole, another one opens up.
- [30:28]
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- [30:31]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
that I think was probably the most challenging part of, you know, coming up with these rules. But I had some really good suggestions and feedback from my editors. They were very helpful with this.
- [30:43]
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- [32:14]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
Yeah. And the whole sort of game is an illusion, right? Like, there are plenty. Like, it's. It's created through this magic. It's created as a way to entertain. And they know they're sort of in an illusion around them, but they still. But everything that happens really happens, right? If you die, you die. It's not like that's an illusion. That's the truth.
- [32:36]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Yeah, I think, because, you know, the setting of the game, because, like, John Pierre, again, it's an enchanter, and he uses that illusion to make his circus feel very vivid, you know, in that setting. But in the end, it's the actual people that are doing killing, you know, so that part isn't an illusion.
- [32:55]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
So you. You've alluded to this before, but I'd love for you to talk a little bit more about the research that you did for this, right? Because, like, there's a lot of research that goes into doing historical fiction, right. Historical fantasy, and even thinking about magic and thinking about all these, like, how do I create this world that is a world that doesn't have the whole. Right. That. That is a solid world. So, yeah. Can you talk a bit. A bit more about the research you did to put this together?
- [33:25]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Yeah, sure. So I think that was also another super challenging part of the book because, you know, you try to keep everything as accurate as you can to the time period. Again, super lucky to have really good copy editors who, like, found things that I missed out on. But it was a lot of, you know, I did a lot of reading about, you know, life in the Belle Epoque. I did reading about, you know, casinos about, you know, I think one thing, and some things didn't even make in the book. Like, in a really early draft, I did a ton of research about how tea in the Belle epoch, like, tea time was in the belle epoch or like French tea time. And because I wanted the characters to have this, like, moment of having tea. And then when I was writing that super early draft, I was like, this is not going to work in the book. So I had to cut out that whole scene of them having tea time. And that that info just never made it into the book. But I think also a lot of research kind of went into logistics, like how things were, like, where things were around Paris, you know, how the trains ran was something invented at the time. And again, there are lots of instances of just catching stuff throughout the drafts. Like, for example, I use the word adrenaline A lot. In some of the earlier drafts, I was like, adrenaline ran through her veins. And then one day when I was, like, doing edits, I was like, hang on. Was adrenaline even, like, a word back then? Like, was it discovered? And I found out, I looked it up, and it was not a word back then. Like, it wasn't. There's a word for adrenaline. And then I was like, oh, my gosh, I can't. I can't use this word.
- [35:07]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
So.
- [35:08]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
And, you know, another instance of this was we for the certificates. They were initially laminated. And then I think my editor was like, I don't.
- [35:20]
New Books Network Announcer
Hold on.
- [35:20]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Was lamination even a thing back then? And we found out it wasn't, so we had to change that, too. So it was just, you know, matters of, like, fact checking all these little things until the very end. Like, it really never stops. So I would say that was probably one of the most challenging aspects. So, you know, that history research in general, I love that.
- [35:42]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
I love, like, does this word actually exist? Right? Because we often think, like, the word has been there forever or it's just a totally modern word. And, like, realizing, like, there's certain words, like, when did the word come into existence if it hasn't been around?
- [35:56]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
It was. It was very shocking because I realized when I was doing, you know, this research and fact checking that a lot of the things that, you know, we say or, you know, we have are actually very modern. Like, they appeared in, like, the 20th century. So, like, for example, Jules, at one point, he's telling. I forgot the first. The actual what he said, the phrase. But he was essentially telling someone to go away. And we looked up the phrase, I think, and we realized that phrase wasn't a thing until, like, the 1950s. And we were like, oh, well, what do we say? And, you know, my editor suggested Beat it, right? And I at first didn't want to use Beat it because I thought of Michael Jackson.
- [36:45]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
So.
- [36:45]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
But it was shocking because every time I tried to look up another sort of phrase, they were all very modern. You know, even if they sounded old to me, they came up, you know, 19, like the, you know, 1950s, you know, that sort of middle 20th century. And I was like, oh. And then eventually we. We went with Beat it. So I just thought that was really funny, you know.
- [37:07]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
So that is great. I love it so much. So one other thing I wanted to ask you about, like, you were leaning into talking a little bit about, too, is like, how did this. Like, you. We write something, we read it, but it goes through so many sort of revisions and drafts. And so can you talk a little bit about some of the things that maybe that you had that changed or you had to kind of leave or are there any sort of big things that you were like, I thought I was going to go in this direction or I thought these characters were going to be in here, this. And that had to disappear. Yeah. Can you talk a little bit about some of.
- [37:40]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
There were definitely changes, actually, at first. I guess a really big one is that we added Ari's point of view when I started working with my editors, because initially it was Fallon, Bellamy, Lucien and Jules. And then we added Ari because we thought that would be sort of another dynamic to that main cast. Because Ari, you know, as I said, she's like a new person to the circus. So her point of view is less jaded than her. The other four people, point of views. So it was interesting to write her point of view because she comes off as almost this naive, but not. Not quite because she's. She's been, you know, through some stuff, so she's not as naive as people think she is. So I think that I really like that change that we made, you know, adding her point of view. And another thing actually was when we were writing the actual tournament games, we actually changed an entire round. Yeah. So that was a lot of revision at that point, because I think when you're writing the actual game, so you have to realize people. It has to be kind of unique, but it has to also draw readers in envy. They want it. We wanted that sort of, like, gripping, sort of like we wanted readers to keep turning the page, like, what happens next? You know, so, you know, it just wasn't working for one of the rounds, so I had to completely rewrite that. So. But on the whole, I think the direction of the book sort of really went the way that I wanted it to, because it was, you know, from the start, that sort of emotional core was always the same. You know, Fallon getting, wanting revenge for her sister. And, you know, I'm really happy that that core kind of stayed there and is still there in the final product.
- [39:41]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
So I have to ask. So because you added, you. You knew you were going to come in with four points of view, right? POVs. And so then you added a fifth. And so as you're talking about it, I was wondering, like, so then when you did that, did you just kind of pull from other. Did you just add that POV and expand? Or were you like, okay, Fallon is saying this, but I could turn. What. What we're looking at Fallon's pov, but I could turn that into Ari's. Like, can you? Yeah, like, does that make sense? Does that question.
- [40:10]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Yeah.
- [40:10]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
Interesting.
- [40:11]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
I think we mainly added, you know, because I think the length of the book grew longer when we. From when we first started. When I first started working my editors, it grew longer. I think there were a couple of times where we changed certain stuff, like, not just from Ari, but for the other point of views to add more chapters to theirs. It may have originally been in balance, but then we were like, maybe it'll work better in another point of view. You know, I think after so many drafts, it's definitely hard to come up with, like, a specific example because it was. It was a lot of revision at that point, but just to, you know, because just to balance the point of views and, like, make each one have a purpose, so. But I. I do get what you're saying, you know, like, there definitely were instances where we had to change, you know, a character's point of view to another one. For Ari, though, I think we mostly added. We added hers. And also I was really happy because it gave me more of a chance to dive into her backstory, where she came from, you know, so I was. I was glad for that.
- [41:27]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
So. So is this world going to continue? Are you like.
- [41:32]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
I. I definitely would like to revisit it, but, you know, the future is always wide open.
- [41:40]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
So my final question then, like, what. What's going on now? Like, any self promo with this book? Anything else you're working on that you want or can let people know about where to find you? What do you want people to know?
- [41:55]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
All I can say is definitely follow me on socials, you know, for more info. You know, there may be some things happening in the future with it. There may not be. It's just. It's just about knowing what I can say at this time. But I would definitely, you know, keep an eye out. Follow me. I'm mostly active on Instagram and TikTok, you know, SC Andretti. So, yeah, just keep an eye out. I've been posting more, you know, social posts about the game Oats. It would be awesome, you know, to like, see, I guess, people's reactions or to see, you know, what people. People enjoying the book. Because I think that's definitely been a really nice part of it coming out that people have been telling me that, you know, they enjoyed it or, you know, they liked a certain character, liked certain plot points. It really makes me happy because that's, you know, that's my motivation for writing these books.
- [42:57]
Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
Awesome. Thank you so much, Soumya, for talking with me about the game of oats again on New Books Network.
- [43:04]
S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Yeah, thanks so much for having me. It's been. It's been really fun.
- [43:07]
New Books Network Announcer
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- [43:50]
ZocDoc Patient
Ouch.
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ZocDoc Patient
But I can't stop training. The marathon is in two weeks. Let's get on ZocDoc and find a doctor to take a look at that for you. Okay, Here's a review. Dr. Craddock really takes his time.
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S.C. Bondretti (Author)
No, I don't have time.
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S.C. Bondretti (Author)
Bring it on.
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Rebecca Buchanan (Interviewer)
You've got Options.
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Ryan Reynolds (Mint Mobile Advertiser)
Download the ZocDoc app today.