I read lots and lots of books about the Mughal Empire, and read any academic papers I could get my hands on. (When they were actually available to be read at all. Don’t get me started on the open accessibility of academic research …)

The funny thing about research is that you can do a huge amount of it, and only use the barest fraction of what you find in the final story. I could probably write a thesis on the ways the Ambhan Empire differs from the Mughal Empire, as it ended up deviating in really big ways! But I wouldn’t have been able to create it at all without diving into the intricacies of Mughal court politics and provincial governance, and I definitely wouldn’t have been able to write Empire of Sand without looking at the lives of Mughal women.

The magic in this book, from the daiva to the dancing of Amrithi rites, is fascinating and unique. How did you develop this magic system?

Hindu belief and epics had a big influence on the magic system. Amrithi rites and sigils were influenced by Indian classical dance (specifically Bharatanatyam) and by the depiction of the god Shiva creating and destroying the world with dance and cosmic fire, which should sound familiar. Hindu epics are rife with vows made by mortals and immortals that have terrible consequences but can’t be broken, and spirits that aren’t quite gods, so they were a great source of material!

Honestly though, the magic system started off with me just throwing ideas I thought were cool on the page. It was only later that I realized I’d drawn a lot of inspiration from Hinduism, which isn’t surprising, as I grew up with it.

A major theme of Empire of Sand is sacrifice: the choice between familial and romantic love, between ambition and community, between different forms of government, etc. What compelled you to write about this?

I think when characters are put in a position where they have to sacrifice something—when they’re forced to choose between different, huge forces in their lives at a great cost—you get the most powerful conflict and character growth. I love reading stories that force their characters to make sacrifices and difficult choices, so of course I had to make all of that a big part of Empire of Sand.

Strong female characters are often portrayed as gun-wielding, ass-kicking heroines. However, in Empire of Sand, the protagonist is a young woman whose strength manifests in less overt ways. What were your inspirations for Mehr’s character?