There’s definitely going to be one more book in the series. That book will explore the consequences of the big, world-changing events at the end of Empire of Sand. The world is returning to balance, but that’s hardly going to have pleasant consequences for the Empire, or for its people. The daiva are spreading across the Empire, growing stronger, and the nightmares aren’t gone either.

The books in the series should all stand on their own and give different insights into the world and its magic, but the next book will bring back Arwa as a grown-up, so I hope it will be extra satisfying for anyone who read and enjoyed Empire of Sand.

If you could spend a day with one of your characters, who would it be and what would you do?

Oh, this one is easy. I’d spend the day with Amun, and I’d demand piggyback rides. He’d be too nice to refuse! Then I’d feed him cake and make him tea, because my god, that boy needs some cake and tea.

Lastly, we have to ask: If you could have any magical power, what would you choose?

I’ve thought about this long and hard, and I’ve decided that I’d choose to have the power to make cats do my bidding. It would make my day-to-day life a lot easier, as my cat is a tiny disobedient hellspawn. Also, if anyone said to me, “It’s like herding cats,” I could say, “No, herding cats is very easy, actually.” It’s perfect.

A PREVIEW OF REALM OF ASH

if you enjoyed

EMPIRE OF SAND

look out for

REALM OF ASH

The Books of Ambha

by

Tasha Suri

Some believe the Ambhan Empire is cursed. But Arwa doesn’t simply believe it—she knows it’s true.

Widowed by the infamous, unnatural massacre at Darez Fort, Arwa was saved only by the strangeness of her blood—a strangeness she had been taught all her life to suppress. She offers up her blood and service to the imperial family and makes common cause with a disgraced, illegitimate prince who has turned to forbidden occult arts to find a cure to the darkness hanging over the Empire.

Using the power in Arwa’s blood, they seek answers in the realm of ash: a land where mortals can seek the ghostly echoes of their ancestors’ dreams. But the Emperor’s health is failing, and a terrible war of succession hovers on the horizon, not just for the imperial throne, but for the magic underpinning Empire itself.