I had a full outline going into writing the novel, and I used that as a road map. How did the novel evolve and change as you wrote and revised it? Are there any characters or scenes that were lost in the process that you wish had made it to the published version? As the popular adage goes, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. They really are their own individual characters who react to situations based on their unique personalities and experiences. But other than that symbolic nod, not really. Well, Fatma is named after a famous Egyptian feminist. Are Agent Fatma, Siti, or any of the other characters in the novel inspired by or based on specific individuals? I wanted to write a larger story that allowed me the space to really delve into this world I’d created-and up the stakes considerably. What was your inspiration for A Master of Djinn?Īfter the novelette A Dead Djinn in Cairo and novella The Haunting of Tram Car 015, the next logical step seemed to be a novel. His first novel is A Master of Djinn and he recently talked about itwith Daryl Maxwell for the LAPL Blog.

When so inclined he rambles on issues of speculative fiction, politics, and diversity at his aptly-named blog The Disgruntled Haradrim. Lovecraft to critiques of George Schuyler’s Black Empire, and has been a panelist and lecturer at conventions, workshops, and other genre events.Īt the current time, he resides in a small Edwardian castle in New England with his wife, infant daughters, and pet dragon (who suspiciously resembles a Boston Terrier). He melds this interest in history and the social world with speculative fiction and has written articles on issues ranging from racism and H.P. Djèlí Clark works as an academic historian whose research spans comparative slavery and emancipation in the Atlantic World. A Hugo and Sturgeon Award finalist, he is the author of The Black God’s Drums, The Haunting of Tram Car 015, and Ring Shout. Djeli Clark spent the formative years of his life in the homeland of his parents, Trinidad and Tobago.

Born in New York and raised mostly in Houston, P.

P djèlí clark a master of djinn