COLLECTOR'S EDITION
an Exclusive Q&A
with Bethany Atazadeh
What inspired you to write the world of The Stolen Kingdom series?
The Stolen Kingdom series had a strange beginning! My husband is from Iran and one day when we were talking about the Disney movie, Aladdin, he told me that “Genie” (or Jinni) means “demon” in Farsi.
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Being the researcher that I am, I was intrigued and had to check it out. I stumbled on a website that described the Jinn as “supernatural creatures that could be either good or evil.”
This immediately made me think of angels versus demons, yet completely different. A fantasy “creature” or being that I’d never seen anyone write about before (although I later found lots of fun stories about the Jinn).
I began to imagine what a race of Jinn might be like, and from there, the world of the Jinn—with supernatural beings who can be either good or evil—was born.
How did you decide which fairytales you wanted to retell in this series?
It was a long process! Initially, I only knew that I wanted to start with Aladdin and I wanted a three or four book series. So, I made a list of my absolute favorite fairy tales: Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, Mulan, and of course, Aladdin.
At first I was stumped for how to choose the order of the fairytales, so I started by plotting one book at a time.
Once I knew where book one would end, it was a matter of testing which of the fairytales from my list would fit best. I tried to make Beauty and the Beast the second book in the series, since that’s my favorite fairytale. It didn’t work at all.
That’s when I learned that I needed characters to fit a profile in the first retelling, but also fit a profile in the second. And the same for the third and fourth books. It didn’t need to be all the characters, but for that connection between books to exist, there needed to be both a world and multiple characters connecting them.
For example: Gideon became my “tie” between the first two books: in book one, he fills the role of the “genie” character from the Aladdin tale, but in book two, he plays the role of the prince in the Little Mermaid.
Once I determined the first three books would be retellings of Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast (because you know I had to make that fit somewhere!), that left just one more book to finish the story I had in mind.
At that point though, I realized that I needed one of my main characters to be the villain. No matter how much I tried, Mulan and Pocahontas didn’t fit.
Finally, I began to look elsewhere, specifically searching for a fairytale with the right villain. That led me eventually to Sleeping Beauty, and the “evil fairy”—and when I realized that this character could overlap with the “evil fairy” in Beauty and the Beast, as well as fill roles in books one and two, I immediately knew I’d found the right story.
What is another fairytale you would love to retell someday?
I love this question because I would be more than happy to write more retellings, whether as a companion series, a new spin-off, or something else altogether!
But if you read my above list of initial fairytales I wanted to try, you may notice that two of my favorites were left out: Pocahontas and Mulan. (And I realize that these two may not technically qualify as fairytales.)
Just in case, I’ve already carefully placed hints of other lands in this current series, and the possibilities of eventually writing these retellings fairytales—and more—are endless!
Did you outline all four books before you started writing The Stolen Kingdom?
I did! If you follow my YouTube channel where I share writing and publishing advice, you’ve probably heard me talk about the book called Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody. I have found that the beat sheet (which includes 15 story beats and sub-story beats) to be the absolute perfect fit for my “plotser” spirit.This is mainly because I’m not able to fully pants a novel (aka tell it by the seat of my pants without any plotting), BUT I also get extremely bored and frustrated by plotting that’s too detailed. I remember trying to fill out character profiles and worldbuilding questionnaires, and I’d give up halfway through because I just didn’t know and finding out in that particular format was boring to me. I needed to know SOMETHING to start, but I didn’t want to know EVERYTHING.
Everyone is different, and once I figured out this happy medium that worked for me personally, I was able to plot “just enough” of the story elements to begin drafting. In case you’re curious, I knew all my main characters, but no side characters. I had names picked out, but nearly all of them were later changed! (The only names that never changed in this series were Kadin and Gideon.) I also had a few generic character traits for the main characters fleshed out, based on the original fairy tales, as well as an idea of the initial “world” or “set-up”, along with a catalyst and debate that brought them into a new world, where they would meet a b-story character and go through some victories and defeats, and finally, a very rough idea of the ending. That said, I have since looked back at my original outlines and not one of them stayed the same. Each book included some surprises and detours that led to major changes in the plot, which eventually led to an entirely new story. But you have to start somewhere, right?
The Official Spotify Playlist
Wondering what music inspired The Stolen Kingdom Series? Here’s the book’s official playlist, listened to quite a lot during the writing process.
The Maps of The Stolen Kingdom Series
CHARACTER ART
art by Margarita Lapina https://www.deviantart.com/lamaraloon
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art by Ingrid Nordli at https://www.instagram.com/arcticpaintbrush
art by Ireen Chau at https://www.instagram.com/theherbwitchsapprentice
GIDEON CHAPTER
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BOOKISH MERCH
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GLOSSARY
Aaran-Shah (AIR-rin-Shah) – Shah in Hodafez
Abner (AB-nur) – Jinni
Adel Heydari (Ah-dell Hey-dar-ee) – Dragon Watch initiate
Ahdamon (AH-da-MON) – Lady Eiena’s kingdom in the north
Ahmadi (Ah-MAH-dee) – Nesrin’s family surname
Amir (Ah-MEER) – King Amir of Sagh, a wealthy neighboring kingdom of Hodafez
Ananias (Ann-nun-NIGH-us) – Jinni
Arie (ARE-ee) – princess of Hodafez (means Lion in Hebrew)
Arman (Are-MAHN) – owner of the Red Rose
Auger (Ah-gur) – a Mere spell
Avizun (Ah-VEE-sun) – the lead Dragon hunter
Azadi-Shah (Ah-ZAHD-dee-Shah) – Shah in Aziz
Aziz (Ah-ZEES) – the kingdom where Arie and Kadin meet (loosely translated it means sweetheart)
B’har (Bah-har) – a Jinni spell
Baba (BAH-buh) – persian word for father
Bache (Bah-chay) – persian word for children
Bafrin (BAF-frin) – kingdom to the East where Daichi and Ryo are from
Baradaan (Bar-rah-DON) – kingdom where Kadin and Naveed grew up
Barnabas (Bar-nah-bus) – the Jinni turned into a wolf
Benaiah (Ben-NIGH-ah) – Jinni
Berange-Shah (Beh-RANGE-Shah) – Shah in Hodafez (berange is also the persian word for rice)
Bond-brother / bond-sister – a Jinni relationship that’s considered the same as a blood brother/sister, though not related by blood
Bosh (BAH-sh) – member of Kadin’s crew (persian word for yes)
Captain Navabi (Nah-VAH-bee) – Captain of the Guard in Hodafez
Captain Tehrani – Captain of the Guard in Aziz
Cerith – a Mere spell
Chimigi (CHEE-mee-gee) – language and home country of the woman who speaks with Prince Dev (loosely translated it means what do you mean)
Crowning Ceremony – an event that takes place in Jinn every fifty years
Daichi (DIE-chee) – member of Kadin’s crew
Daleth – a Jinni portal into the human world (the Hebrew word for door)
Dev (Deh-v) – prince of Baradaan
Dina (Dee-nah) – Rena’s fourth older sister
Dmitri (Di-MEE-tree) – mereman
Dokhtari (Dukt-tar-ee) – a title of affection (persian word for daughter)
Doost (Dew-st) – name given to the dragon (persian word for friend)
Dusa (DOO-sah) – the name for Arie during the heist (persian word for sweetheart)
Egor (Ee-gore) - mereman
Eiana (EYE-nah) – the Lady Eiena
Elam (EE-lahm) – creepy man in Aziz
Enoch (Ee-knock) – the violet-eyed Jinni who helps King Amir
Farideh (Fair-REE-duh) – Arie’s lady-in-waiting
Gaspar (Gas-SPAR) – king of Aziz
Ghormey-Sabzi – a traditional persian dish (roughly translated it means green stew)
Gideon (GID-e-un) – a Jinni
Haman (HEY-mun) – shopkeeper in Aziz
Hanna (HAH-nah) – Arie’s mother (means grace or favor in Hebrew)
Hashem (Hah-SHEM) – boy Nesrin dances with
Havah (HAH-vuh) – Arie’s lady-in-waiting (persian word for sky)
Heechi (Hee-chee) – town where Nesrin lives (persian word for nothing)
Hodafez (Ho-DAH-fes) – Arie’s kingdom (loosely translated in persian it means goodbye)
Hoishi (HOY-she) – Daichi and Ryo’s home
Horn Shell – a Mere spell
Illium (ILL-ee-um) – member of Kadin’s crew
Jedekiah (Jed-uh-KI-ah) - Jinni
Jezebel (JEZ-zuh-bell) – queen of the Jinn
Jinn/Jinni (Gin/GIN-nee) – Jinn is the name of the country and the race of Jinn as a whole (i.e. the Jinn, the land of Jinn); Jinni is the singular, used to refer to an individual Jinni and also as a possessive (i.e. a Jinni, a Jinni’s Gift)
Jinyue - a human kingdom
Jonah (JOE-nah) - Jinni
Joram (Jor-rum) – a Jinni hired by Nesrin’s father to help him
Kadin (KAY-din) – leader of the crew of thieves
Kathenoth – scattered pieces of a Jinni’s will and proof of existence (Hebrew word for protection)
Khaanevaade (Hah-nah-vah-DAY) –a fable even older than the Jinn, the supposed ancestors of dragons (persian word for family)
Kushta – an herb that helps healing occur faster and soothes the body, works differently depending on the form it’s in
Lacklore – a beast in Jinn with an ox head and bear body
Lemuel (LEM-you-el) – another Jinni
Lightning Whelk – a Mere spell
Lyra (LEER-rah) – Jinni
Maadar (Moh-DAR) – persian word for mother
Maadar Bozorgi (Moh-DAR Boh-ZOORG-ee) – an old woman in Heechi (persian word for grandmother)
Madani (Muh-DAWN-ee) – one of the families in Hodafez
Mahdi (MAH-dee) – king of Hodafez (persian word for guided one)
Malakai (MAL-uh-kye) – prince of Jinn
Marzban-Shah (MARS-bin-Shah) – Shah in Hodafez
Mem – the river that runs by the capital city in Jinn (Hebrew word for water)
Mere (Meer) – meremaids and mereman, also known as mere-folk
Meymun (May-MOON) – side character mentioned (persian word for monkey)
Misha (MEE-sha) – Rena’s second older sister
Nadia (NAH-dee-ah) – Rena’s third older sister
Naomi (Nay-OH-me) – Jinni
Naveed (Nah-VEED) – member of Kadin’s crew
Nesrin (NEZ-rin) - girl from Heechi who broke Malakai’s curse
Phidar (FI-der) – a venomous insect
Piruz (Peer-ROOZ) – town Arie is originally aiming for
Red Rose – the inn and tavern in Baradaan
Rena (REE-nah) also known as the Grand Tsaretska Marena Yuryevna Mniszech (Zar-ret-ska Mar-reen-na Yer-yev-na Nez-zich) – youngest daughter of the Sea King and Queen
Resh – capital city in Jinn (Hebrew word for head)
Reza (REH-zah) – Kadin’s youngest brother
Roohstam (Roost-tom) – Nesrin’s older brother
Rusalka (Roo-SULK-ah) – the underwater kingdom of the Mere
Ruslan (Roos-lan) – mereman
Ryo (RYE-oh) – member of Kadin’s crew
Sagh (SAW-gh) – King Amir’s kingdom (persian word for dog)
Samson (SAM-sin) – Jinni
Sapphira (Sah-FIRE-rah) – Jinni
Sasha (SAH-sha) – Rena’s fifth older sister
Sea King and Queen – Rena’s parents
Severance – when a Jinni’s Gift is severed from its owner
Shadi (Shah-dee) – Nesrin’s older sister
Shah – interchangeable title for a governer of provinces within a kingdom or for a monarch (persian word for king)
Shah’s Council – a council of local Shahs from across the kingdoms that meets to decide common laws and rules
Shark’s Eye – a Mere spell
Shazada (Shah-ZA-dah) – title that means princess (Arie’s informal nickname is Arie-zada)
Shirvan-Shah (SURE-vin-Shah) – Shah in Hodafez
Sirjan-Shah – Shah from Arie’s courtship tour
Srosh – city near Heechi
Tahran-Shah – Shah from Arie’s courtship tour
Tamar (TAY-mar) – Jinni
Teshuvah – an elixir that blocks a Jinni’s Gifts for a period of time
Tohmans – name for a large amount of coin
Urim (Yer-um) – an island in Jinn
Uziah (oo-ZI-uh) – Jinni in Jedekiah’s crew
Yazdan-Shah – Shah in Hodafez
Yik-Shah – Shah in Hodafez
Yuliya (YOU-lee-yuh) – Rena’s eldest sister
Zacheus (Zack-KEE-us) – Jinni
Zareen – Nesrin’s youngest sister
Zhubin (ZOO-bin) – king of Keshdi
Three Unbreakable Laws of Jinn:
1) Never use a Gift to deceive
2) Never use a Gift to steal
3) Never use a Gift to harm another