Interview with Kathryn Combs, Author of Sancta Femina

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Sancta Femina?

An interview on NPR about the real-life gene-editing technology CRISPR inspired the beginnings of my novel, Sancta Femina. Later, I encountered Plutarch’s thought experiment, “The Ship of Theseus,” which explores themes of identity and change. Plutarch poses the question: If an object has all its components replaced, does it remain fundamentally the same object it was to begin with? In other words, if we were to replicate a ship, or even a living organism, does it retain its identity, or is the result something entirely new? These two concepts ultimately led me to the speculative question that became the crux of my series: What if future scientists were to clone someone of ancient significance, an individual important to the history of our civilization? To take it a step further, what if this person were not only significant but also sacred and highly revered, someone holy? . . . And thus, we have Sancta Femina.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Sancta Femina, what would they be?

I would select ‘I Choose Me’ by Amanati & Roniit for my protagonist. The song speaks to Hella’s journey of self-discovery, as she finds fortitude, endurance, and character through her many trials by fire, learning to rely on herself rather than depending on others.

What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

I started reading sci-fi as a kid after discovering Star Trek: The Next Generation, devouring every STNG novel I could find. In my teens, I read literature and philosophy in school, which included sci-fi classics like George Orwell’s 1984 and Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game. I became obsessed with historical fiction, particularly anything related to Egypt and Cleopatra, in my twenties. In my thirties, I read mostly fantasy after falling in love with George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. I enjoy reading and writing sci-fi and fantasy equally. However, I haven’t yet tackled writing pure historical fiction, which I’d love to try!

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton and Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

It’s tough to choose, but there’s a dramatic, gothic dream sequence in Part One that was incredibly fun to write. In this scene, the villain has just undergone a fresh head transplant and tells my protagonist, “You stab me, and you are stabbing the body of your lover!”

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

I enjoy writing with a Labrador at my feet and a cup of Earl Grey.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

Because I almost didn’t discover my passion for writing—not finding it until my thirties—something late poet and novelist Charles Bukowski said resonated with me deeply: “If something burns your soul with purpose and desire, it’s your duty to be reduced to ashes by it. Any other form of existence will be yet another dull book in the library of life.”

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

Question everything and never follow anything blindly.

Kathryn Combs is the author of the new book Sancta Femina

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