The more we learn about A Drop of Venom, the more that our anticipation threatens to consume us entirely. And we’re not alone in anxiously awaiting the release of the latest Rick Riordan Presents title. Thankfully, this YA, feminist retelling of the Medusa myth goes on sale next week, on 1/16.
Double thankfully, the author of A Drop of Venom, Sajni Patel graciously joined us to answer some of our most burning questions.
Read Riordan: Thank you for joining us, Sajni! Firstly, what initially inspired you to write A Drop of Venom?
Sajni Patel: I’ve always been enamored with mythology, and Medusa’s short but powerful legend has stuck with me since I first read about her in middle school. She has a tragic story that always felt incomplete and wrong. Truly, that couldn’t be all there was to her: a temple priestess assaulted, cursed, exiled, hunted, and finally beheaded by a “hero” who then used her body to kill another “monster” in order to save the woman he loved. At the same time, the legend of the naga grew on me: a benevolent, semidivine species of half human, half cobra. For years, I knew these two floating pieces somehow fit into the story I wanted to tell, but the story had yet to form.
Fast forward to coming across the statue, Medusa with the Head of Perseus in front of the NYC courthouse as a proclamation of the need for justice for sexual assault survivors. In this reversal of the famous Perseus with the Head of Medusa statue, we find a snake-haired, formidable woman holding Perseus’s head in one hand and a sword in the other. She is nude and wears a look of fury and fierceness that says, “You came to hurt me, and I will not have it.”
In that moment, Venom was born in a flurry of words and characters and emotions mapped out in an anachronistic, converging, dual-POV timeline that shows what a sexual assault victim with growing powers has gone through, and how those who have wronged her control the narrative, labeling her a monster rather than taking accountability. A Drop of Venom challenges that narrative and asks the question, What does it truly mean to be a monster?
Read Riordan: Do you have a favorite myth?
Sajni: I would say the Medusa myth is my favorite. Either she had been wronged and was failed by those who could have protected her, or her narrative was twisted by those who would rather make her the monster.
Read Riordan: If you could pick any of the characters from A Drop of Venom to hang out with for a day, who would you pick? Why?
Sajni: The beautiful, fearless, cunning Kumari. She’s a yakshini, a protector of the Great River, a rider of water dragons. She lives in an underwater city. I’d love to see that world.
Read Riordan: Manisha and Pratyush are both shaped by their relationships with their sister(s). Do you have siblings?
Sajni: I have an extraordinary brother. His name comes from a mythological hero in the Hindu epics. I’m not sure how I lucked out having him as my sibling, but he’s the sort of person who brings light to everyone’s life. Selfless and caring, he’s the one who will always be there. In times where I felt outcast and othered, he never once made me feel less than. Instead, his optimism and praise have always allowed me to stand up and shine. And not just me, but everyone.
He’s that type of person without a negative bone in his body. He encourages me to be positive and happy and stands as a shining example in our family and community. I hope everyone has a person like my brother in their corner.
Read Riordan: What creature or monster from the world of A Drop of Venom do you think would be the most horrifying to encounter in real life?
Sajni: There are many horrifying creatures in A Drop of Venom, ones that I would not wish upon anyone. But the one that would terrify the most in real life are the vetala. Imagine a tall, almost reptilian humanoid monster that silently and swiftly approaches in the dark, beneath the cover of fog—a mist that detects prey. They’re drawn by the slightest sounds and movements and are so quick that they may be upon you in a blink of an eye. As they tower over you, reeking of pungent death, you are terrified and petrified into place.
Their talons and armored scales catch the moonlight, and you dare not tilt your head back to catch their giant, elongated eyes and serrated teeth. But they feast with ravenous hunger, making your death painful but hurried, as they grip you by the throat and slide a very long tongue into your mouth and into your sinus cavity, releasing a potent bone-dissolving venom to feast on your brains.
Read Riordan: Thanks for the nightmare fuel! Finally, do you have anything you can share with us about future adventures in Manisha and Pratyush’s world?
Sajni: A Drop of Venom hints at other realms, the kingdom, a labyrinth (hello again, vetala), the demise of an ancient god-like race, and the beginning of it all. I hope to share future stories where these places and histories are explored by each sister as they traverse their own adventures.
Get ready to meet Manisha and Pratyush for yourself, and be sure to order your copy of A Drop of Venom today!