Allison Saft
Allison Saft is the New York Times, Sunday Times, and USA Today bestselling author of A Dark and Drowning Tide, A Fragile Enchantment, and other romantic fantasy novels. After receiving her MA in English Literature from Tulane University, she moved from the Gulf Coast to the West Coast, where she spends her time practicing aerial silks. She lives with her partner and an Italian greyhound named Marzipan.
Q: How did the idea for A DARK AND DROWNING TIDE initially come about?
A Dark and Drowning Tide was inspired by a hodgepodge of things: The Natural History of Selborne by Gilbert White, which I read and loved in grad school; a wonderful biography of Alexander von Humboldt called The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf; an abandoned idea about rival lawyers that emerged from a period of playing too much Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Danganronpa; and a general love of water (I have lived near rivers or the ocean for the past 10 years) and watery imagery (which I first began thinking about at age 18, having just finished A.S. Byatt’s Possession).
These Sapphic Stories Book Club author profiles are compiled by founder Aliya Bree Hall. Aliya is a freelance journalist and author who founded the book club in 2021 to uplift sapphic stories and celebrate LGBTQ+ authors. This excerpt has been lifted from an interview Aliya conducted with our November 2024 author. You can read the full Q&A by joining the book club.
