In this fantasy-focused episode of Why Authors Write, host Sara Stanton sits down with scientist, “eldritch monster,” and award‑winning author Premee Mohamed to talk about how she turns visions, dreams, and chronic illness into vivid speculative fiction. From eerie fairy‑tale forests to post‑collapse Alberta, Premee unpacks how she builds worlds where magic, climate disaster, and parasitic fungi all feel unsettlingly real.

Premee shares the origin of her dark fantasy novella The Butcher of the Forest, born from a haunting dream of a skull‑lined stone room and the question of whether children should pay for their parents’ sins. She traces how that vivid nightmare expanded into a full story shaped by 80s fantasy films, Shakespearean dream logic, and Latin American magical realism about colonialism—plus the urgency of writing fast enough to preserve a fragile, “dreamy” tone.

Describing how her Annual Migration of Clouds work became a trilogy, she shares her motivation for writing the original stand-alone story, and setting it in a climate‑ravaged future Alberta where a mysterious parasite called CAD blurs the line between illness and identity. Premee discusses how the series began as a quiet, standalone novella about a young woman with a chronic condition, and how her editor convinced her to grow it into a trilogy that explores other communities, perspectives, and hard choices in a broken world. Along the way, she talks openly about chronic pain, climate anxiety, and the bittersweet feeling of saying goodbye to characters she loves.

All through this engaging conversation, Premee shares insights into her rapid writing process, the inspiration that drives her, and her journey as an author. From discussing her unique approach to crafting titles to exploring themes of climate fiction in her series, Mohamed provides a deep dive into her creative world. She reflects on the emotional connections formed with her characters and the challenges of writing a series, while also teasing her upcoming full length novel Wickhills, as a cross between a spy novel and Gormenghast, set in a magical urban landscape that will be published in September 2026.


Highlights and Insights
Premee Mohamed's writing process varies depending on the project.
Titles are often a last-minute challenge for her.
Her novella 'The Butcher of the Forest' was inspired by a dream.
She aims to create stories that feel like fairy tales with deeper themes.
The 'First Thousand Trees' series explores the intersection of chronic illness and climate disaster.
Mohamed's background in science influences her writing, especially in speculative fiction.
The emotional connection to her characters is significant in her writing process.
Her upcoming novel WickHills is set in a magical future urban landscape.
She emphasizes the importance of exploring universal questions in her stories.

Chapters

00:00 Why and How Premee Mohamed Writes Fantasy
02:57 From Dreams to Storylines - Writing Process and Style
06:13 The Butcher of the Forest: Inspiration and Themes
11:56 Exploring Climate Fiction in The First Thousand Trees
18:08 The Journey of Writing a Series
24:07 Preview of the spy+magic novel WICKHILLS -coming in September 2026