TRACI CHEE ON A THOUSAND STEPS INTO NIGHT
How did you go about creating the character Miuko?
When I started writing this book, sexism in our society was really rearing its ugly head. There had been a very public calling-out of misogyny, followed by a backlash against that calling-out. I wanted to write about what it’s like to exist in that kind of society, and what kind of hero that society might need.
In addition to being influenced by Japanese folklore, the book is also a critique of American patriarchy. In the world of A Thousand Steps, Miuko is a character who doesn’t have any of the stereotypically desirable female qualities, like beauty, serenity, or grace. Instead, she’s the very plain, very loud, and very clumsy daughter of an innkeeper. I wanted to explore how these qualities make her an outcast in society, but also how they empower her on her adventure. She’s a monster for stepping outside of her socially sanctioned role, but there’s also freedom in being a monster, because she can finally operate outside the rules she’s always had to abide by and finally discover who she really is without those constraints. I’ve never written a fantasy that is also such a pointed social critique, but I think the power of speculative fiction is that it shows us ourselves in an incisive way.