Q&A with Meihan Boey

 

 

 

Meihan Boey is the author of the new novel The Formidable Miss Cassidy. Her other books include The Enigmatic Madam Ingram. She is from Singapore.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Formidable Miss Cassidy, and how did you create your character Miss Leda Cassidy?

 

A: The Formidable Miss Cassidy started life as a short story, written in 2021 during COVID when the world was in lockdown. My fulltime job was suspended.

 

I’ve been a freelance writer since I was doing it for school pocket money, so I decided to look for places to send articles, short stories, whatever was open (and since the whole world was home, there was a lot open!).

 

The original Miss Cassidy short story was accepted by a small Canadian indie press. 

 

Because the audience wasn’t primarily Asian, I decided my main character would be that universal fiction trope, the Victorian governess (also my favourite trope) as she’d be easily understandable and relatable to most readers.

 

But I wanted to showcase my favourite kind of story - Southeast Asian horror - and our magnificent range of ghouls and monsters. I’ve always believed our region has the most terrifying supernatural beasties in the world, and I thought it would be so cool if more people knew about them.

 

That’s where it started! The editor of that anthology (Selene McLeod, thank you) was the one who suggested I expand the story to a full-length novel.

 

At the time, Singapore publisher Epigram was running their annual prize for unpublished manuscripts. I submitted it, it got shortlisted, and I was delighted because that meant it would be published. The manuscript ended up sharing first prize (with a great Singaporean writer, Sebastian Sim) - and the ball started rolling!

 

As to Miss Cassidy herself, I’ve always been interested in what’s broadly called “the occult” - the practice of magic, shamanism, folk religion, etc., all over the world.

 

Miss Cassidy became who she is because I wanted to pit the supernatural worlds of East and West against each other. No ordinary governess could take down our wonderfully horrible Pontianak, most famous of our monsters - so Miss Cassidy became something more that entirely mortal.

 

Q: The writer Pat Murphy said of the book, “Miss Cassidy herself is a wonder and a delight--and the blend of Victoriana and Singaporean magic is irresistible.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: Pat Murphy is one of three wonderful authors who offered praise quotes for the U.S edition of The Formidable Miss Cassidy, the others being Douglas Westerbeke and Poppy Kuroki.

 

They’re all amazing writers (I’m currently in my second read of Poppy’s book, Gate to Kagoshima) and I was thrilled and honoured to read their very kind words!

 

I’m delighted at Pat Murphy’s description, because that was exactly what I was going for - within the somewhat familiar world of Victoriana (which is more a fantasy version of that time, and not straight historical fiction), my goal was to allow the reader to explore what is probably less familiar.

 

Colonial Singapore, with our mad mix of cultures, languages, religions, and yes, traditional and folk magic, is quite a different beast from the shiny city you now see in travel brochures. 

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: Yes, I knew the ending! I generally start with the beginning and the end, and then I wrestle with all the bits in-between.

 

Those bits changed around all the time – Mr. Kay, especially, was a character who had so much personality, his dialogue alone tended to take the story to places that surprised me even as I was writing it. The precise sequence of events leading to the end also went through many changes. 

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: All I hope for is for a reader to get lost for a little while, in a world that is strange and interesting and a little terrifying, but ultimately, comforting and kind.

 

I always picture a reader picking up Miss Cassidy as someone coming home after a long, maybe stressful day, and going “screw this, I’m going to bed,” and bringing a cup of tea and Miss Cassidy to bed with them, shutting the door, shutting out the world, and leaving everything else outside.

 

Of course, if a reader discovers something new and interesting about the world in the meantime, that’s a bonus!

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: There are now three books in the series. Book 2 is The Enigmatic Madam Ingram, and Book 3 is The Mystical Mister Kay. We’re looking forward to Book 2 arriving in UK and US shores in 2026!

 

The Mystical Mister Kay won the Epigram Books Fiction Prize in 2025 and is out in Singapore from August 2025. So, in short, I have lots of marketing to get to, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

I’m also working on a new manuscript with a U.S agent, Trellis. I’ve never tried publishing directly in the U.S before, so I’m excited to see how it goes!

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I am Singaporean and my husband is Scottish. Lots of people have asked me why Miss Cassidy calls herself “Scots-Irish” rather than just plain Irish, given her name. Her parentage is referenced in Book 2 to explain it, but the truth is, I just know Scotland much better than I do Ireland, so I didn’t have to research as much if she identified as Scots!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb