Q&A with B.R. Kang

  

 

 

 

B.R. Kang is the author of the new middle grade novel Caput Mundi: The Head of the World.  

 

Q: What inspired you to write Caput Mundi?

 

A: I started writing Caput Mundi in 2007, while I was still in high school. I’d grown up immersed in vivid, imaginative fantasy worlds like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Harry Potter, and Percy Jackson. I wanted to build my own world, one that captured the same sense of wonder and escape.

 

Q: How did you create the world in which the novel takes place?

 

A: The world of Caput Mundi was inspired by Ancient Rome, with just enough familiarity to echo modern-day America. Part of that inspiration came from Cullen Murphy’s Are We Rome?, which draws fascinating parallels between the two.

 

I wanted to flip the script and write a fantasy world that mirrors our modern lifestyle, especially one that emphasizes speed, convenience, and the endless variety that shape us.

 

As I began worldbuilding, one idea really stuck: what if the society used a currency with true, practical value? That led me down a rabbit hole of what people most desire, which, to my teenage mind, were strength, intelligence, beauty, and longevity.

 

From there, I explored how these traits could become tangible currencies and how they would be created, exchanged, and regulated. That idea became the backbone of the man eloments system.

Credit: Wilhelmina Craw

 

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

 

A: A bit of both! I had an outline and knew which storylines needed to come together at the end, but I didn’t have the exact final scene figured out from the start.

 

Also, I think there’s a kind of butterfly effect that happens with writing. Small changes early in the story can shift character arcs and themes in big ways later on. Because of that, it helped to have a flexible ending until the characters and the story became clearer. The end naturally transformed to reflect what the book was really trying to say.

 

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

 

A: Here’s my favorite line in the book, inspired by a quote from W. C. Fields: “You are not what you're called, but what you answer to.”

 

In the story, the children realize that Caput Mundi, which literally means “Head of the World,” is not the perfect place it claims to be. In the same way, the labels given to the characters are revealed to be just that: labels, and not true reflections of who they are.

 

What I hope readers take away is the idea that identity is something you choose and build, not something assigned to you. A name or label only reflects the perspective of the person or system that gave it to you. I want this book to inspire people to move past those labels and define themselves on their own terms.

 

Q: This is the first in a series--can you tell us what’s next?

 

A: Book 1 introduces the world and what’s at stake, so the next book will start digging deeper into both the world and its main characters. Each book will focus on a different man eloment: how it’s used and how it shapes life in Caput Mundi. We’ll also get to explore more of the other main characters’ stories, with Soes's story coming next.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Caput Mundi: the Head of the World is an upper-middle-grade adventure fantasy with a touch of hopepunk. At its core, this is an adventure story filled with action, mystery, and well-deserved butt-kicking.

 

But it’s also about perseverance, and what it means to stand up for what’s right. It’s about finding your voice, taking your power back, and holding onto who you are. No matter what the world throws at you.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb