Author Spotlight – Amélie Wen Zhao (BLOOD HEIR)
Amélie Wen Zhao was born in Paris and grew up in Beijing in an international community. Her multicultural upbringing instilled in her a deep love of global affairs and cross-cultural perspectives. She seeks to bring this passion to her stories, crafting characters from kingdoms in different corners of the world. She attended college in New York City, where she now lives. Amélie is the author of the Blood Heir series: Blood Heir, Red Tigress, and Crimson Reign.
Welcome to the Hive, Amélie. Let’s start with the basics: tell us about your trilogy Blood Heir – why should readers check it out?
Blood Heir is the story of a princess who believes herself to be a monster because she has the power to control blood. When she is framed for her father, the Emperor’s death, she must partner with a cunning crime lord to find the murderer and unravel the greater conspiracy behind her empire. It’s set in a wintry, Russian-inspired empire and the story expands to different corners and kingdoms of the world throughout the series.
Can you tell us a bit more about your characters? Which characters from your trilogy were your favourite to develop in each novel, and were there any that proved to be tricky?
My favorite character is actually one that I hadn’t planned to be in the series at all: Ko Linnet, an East Asian assassin from a Chinese-inspired kingdom. I wrote her into the first book as a minor character because I wanted to feature someone who looked like me and was me in my fantasy world. From there, she really spread her wings and flew. She became one of the three POV characters throughout books two and three.
Ramson “Quicktongue” Farrald, conman-turned-seafaring captain, was also a favorite to write. He starts out as selfish and backstabbing, with a terrible view of the world because of his past and his circumstances – but Ana, who is so fiercely good and just, changes his mind. It’s been so fun to watch him struggle between his two sides, and it’s always a question as to what choice he’ll make in the end, and what kind of a man he’ll be.
Ironically enough, Ana, the protagonist, is probably the hardest for me to write! She is fiery-tempered and stubborn, which is most unlike me. And the questions she struggles with are most difficult: what is the right thing for her empire and for her people? Will she sacrifice that which is dearest to her for the sake of the greater good?
Tell us a little something about your writing process – do you have a certain method? Do you find music helps? Give us a glimpse into your world!
I work a full-time job in finance, so I block off the early morning and late evenings for my writing! This is actually great, because it forces me to be efficient and focus instead of slacking or getting distracted. I’ll usually start by summarizing, in three to four sentences, several key beats I want to happen in the scene I’m writing that day. This is so I’m not staring at a blank page – I start off with dots I can connect if I get stuck. And I always have music on. I have playlists for each of the books I work on, and they just transport me to certain scenes, certain emotions, and certain characters.
Speaking of worlds, what inspires your worldbuilding? Can you tell us a bit about the Affinites and their powers?
I grew up across three different countries (France, China, then the US) and I love traveling, so my worldbuilding is most often inspired by those aspects. Cyrilia was inspired by a trip to Russia, Bregon by the United Kingdom and aspects of southern Europe, and Kemeira by my own home country, China. As for the Affinites – I wanted to create a world where there were different people attuned to different things, whether physical or metaphysical – and to different degrees. So there can be a very benign Affinity to plants, for example, that makes one a good farmer. Or you can have something as intense as Ana’s blood Affinity whereby she can physically control blood and shape it into weapons – and that makes someone rather terrifying!
We see such varying opinions from authors when it comes to the time of editing their books. How have you found the editing process? Enjoyable, stressful or satisfying?
Every stage of writing to me has pros and cons, and editing is no different. In some aspects it might be easier than drafting, because you’re no longer staring at a blank page – you have something to work with. But in many aspects, it’s also harder: this is where you’re taking the story you’ve written and elevating it to another level, making sure it all ties together in terms of plot, character, world, and themes. There’s a ton of rewriting involved, and sometimes you find yourself doing a rehaul of a significant portion of the book.
What (or who) are your most significant fantasy/sci-fi influences? Are there any creators whom you dream of working with someday?
I grew up reading a lot of Chinese works as well as western ones. I would say my international upbringing truly influenced my writing in terms of the world, the cast, and the themes I wish to portray in that they are not traditionally western. There are so many fantastic creators I’d love to work with one day, but I think for me it would be most interesting to partner with a fellow Chinese diaspora. There is such a broad range of experiences and histories and cultures we each hold in our hearts that it would be fascinating to see what kind of a story we could weave together.
We always appreciate a beautiful book cover! How involved in the process were you? Was there a particular aesthetic you hoped they’d portray?
Most authors aren’t super involved in their book covers, but I got so lucky with the gorgeous, bold red aesthetics on mine. I think Harper Voyager did an incredible job, and the aesthetic was honestly one I loved the moment they showed me. I love how all three books retain the gorgeous theme of the red, bloody cloak, and the different backgrounds to hint at the events in each book. For Crimson Reign, there’s definitely a sense of finality with the darkened colors, the looming gate, the moon and clouds. The covers are going to look gorgeous together.
The world shifts, and you find yourself with an extra day on your hands during which you’re not allowed to write. How do you choose to spend the day?
Circumstances permitting, I would travel home to China and spend my day with my family: perhaps stroll along a riverside town and sit down for a bowl of noodles while watching the sun set over clay-tiled roofs.
One of our favourite questions here on the Fantasy Hive: which fantastical creature would you ride into battle and why?
Definitely a dragon – a Chinese dragon. There are so many in Chinese mythology with varying powers. They’re the most powerful and revered of our mythological creatures – they’re basically like our gods. So I’d have better chances of winning that battle, too – hah.
Tell us about a book you love. Any hidden gems?
Not so much a hidden gem, but one book that has stayed with me is PACHINKO by Min Jin Lee. I love it because it explores a part of history that is not often known around the world, and the author has done it in an incredibly sweeping, moving way. This book brought me to tears!
Now that your trilogy is completed, is it hard to say goodbye to these characters and the world? Do you plan to go back to them someday or do you have a new novel on the horizon?
It definitely is hard to say goodbye to these characters, but I love how their stories all concluded and I hope readers will, too. I started this trilogy in 2014, so when you spend eight years writing these characters and trying to be in their heads, they don’t ever truly leave you. They’re always going to stay in my heart, as a part of me.
My next series will be a Chinese epic fantasy duology, the first of which is named Song of Silver, Flame Like Night. It’s coming out in spring 2023 with HarperVoyager. I am incredibly excited about it.
Are you planning anything fun to celebrate the release of Crimson Reign? Do you have any upcoming virtual events our readers may be interested in?
I am definitely planning virtual events for the release of Crimson Reign, and hope to announce plans soon! Watch my Instagram (@ameliewenzhao) for details.
Finally, what is the one thing you hope readers take away from your writing?
I hope to share with my readers a new cultural perspective, as someone who is from a different side of the world. I hope to always be publishing cross-cultural novels and introducing less-explored themes and worlds into western fiction.
Thank you so much for joining us today!
Thank you!
Crimson Reign, the conclusion to Amélie’s Blood Heir trilogy, is out today from Harper Voyager.