Interview with Wesley Chu (THE ART OF PROPHECY)
Wesley Chu is the #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of twelve published novels. Chu is an accomplished martial artist and a former member of the Screen Actors Guild. He has acted in film and television, worked as a model and stuntman, and summited Kilimanjaro. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Paula, and their two boys, Hunter and River.
Welcome to the Hive, Wesley. Congratulations on your UK publication of The Art of Prophecy. Can you tell our readers a little about it? What can they expect?
Hi Fantasy Hive, thanks for having me! I’m honestly not great at hand-selling, so I’m going to tell you what this book means to me.
The Art of Prophecy is my love letter to the wuxia genre. I immigrated from Taiwan to the cornfields of the United States when I was five years-old. Back in the 1980s, there weren’t many Asians in the cornfields of middle America. I used to joke that there were five Asians in Nebraska, with four coming from my family. I didn’t have strong memories of my home country, so the only connection to the old country were this time slot of Asian period movies which were themed Samurai Sunday.
Most of these movies were badly dubbed and cheesy Kung-Fu movies. Little did I realize those movies would spawn several lifetime passions. As soon as I was able, I started learning Kung Fu, which eventually led to work as an actor and stunt man. I remember as a kid I could not find books about Asia and books about martial arts, so I decided that I was going to write it one day, which eventually led to a career as a novelist.
The Art of Prophecy is actually my twelfth book. I wanted to write it back in 2015, but at the time I was still a newbie writer, and I just didn’t feel confident and skilled enough to wrap my head around this story. It wasn’t until the end of 2019, after I had hit the New York Times list and wrote a novel for The Walking Dead, that I felt like I was finally ready to put these ideas that had been simmering in my head for almost forty years onto paper.
If you found yourself transported into the world of your book, how do you think you would fare?
Honest answer? Look; I’m a writer. I spend the majority of my hours sitting in front of a computer. I am unemployable for just about every other job. My dumb ass isn’t going to last one day in the world of the War Arts Saga.
Either I’d eat a poisonous berry, get eaten by wolves, torn apart by a hippopotamus, drown in a shallow stream, fall off a weed in the Grass Sea, drown in the Sand Snake, roll off a cloud pillar, or just get disembowelled by a mute man. There’s just so many ways to die.
And if I somehow miraculously survive all that, I’m pretty sure I’d die of starvation or dysentery by the end of the week.
So… ‘not well’ then…
Your title is a play on Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, can we expect more influences from Chinese literature and mythology?
There is an obvious similarity between Art of War and the War Arts Saga, but that isn’t where the inspiration came from. I spent many years training in “wushu” which is an alternate description for what we know as Kung Fu, which actually means to ‘work hard.’ I know, it gets a little confusing. The term “wu shu” has several meanings. The literal translation means “martial technique” or “military art”. I played these definitions and meanings to create the War Arts Saga for the series.
While the series is a tribute to wuxia, The Art of Prophecy is really a mix of Asian influences combined with Western-styled storytelling, which is sort of a mirror of my own upbringing.
Similarly to my previous question, were there any historic figures in particular who inspired you?
The Art of Prophecy drew inspiration from several time periods within the Chinese dynasties, but the one that completely fascinated me was set within the Three Kingdoms period, popularized by Luo Guanzhong’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
One could make the argument that it was one of the first epic fantasies, filled with great conflict and big personalities. It also showed that even though it was set almost two thousand years ago, the more things changed the more people stayed the same.
Let’s discuss your characters. Can you tell us a bit more about Jian and Taishi? What inspired their personalities?
I’m a big fan of free will when it comes to my characters. I build the setting, I lay the trap, and then I let them make all the bad decisions they want, as long as it feels real and organic.
Jian wasn’t based off a person, but more a feeling of what it’s like to grow up as a young person with heavy expectations and responsibilities with so many demands thrusted upon him that were out of his control. He’s in many ways the personification of the teenage experience. Many readers have pointed out that he’s a little annoying at first, and that’s very fair assessment. The way I see it, how would you feel if you were put in his situation carrying the weight of an entire religion on your shoulders, and then failing everyone’s expectations before you even had a chance to do anything about it?
As for Taishi’s, she’s sort of the opposite. Where Jian is discovering himself as he matures into adulthood, Taishi is an individual who has lived a rich a full life, and whose decisions now are a reflection of her accumulated light experiences, full of regret, bitterness and sorrow.
In many ways, the two characters are dealing with their lives approaching it from opposite ends with Jian truly discovering himself for the first time on his own terms, while Taishi redefining herself again for the last time on hers.
We see such varying opinions from authors when it comes to writing their books. How have you found the process? Enjoyable, stressful or satisfying?
My ten-year publication anniversary is coming up. One would think I’ve got the process down after twelve books, but every book I’m working on is the hardest book I’ve ever worked on. That’s the strange thing about publishing. In most careers, the work gets easier over time. A programmer’s job usually gets easier over time as they become more experienced. A lawyer becomes more knowledgeable. A doctor is better able to handle the stress of surgery, etc… That’s not the case with writing. Every book I’m working on feels like the hardest book I’ve ever worked on. It never feels easier.
A form of “wushu” in and of itself then!
The Art of Prophecy is an exploration of the power of prophecies; do you believe in prophecy and fate?
Without giving away spoilers, I would say the philosophy behind prophecies in the book very closely mirrors my own. The thing that destiny is that, if something has to happen, then someone has to make that choice, which means that this person had to have grown up in a way to be perfectly situated at that time, at that place, and in that certain mindset to make that decision based upon everything that has happened in their life.
Like, hell, I can’t even pick what to eat for dinner most days. How does any prophecy expect someone to reach a certain conclusion based on the billions of other decisions they had to make throughout their life?
Unless there is no free will. If that’s the case, nothing matters anyway.
We always appreciate a beautiful book cover! How involved in the process were you? Was there a particular aesthetic you hoped they’d portray?
I’ve learned early on in my professional career inside and outside of publishing that I don’t know what I don’t know, so I am a huge fan of subject matter expertise. This is especially the case when it comes to artwork. I’ve learned early on in adulthood that I have pretty bad taste.
Fortunately, I’ve been extremely lucky with book covers my entire career, but The Art of Prophecy’s cover absolutely knocked it out of the park. All my publishers have consulted me about book covers, but in this case, all credit for this glorious cover belongs to Tran Nguyen and the art directors at Del Rey Books and Daphne Press.
One of our favourite questions here on the Fantasy Hive: which fantastical creature would you ride into battle and why?
I’ve wanted to ride my own luck dragon ever since I was a kid.
Can you tell us a little something about your sequel, The Art of Destiny? Where will the story lead us next?
The Art of Destiny continues two years after the events in The Art of Prophecy. Jian reaches an important crossroad in his training. The final test of the Windwhispering style would elevate him to possibly become powerful enough to fulfil the prophecy, but it requires an important sacrifice. Is it a price he’s willing to pay?
Salminde the Viperstrike made her choice in the first book, and now is paying the price for it. As she wastes away from the Pull of the Khan, she needs to make another decision. What’s more important, finding a cure for her sickness or saving her people?
Qisami is paying a heavy penance for her hubris from the previous book. In The Art of Destiny, she is offered a way back to reclaim her previous life, but does she want to take it?
Finally, Taishi…well, no spoilers so you’re going to have to read to find out!
Finally, what is the one thing you hope readers take away from your writing?
The main thing I hope my readers take away from my writing is that they have a good time, and that after they put the book down, they feel like they’re going to miss these characters and these relationships. I hope my readers consider them friends and want to reread the book again to spend time with them. Finally, I hope they are eager to jump back into the world and continue to see where their adventures lead.
Thank you so much for joining us today!
Thanks for having me!
The Art of Prophecy is out now!