We chat with author Amber Chen about The Blood Phoenix, which is the sequel to Of Jade and Dragons, and a thrilling and epic silkpunk fantasy inspired by the legendary Qing dynasty.
Hi, Amber! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi, I’m Amber Chen, a Singaporean-Chinese author who writes mainly write in the genres of SFF and contemporary fiction. My debut YA fantasy duology, Of Jade and Dragons and The Blood Phoenix, has recently been published and I’m very excited to be able to share this story with everyone! I am a biochemist by training, work in a finance-related day job and moonlight as an author in the wee hours of the night, which makes me quite a confused person. I enjoy spending my free time binging dramas and drinking lots of bubble tea!
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I’ve always been an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction, but I didn’t think of writing my own stories until I was in university. While binging TV dramas (I watch a lot of these) in between lectures and tutorials, I realised that 1) there were so many unsatisfying plot points and endings out there and 2) unfortunately there was a finite supply of content for me to indulge in, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and start writing my own stories.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The first book I remember reading is Two Hoots by Helen Cresswell. I absolutely adored these two owls as a child because they were so very silly!
- The one that made you want to become an author: The book that made me want to become an author is probably Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce. I am a huge fan of the Song of the Lioness quartet and I still remember being inspired to write a similar fantasy story in primary school thanks to this series!
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: One book I can’t stop thinking about is The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu. It’s the second book in his Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy and my favourite out of the three because it invokes so much thought about the human condition and what might become of us when we’re faced with an existential threat.
The Blood Phoenix is the sequel to Of Jade and Dragons and it’s out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Pirates, politics, lots of angst!
For those who haven’t picked up Of Jade and Dragons, what can they expect?
Of Jade and Dragons is a YA silkpunk fantasy that draws inspiration from real historical figures and events from the early Qing dynasty. It follows our protagonist, Aihui Ying, as she disguises as her brother to infiltrate the apprenticeship trials of the prestigious Engineers Guild in order to find her father’s murderer and seek justice for his death. If you like C-dramas, girls in STEM, airships, mechanical beasts, and maybe some yearning, then this might be the book for you!
And for those who have, what’s to come in The Blood Phoenix?
While The Blood Phoenix is a continuation of the character arcs for our main characters Ying and Ye-yang, it contains a different standalone plot that goes beyond the Engineers Guild and Ying’s personal quest for revenge and extends to the politics in the larger world that they live in. In The Blood Phoenix, Ying must reunite with her old friends (and the boy she left behind) in order to fend off new enemies that threaten to destroy their homeland. We also get a second POV from the perspective of Ying’s younger sister Nian, as she navigates the politics of the High Command in order to defeat their enemies. The Blood Phoenix is an action-packed adventure that takes to the high seas, featuring a notorious band of female pirates and plenty of new engineering technology!
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?
I think one of the most enjoyable parts of writing these books was developing the silkpunk technology that appears in the story. I had a great time trying to create inventions that would fit into the fantasy world that I had created, while drawing inspiration from actual inventions that existed during Ming and Qing dynasty China. A particular favourite would be the underwater ships that appear in The Blood Phoenix so keep your eyes out for them!
Did you face any challenges with the sequel? How did you overcome them?
Keeping track of details from the first book to make sure that everything in the second book makes sense! I truly admire authors who are able to write long series with multiple books because it is so challenging to keep on all the moving parts and make sure that all your plot points line up across different books. Thankfully I had a detailed beat sheet for Book 1 that summarised all the key plot points in the book, so that made it easier to cross-check details across both books!
What’s next for you?
I am currently working on the first book of my next YA fantasy duology, An Auction of Souls, that’s due to be released in Fall 2026. It’s about a girl who runs a magical auction house and must embark on a dangerous journey with two Hell guardians in order to find her missing grandmother and possibly stop Hell from actually breaking loose on earth!
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?
I’ve had a pretty good reading year! I’ve enjoyed Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy, Ai Jiang’s science-fantasy novella A Palace Near the Wind and Roanne Lau’s Malaysian-inspired fantasy The Serpent Called Mercy. I’m looking forward to picking up Ann Liang’s Never Thought I’d End Up Here and Wen-yi Lee’s When They Burned the Butterfly soon!
