We chat with co-authors Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle about their latest release Ebony Gate, which is a female John Wick story with dragon magic set in contemporary San Francisco’s Chinatown.
Hi, Julia and Ken! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourselves?
Julia: We started writing together in middle school. Our hobbies at that age were comic books, Magic the Gathering, and lots of Dragonlance.
We took a hiatus of decades and started up again in 2017. By day, I work as a trial lawyer in Silicon Valley. Ken built limbs and fitted patients, and just recently retired from prosthetics to write full time.
Ken: I ingested far too much Star Wars as a child and that led me into a twenty-plus year career fitting prosthetic arms and legs. It was a very rewarding job that let me help a lot of people get back on their feet (literally). During that time I never stopped reading, and going back to writing has been a wonderful experience. I recently left my job in prosthetics to focus full time on my writing.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
JV: I am pretty sure I was writing as soon as I could hold a pen. Arguably you could say that since I’m a trial lawyer, I’m still a storyteller and have been for my entire career.
KB: I’ve read sci-fi and fantasy ever since I was allowed to spend my time and money in the bookstore at the mall, which was preferable to following my parents around. I remember doing a lot of creative writing for Ms. Hanlon’s English class in seventh grade.
JV – That was 8th grade. We both had Ms. Hanlon.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
JV: When I was in elementary school there was a book that I kept checking out. It featured a doll with a cloak going on a quest to a castle. I’ve been thinking about that book a lot of late, because I can’t remember the name of the book or the author, but I checked it out so many times that my name covered the check-out card. I still love characters in cloaks, going on quests.
KB: The first books I remember reading were several large sets of books that I think my parents ordered via mail order. There was a set of Disney stories, and another where each book profiled a different figure from history. I must have read each of them dozens of times over.
The first fantasy/sci-fi book I read was either On a Pale Horse, by Piers Anthony, or Dragons of Autumn Twilight, by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.
Your co-authored novel, Ebony Gate, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
JV: Retired assassin investigates magical heist.
KB: John Wick with dragon magic!
What can readers expect?
JV: Blood debts, new magic, clan feuds. Also, potstickers.
KB: Secret societies, dragon magic, and swords.
Where did the inspiration for Ebony Gate come from?
JV: We read a lot of fantasy, and we love contemporary fantasy. But we didn’t see ourselves represented in the genre and we just said, “What if this had an Asian cast and monsters out of East Asian myth and lore?”
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
JV: I think my favorite part was writing the big wuxia style fight scene for the auction. Really channeled the Hong Kong cinema of my childhood, mixed with monsters.
KB: I really loved bringing the city literally to life as a magic entity that keeps pestering Emiko.
Can you tell us about any particular disagreements during the writing process and how you were able to overcome them?
JV: We talk through everything. We try stuff. If we can’t agree, we take a break and write backstory and then come back to where we got stuck. Maybe that’s the reason for the impasse in the first place–that we hadn’t fleshed out something enough before drafting.
KB: We want to tell the best story possible, and we love talking through the nitty gritty of world building and character development. If something isn’t working, we usually will both sense it, and our process helps us work it out.
What’s next for you both?
JV: Book two is titled Blood Jade and is currently in revisions to be turned into our editor. It is set in Tokyo, and slated to be published summer of 2024, with the final book in the trilogy anticipated summer of 2025.
We have the fourth entry in our Seattle Slayers series coming out Nov.1.
Also, a forthcoming wuxia/xianxia charity anthology called Martial Hero will launch on Kickstarter this fall.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
JV: If readers are in the mood for some gritty contemporary fantasy, I’ve been recommending Holly Black’s Book of Night, which I really enjoyed for its worldbuilding, prickly protagonist, and interesting magic system. I’m about to do a whole re-read of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising series because I am super excited for Light Bringer. Ken and I also both love the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch. The voice actor, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, is truly a delight.
KB: If you’re looking for another story with a living city I recommend any of the Detroit Free Zone books from Rachel Aaron. There are three separate series set in an alternately cyberpunk and fantasy Detroit animated by sentient magic. Also Jade City, by Fonda Lee, is the first book that wowed me with the idea that Asians could be the protagonists in a fantasy series.
You can find Julia at her website and on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok and Ken at his website and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
