Good Reading for Young Adults caught up with author AMBER CHEN to discuss her novel, Of Jade and Dragons, an immersive YA fantasy inspired by Chinese legend.

What inspired your foray into writing?

I’ve always been an avid reader, 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.

What sparked the idea for Of Jade and Dragons?

I really like reading up on history, and one of my hobbies is speculating about the lives and times of historical figures and filling in the gaps in historical records, so that’s what happened with Of Jade and Dragons. OJAD was inspired by the story of the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty and the woman he loved the most, Harjol, and is also loosely based upon real historical events that happened in the 1600s.

Of Jade and Dragons was also inspired by the classic Chinese tale, The Butterfly Lovers. The Butterfly Lovers is one of the most well-known stories featuring the girl-dressed-as-a-boy trope, where the female main character, Zhu Yingtai, disguises as a boy in order to study at a boys-only academy. She managed to do all this because she had a supportive father who was willing to indulge her and support her dream. I loved that father-daughter dynamic, and it was what inspired Ying’s relationship with her father in OJAD!

What are some of the challenges Aihui Ying will face at the prestigious Engineers Guild?

Regular engineering tasks aside, I think one of the biggest challenges Ying faces at the guild is stepping out of her father’s shadow. There are high expectations placed upon her (and a target board on her back) because of her father’s illustrious reputation within the guild, so trying to meet those expectations and to carve out her own legacy is something she’ll have to grapple with!

Did you draw from any myths to help shape the fantasy elements in this book?

Of Jade and Dragons features more of a tech-based world, so it doesn’t really draw on mythology since there isn’t magic or any of such fantastical elements involved. Instead, I would say that the ‘fantasy tech’ that you see in the book draws from actual inventions that existed in the past. One of the historical texts that I referenced is a firearms manual called the Huolongjing (Fire Dragon Manual) that dates to the early Ming dynasty!

How did you approach the worldbuilding in your novel?

The world in OJAD is heavily inspired by Qing dynasty China, so if you watch plenty of Chinese historical dramas then many of these elements such as the architecture, food, culture, would probably feel very familiar! Aspects like the hierarchical structure, the politics and the way the military is organised also take reference from the way things were in China during the 1600s. In order to create the fantasy world that OJAD is set in, what I did was to use the real historical elements as a frame, and then to layer on the fantastical (technological?) elements on top of that, so that everything feels like a world that could have realistically existed!

What are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading Darker by Four by fellow Singaporean author June CL Tan! It’s a super fun YA urban fantasy that anime fans would love!

What do you hope readers take away from your novel?

The idea of empowering girls to not only take on but also excel in traditionally masculine fields, like engineering, is an important theme in OJAD, and a theme that is particularly close to my heart. Even though things have certainly improved since the Qing dynasty, the patriarchy and its accompanying misogynistic attitudes and casual sexism still exist today, and there is still much work to be done to dismantle these harmful mindsets and behaviours. Before we can do any of that though, having self-confidence and belief is important! I would very much like a reader to pick up the book and think ‘hey, maybe a girl like me can build airships and mechanical beasts one day’ and then go on to do it the way Ying has –because why not?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amber Chen is a Singaporean-Chinese author who holds a BA and MSci from the University of Cambridge and a Diploma in Film and Television (Screenwriting) from the Singapore Media Academy. She writes in the genres of SFF, historical and contemporary. Amber is also a PitchWars ’20 alumna and a Wattpad Star. One of her Wattpad novels, The Cutting Edge, has recently been adapted for television.

Visit Amber Chen’s website here