Today we are very excited to share an interview with Author Joan He (Strike The Zither)!
Meet the Author: Joan He
Joan He was born and raised in Philadelphia but still will, on occasion, lose her way. At a young age, she received classical instruction in oil painting before discovering that storytelling was her favorite form of expression. She studied Psychology and East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Pennsylvania and currently writes from a desk overlooking the Delaware River. She is the author of the critically acclaimed YA fantasy Descendant of the Crane, as well as the scifi The Ones We’re Meant to Find.
About the Book: Strike the Zither
A dazzling new fantasy from New York Times and Indie bestselling author Joan He, Strike the Zither is a powerful, inventive, and sweeping fantasy that reimagines the Chinese classic tale of the Three Kingdoms.
The year is 414 of the Xin Dynasty, and chaos abounds. A puppet empress is on the throne. The realm has fractured into three factions and three warlordesses hoping to claim the continent for themselves.
But Zephyr knows it’s no contest.
Orphaned at a young age, Zephyr took control of her fate by becoming the best strategist of the land and serving under Xin Ren, a warlordess whose loyalty to the empress is double-edged―while Ren’s honor draws Zephyr to her cause, it also jeopardizes their survival in a war where one must betray or be betrayed. When Zephyr is forced to infiltrate an enemy camp to keep Ren’s followers from being slaughtered, she encounters the enigmatic Crow, an opposing strategist who is finally her match. But there are more enemies than one―and not all of them are human.
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~Author Chat~
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
Like many kids of the Chinese diaspora, I was told stories from Romance of the Three Kingdoms growing up, but it wasn’t until college that I really read and analyzed the text. As I thought more deeply about the enduring legacy of its characters in contemporary Chinese society, I came up with a “what if” question that ultimately became my midpoint twist, from which my stories tend to spring.
YABC: Which came first, the title or the novel?
The title! Once I decided I was going to write a reimagining of THREE KINGDOMS, I re-watched a lot of my favorite existing adaptations. One of them is RED CLIFF. It has an iconic zither playing scene between Zhuge Liang (the character Zephyr is inspired by) and his top rival strategist, Zhou Yu. Throughout Chinese history, zithers—particularly the seven-stringed guqin—have held significance for Confucian sages. That includes strategists. The instrument is often used to communicate their deepest thoughts and desires. And so in this movie scene, Zhou Yu communicates his desire to declare war on one of the rival kingdoms by striking the zither strings. The moment I re-watched the scene, I knew that I wanted to bring that epic energy to my book and have it represented in my title.
YABC: Who is your favorite character in the book?
I’m going to cheat and say Zephyr and Crow. Zephyr is my favorite protagonist I’ve written so far—she’s relentless and full of herself—and Crow is a little less full of himself but just as relentless, making them a perfect pair.
YABC: Which character gave you the most trouble when writing your latest book?
Probably Xin Ren. She’s based on Liu Bei from the original novelization, and Liu Bei’s defining trait is his honor. That’s pretty much it. What might now be construed as flatness was instead, in a novel written around the 14th century, a shining example of a Confucian man who was not swayed by the terrible circumstances of the war that led other men to make dishonorable choices. And so as much as I wanted to adapt Ren to my more modern audience, I also wanted to honor this aspect of the source as much as I could. That led to some lamp-shading, with other characters commenting on just how tired they are of hearing about Ren’s honor—because that’s how I felt while reading the source! And yet the honor remains intact.
YABC: What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
The midpoint twist. A lot of my twists come from questions I have as a reader, especially when I notice certain trends in genre fiction. One that I’ve noticed in a lot of war fantasy is invincibility of the main characters. Without spoiling too much, I’m really proud that I took Zephyr to the deepest, darkest place any character can possibly go right before the midpoint while also using the twist to make a metatextual comment about how characters from THREE KINGDOMS have lived on in contemporary thought.
YABC: What do you like most about the cover of the book?
Everything! The palette, the arrows, the flames (which are one of Zhuge Liang’s favorite weapons). But my favorite thing has to be that it features Zephyr, a Chinese girl, playing the guqin, a historical Chinese instrument.
YABC: What’s a book you’ve recently read and loved?
THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES!
YABC: What’s up next for you?
I’m expecting deadlines for the sequel to STRIKE THE ZITHER (also the final book of the duology) to hit me any day now. After that, well, we shall see. My debut was a fantasy; my sophomore novel was a scifi; I’m excited to see what my brain latches onto next in the young adult sphere.
Title: STRIKE THE ZITHER
Author: Joan He
Release Date: October 25 2022
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Genre: YA Fantasy
Age Range: 12-17
