Five with Fisher - A.Y. Chao

A. Y. Chao (aka Alice) (she/her) writes fantasy exploring the intersections of identity and belonging. She lives in London with her historical geo-enthusiast hubby, chatterbox daughter, and sweet rescue pup. She is an alum of Viable Paradise, Faber Academy, Pitch Wars, Author Mentor Match and Gold Dust, and is grateful for the support of the Canadian Council for the Arts.

Tell me about a book you read that evoked strong emotion (ANY strong emotion!)
—Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. Ragey, gleeful, screaming! Can I do another? Gideon by Tamsyn Muir is another that just lifts my spirits. I love the language, the story, the characters. Just so much fun, and even the rotters are adorable.

What would be your writer “mascot”? A raven? A narwhal? Why?
—A raven. I like to caw so they have a higher chance of understanding me.

Tell me something you edited out of your book that you really love. What darling did you kill that you’re the saddest about?
—Hmmm. I haven’t really gotten sad about editing stuff out. Maybe I’m a cold hearted word killer? LOL actually it’s more about the overall feel to me, the whole story. Or I just have the best editor in the world who lets me keep stuff I love?

Tell me about an “inside joke” that made it past all the edits to the printed page.
—My inside jokes are all pretty cryptic that only I would understand. LOL there is a scene where Tony Lee, the cinnamon roll LI says to the half vampire half fox spirit Lady Jing you would never hurt me, and Lady Jing says, hell yes I would! It’s my version of this YA trope:

and the exchange makes me giggle every time because it makes me think of Tyler Gaca’s bubble popping merman.

Who’s your favorite side character (from any novel, yours or otherwise!) that you think deserves their own spinoff, and why?
—I love Lord Black, who is cryptic and infuriating, very cheeky and amused by life. His human self is modelled in looks after Shao Xunmei, a Shanghainese poet, while he’s this huge black dragon in his true form. I love that he’s this incredibly powerful and all knowing deity and yet he’s very in the moment, in his own head, doing his own thing, enjoying life day by day. I should take some lessons from the dude. Carpe diem!

Alice’s debut novel Shanghai Immortal is coming June 2023 from Hodderscape!

Set in 1930s China, Lady Jing is half-fox spirit half vampire and all sasshole. When she overhears her fox spirit elders planning to steal a priceless dragon pearl from the King of Hell, she’s all in to expose the two-faced vixens for the bitches they are. But when the King tasks her with babysitting a visiting mortal, the mortal’s unexpected friendship puts her at a crossroads and she must decide what matters more: honour and vengeance or friendship and joy?

Pre-order it now!

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How I got my agent

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Five with Fisher - Tali Inlow