Today, I’m delighted to interview JC Kang on the blog as a part of the blog tour for Crown of the Sundered Empire, a military fantasy set in the world of Tivara.
Crown of the Sundered Empire by JC KangSeries: Heirs to the Sundered Empire #1
Published by Dragonstone Press on October 9, 2019
Genres: Military Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Pages: 596
A sundered realm. A missing crown. A coming war.
In a broken land where conquerors dream of empires, Tomas dreams of a day when the townsfolk won’t taunt him. After all, he’s the fishing village kid with a misshapen face.
Only the Rune vendor’s daughter treats him well. To win her heart, he relies on a quick wit and local superstitions to convince her he has Diviner’s Sight.
But if he did, he would’ve foreseen magic-fearing invaders plucking out his mismatched eye.
Or the demon trapped in the glass replacement. It reveals a world beyond human vision, while whispering temptations in his mind.
Now, with his village caught between the advancing armies of the Sun God’s mortal descendants and His Chosen People, Tomas must use a combination of calculation, cunning, and demonic insight to maneuver the forces of his world against each other—prince against prince, princess against princess, army against army—or see his home crushed forever beneath the wheels of war.
Tell us a little about yourself and your journey to publication.
As a narcissist, I like to talk a lot about myself! Here’s a old video (though I ended up changing the covers and titles of the books) that answers this question!
What inspired you to write Tomas’s story? How has it changed or stayed the same since its inception?
I’ve always been intrigued by military geniuses from humble backgrounds, especially Napoleon Bonaparte and Hideyoshi Toyotomi; so I wanted to write a story about a plucky, resourceful young man—but then added the magical component of a glass eye with a demon trapped inside.
Tomas’ story ended up being too short for a standalone novel. Therefore, I took inspiration from Phil Tucker’s Chronicles of the Black Gate, where the orc Tharok’s story arc is separate from the other viewpoint characters (I believe Tucker was influenced by Danaerys having a separate arc in Game of Thrones). In the end, I intertwined it with a war between the Sun God’s Chosen People and the descendants of his mortal son.
What research, media, and/or life experiences did you draw from in the writing Crown of the Sundered Empire?
Lots of military history, and Robocop.
I love the cover art! Tell us a little about the cover-making process for Crown of the Sundered Empire.
Swimming in royalties from The Dragon Songs Saga in late 2018, I needed to reduce my tax liability. Therefore, I commissioned several artists I found on Artstation to illustrate the covers for my next twelve books.
Crown of the Sundered Empire and its three sequels were done by Farareka Setaiwan of Polar Engine. I basically told me I wanted a red-headed ranger and a boy with a slingshot. I sent him some pictures and poses, and he came back with these two sketches
I went with B, and told him to remove the skyships (in retrospect, I wish I’d written skyships into the story!)
He came back with what he called “Rough Color.”
I had him make a few tweaks, and he came back with what he still considered “rough.” I was actually satisfied with this (but didn’t tell him!)
Little did I know the finished artwork would be even more detailed!
What did you enjoy most while writing Crown of the Sundered Empire? What challenged you?
I don’t know that I enjoyed writing it at all! The greatest challenge was that with five equal POVs, trying to get a unique narrative voice for each.
If you could guest star in any of your books, what would be your profession? Where would you go? What would you do?
Well, as an acupuncturist, I think I’d like to be one of the imperial physicians in the Dragon Songs Saga. I would probably stay in the palace, eat amazing food, and treat the emperor’s family. As you can tell, I’m not particularly adventurous.
I saw somewhere that some of your characters, most predominantly a half-Asian/half-elf ninja, appear in multiple works set in Tivara. What inspired you to give characters cameos?
I originally envisioned 3 books, each with a different set of main characters, and the characters from the other books making cameos—that way, readers who liked one set of characters would be looking forward to seeing them appear in the other books—but then, each of those books mapped out to entire series.
The half-Asian/half-Elf, Jie, was originally meant as a throwaway character to show the mix of Eastern and Western fantasy; but my original crit partners (and later, my readers) loved her so much, her role got bigger and bigger. Now, she’s a main character in all three series, and got her own prequel series.
What are some books by Asian authors that you would recommend?
- ML Wang’s Sword of Kaigen (of course, everyone knows about it because of SPFBO). Avatar: The Last Airbender meets The Poppy War in an emotional rollercoaster.
- Fonda Lee’s Jade City: Godfather meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Family drama with amazing worldbuilding.
- Andrea Stewart’s Bone Shard Daughter. Frankenstein meets Hacker meets Solo meets Legend of Zelda, in an Asian family drama. That should be enough, right?
- Davis Ashura’s Testament of Steel. If South Asia had Elves and Dwarves. Military academy with cool magic building.
- Sarah Lin’s Brightest Shadow. Epic Xianxia. Features fascinating creatures with unique fighting abilities.
- Nghi Vho’s Empress of Salt and Fortune. WHAT DID I JUST READ???? HOW DID I MISS THAT? I NEED TO RE-READ!
- Henry Lien’s Peasprout Chen. Mean Girls Meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It’s MG, but very deep!
Where should I start with your books?
There are several entry points, depending on what interests you more:
- Crown of the Sundered Empire is military fantasy
- Songs of Insurrection is a coming-of-age/lost magic/Epic Fantasy/Spy thriller.
- Masters of Deception is a sword and sorcery featuring four characters with their own agendas, who must come together to save a city from occupation
- Thorn of the Night Blossoms is a prequel series, a lot darker than my other books. It features ninjas on a deep cover mission as courtesans, rooting out a plot against the empire.
What are you currently working on?
I’m finishing up a standalone legend from my world, The Dragon Charmer’s Apprentice. It makes us question what we believed in the Dragon Songs Saga.
I’m also working on the sequel to Masters of Deception.
Amber Elise @ Du Livre says
Great interview – looks like I need to read Empress of Salt and Fortune!
Crystal says
I loved Empress of Salt and Fortune. I hope you enjoy it!