Behind the Scenes
Author's Note
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The Assassin' Apprentice, the third book of The Aurora Chronicles, takes a drastically darker turn as the story shifts focus to Jia who is a young assassin. At first glance, Jia is spiteful and full of hate; she distrusts and values caution above all. However, as the story progresses, an intricate layer of betrayal, misjudgment, and fear is pulled back, revealing to readers the protagonist’s vulnerabilities and her enduring identity crisis.
I began writing The Assassin's Apprentice with a single theme – betrayal. Pulling from my own life experiences at the time, I wove those hardships into the story. I knew from the beginning who was going to die (or not) and how I needed to build their relationships to make the pain of defeat and betrayal poignant. Jia, who is lauded as one of the best assassins within the clan, views herself as a tool. Her past with her mentor and subsequent perception of reality forms the basis for who she thinks she is which inevitably comes into question. Unlike its predecessor, The Assassin's Apprentice is dark and exposes raw themes such as bitter hatred, self-loathing, and utter restlessness. While the novel is dark, the harshness of these themes is balanced by opposing motifs like enduring friendship, platonic love, bonded loyalty, eventual acceptance, and sacrifice. Jia was meant to be an embodiment of identity conflict, of teenage mistakes. Because she became an assassin, she is rebuked and berated, hated and despised. But, her decision to become a killer was born out of desperation, confusion, and loneliness. Jia makes mistakes, ones with consequences that extend well beyond her teenage years and follow her for the rest of her life. She is plagued by regret and steeped in shame. |
Jia's Fighting StyleI did extensive research into martial arts while writing The Assassin's Apprentice and The Emperor's Raven. Drawing on both Japanese (Kendo, Aikido) and Chinese (Wushu spear techniques, Baji Quan) martial arts, I developed a detailed fighting style for Jia and her mentor, Dasiel.
After countless hours of watching tournaments, real fights, and technique videos, I felt confident that I could accurately and concisely convey the movements of the new fighting style. I used Wushu spear techniques to lay the foundation and then began layering in the others. I added Aikido to the mixture because Jia, being relatively small in comparison to her male counterparts, needed a way to even the playing field. Dasiel worked hard to hammer into her working memory throwing and evasive techniques. Interested to know what each of these looks like? Follow the links below to sample videos: USA Wushu Team Trials 2011 Kendo Summary/Explanation Aikido Demo/Fight International Baji Quan Festival 2016 - Demo |
A Split - 5 Years Post Publication?!
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Originally, The Aurora Chronicles was comprised of two books. The idea to split them into four came from a publisher who thought that because they were geared toward young adults, a shorter adventure would garner more attention.
Of course, determining where to split the story was a difficult one. Separating the book when it was meant to be read as a single entity seemed like a daunting task. Splitting the book to create two pieces each with a title, introduction, new book cover, and entirely new feel was intimidating. Nevertheless, it was completed and a full quartet was born! |
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Music
Every book I have ever written has an accompanying soundtrack. Of course, I personally don't compose said compilations (although I've tried!). Usually, the "soundtracks" for my books are comprised of original sound tracks from other movies, shows, series as well as abstract artists.
Each song is tied intimately to a part or series of events in the story. Music can also be representative of the book as a whole or even act as an "opening" of sorts. All openings for my books are usually set as the first song in a playlist.
With that being said, below is the soundtrack for The Assassin's Apprentice.
Each song is tied intimately to a part or series of events in the story. Music can also be representative of the book as a whole or even act as an "opening" of sorts. All openings for my books are usually set as the first song in a playlist.
With that being said, below is the soundtrack for The Assassin's Apprentice.
Did You Know?
In order to better understand Jia's weapon, a small spear, my husband and I worked together to build a model replica!
Using various woods, molding foam, and a variety of other materials, we created a spear complete with combat and stress markings and patterned ornaments. Although the blade is not as realistic as we were hoping for, with a little photo editing, we made it fairly believable. We had toyed with the idea of iron working, but since neither of us (not even my mechanical engineer husband) knew the first thing about it, we decided to go the easy route.
Check out some of the pics of our creation below!
Using various woods, molding foam, and a variety of other materials, we created a spear complete with combat and stress markings and patterned ornaments. Although the blade is not as realistic as we were hoping for, with a little photo editing, we made it fairly believable. We had toyed with the idea of iron working, but since neither of us (not even my mechanical engineer husband) knew the first thing about it, we decided to go the easy route.
Check out some of the pics of our creation below!
Creating the Tattoo
The mark of a member of the Clan of Blades needed to be foreign and obscure. It needed to hold meaning and still look legitimate. It also needed to be able to fit on the back of an individual's neck.
While in graduate school, I worked closely with a colleague from Myanmar. I was utterly fascinated with the writing style as I had never before seen it - and I had studied linguistics! It was long after we parted ways that I remembered the Burmese language and decided to replicate it - but how?
For those wondering what Burmese looks like, click here.
After studying the language in an artistic sense, I began doodling. While using Burmese as a base, I drew from Hindi and Thai as well. I then built the symbol in PowerPoint (yes, PPT) and tweaked it using an online editing software (PicMonkey). The results are below.
While in graduate school, I worked closely with a colleague from Myanmar. I was utterly fascinated with the writing style as I had never before seen it - and I had studied linguistics! It was long after we parted ways that I remembered the Burmese language and decided to replicate it - but how?
For those wondering what Burmese looks like, click here.
After studying the language in an artistic sense, I began doodling. While using Burmese as a base, I drew from Hindi and Thai as well. I then built the symbol in PowerPoint (yes, PPT) and tweaked it using an online editing software (PicMonkey). The results are below.
The marking that signifies that the individual is a part of the Xun Clan of Blades.
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Jia's "edited" tattoo in the epilogue.
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Jia's Initial Model
In the early days of the book, I asked my good friend for help in creating art to possibly be used for the cover. Aside from having a lot of fun, I feel we got some good shots. Enjoy!
