Joyce Chng

Joyce Chng’s fiction has appeared in The Apex Book of World SF II, We See A Different Frontier, Cranky Ladies of History, Accessing The Future, The Future Fire and Anathema Magazine. Joyce also co-edited THE SEA IS OURS: Tales of Steampunk Southeast Asia with Jaymee Goh. Fire Heart, a YA fantasy under Scholastic Asia, is published in 2022. (Pronouns: she/her, they/their)

Joyce can be found at:
Blog: awolfstale.wordpress.com
Bluesky: @jolantru.bsky.social
Wandering Shop: @jolantruchng

Tell me what inspired you to write your book?
I have many books. So, I will focus on my most recent one, a YA fantasy titled Fire Heart. What inspired me? Swords. Sword making. And me writing a fantasy book/world the way I wanted.

What came first the character or the world?
For me, it’s either way. It’s either the character or the world. They come in images, snatches of words or visuals.

How hard was it to get your first book published?
It was *hard*. I was told my first book won’t sell (it was an urban fantasy with werewolves, et in Singapore). Plus my name – so I ended up changing my name to a Western-sounding one.

How long did it take to write?
For Wolf At The Door, it took a year of non-stop writing. I was pregnant with my second child then. So I used a lot of the time writing. For Fire Heart, it took a year but one year and a half of rewrites, redrafts and editing.

How many publishers turned you down?
Countless.

Wolf at the Door

What kind of reactions have you had to your book?
For Wolf At The Door, reception is mixed. Some like it. Some hate it and liken it to a RPG. “No such thing as Chinese werewolves!”

What’s the favourite reaction you’ve had to your book?
One reviewer said that there are parts in Fire Heart that sang to her.

What can you tell us about your next book?
My next book, hopefully, will be a first contact romance, of sorts.

Do you take notice of online reviews?
Yes and it hurts. But these days, I try to take them with a pinch of salt.

Would you ever consider writing outside your current genre?
I would.

What did you do before (or still do) you became a writer?
I was a teacher.

Which author(s) inspire you?
There are so many: Anne McCaffrey, Judith Tarr, Frank Herbert, to name a few.

Which genres do you read yourself?
I read spec fic but also nonfiction – botany and plants.

What is your biggest motivator?
The joy of creating something.

What will always distract you?
Having to run a household/family.

How much (if any) say do you have in your book covers?
Not much, but I do remember filling up art briefs.

Were you a big reader as a child?
Yes.

What were your favourite childhood books?
The Prydain books.

Do you have a favourite bookshop? If so, which?
No particular favourite bookshop.

What books can you not resist buying?
Botany books. And horses.

Fire Heart

Do you have any rituals when writing?
Some music, my notes must be ready, everything has to feel right.

How many books are in your own physical TBR pile?
Again, countless.

What is your current or latest read?
Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie.

Any books that you’re looking forward to in the next 12 months?
Mmmm. *ponders*

Any plans or projects in the near future you can tell us about?
I am writing a pitch for a xianxia lion dance graphic novel collaboration. Also some TTRPG game dev project based on my werewolf space opera.

Any events in the near future?
I will be moderating a panel in November for Singapore Writers’ Festival.

and finally, what inspired you to write the genre you do?
My love for science fiction and fantasy.