We asked Katie Zhao to share her inspiration for her newest book Zodiac Rising. Read on to hear about how she created this fantastical world.
Introduce yourself!
My name is Katie Zhao. I’ve written several middle grade and young adult contemporary fantasies and thrillers, with my latest title being Zodiac Rising. I like to sing and work out, and I own two cats.
Zodiac house and supernatural designation play a big role in the cast’s lives. What was your process like for creating your characters? How did you determine what zodiac house and supernatural designation matched each one?
Creating the supernatural houses at Earthly Branches Academy was easy, because there are twelve houses that each correspond to one of the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. As for supernatural designations, I knew I wanted the Descendants to be split into vampires, werewolves, and fox spirits. When deciding each character’s house and supernatural designation, I will admit the houses were random, but I did try to give each character a supernatural designation based on their personality. For example, Evangeline and Julius are both vampires not just because they are siblings, but also because they are conniving, bloodthirsty, twisted beings (and I love them for that).
What inspired you to have the story take place in Manhattan?
I just love New York City, and I love writing about it, and I hope that that comes across in the narrative. Beyond just loving this place, I did choose this setting for more practical reasons. There is such a depth of history and culture here; it’s the perfect melting pot of people from all different walks of life. Manhattan’s Chinatown, for example, showcases the rich history and influence of the Chinese in America, and it serves as a crucial setting in Zodiac Rising. It’s a story that mixes history with the contemporary, fantasy with realism, and Eastern magic with Western mythology, so there was no other place I could set it besides New York City!
Do you have any behind-the-scenes stories about the characters in Zodiac Rising?
I haven’t written any, but if given the chance, I’d love to write a short story about Julius’s or Tristan’s side quests for The Collector.
Zodiac Rising delves into the Asian American experience and the cultural divide the community encounters. Is there anything you’d like readers to know before going into the story?
I think some readers may judge certain characters harshly for the decisions they make throughout the story. One thing I hope readers can keep in mind is that much like what happened in our actual history, the Western powers took so much from the Chinese people—literally, with the pillaging of the Old Summer Palace. In Zodiac Rising, the Descendants had their magic and might stolen from them and were cursed into immortal life as supernatural creatures. They are divided on how best to proceed—whether to embrace or reject their new lives as immortals, as Americans. It has always fascinated me that the Chinese diaspora holds so many varying—often opposing—views on matters regarding China, specifically when ideas of Americanness are involved. The tension of these violently opposing views influenced the story I wrote.
