Amelie Wen Zhao on Red Tigress, Blood Heir and what it’s like to publish in a pandemic

Red Tigress, the highly anticipated second installment in author Amelie Wen Zhao’s Blood Heir trilogy, hit shelves this week and the sequel is as action-packed as its predecessor, a story that raises new questions, introduces new characters, and sees the exiled Princess Anastacya Mikhailov wrestle with her own identity.

The novel vastly expands the world of Blood Heir taking our protagonists to the kingdom of Bregnon, a land with its own history, social hierarchy, and relationship to magic to explore. As Ramson wrestles with his past and Ana must decide what her own future will look like, there are plenty of twists, surprises, and even a little bit of romance along the way.

In short: This is a sequel that’s a ton of fun, and which will generally delight fans of the series’ first book.

Culturess got the chance to chat with Zhao herself about Red Tigress, what makes Ana such a compelling character, what it was like to release a novel in the middle of a global pandemic, and lots more.

Culturess: How would you say that Red Tigress differs from Blood Heir? 

Amelie Wen Zhao: I’d say Blood Heir was our introduction to this world and the dark problems plaguing it, but Red Tigress fully embraces the shadows.

We dive deeper into the mythology of the world — the entire world, not just Cyrilia — and learn that the conspiracy doesn’t just stop with the Cyrilia throne. That everything we see with Affinite trafficking and the way systems and natural resources are built against Affinites might have more ancient roots than we’d ever thought — roots twisted into evil by the work of human beings.

Culturess: What was the process of getting this book out into the world – during a pandemic, after the controversy that surrounded your first book – like?

Zhao: It honestly feels like a whirlwind to me! While I wrote Red Tigress, I was preparing to launch Blood Heir (publishing schedules work so far ahead) and I was working full-time, so I didn’t have much time to pull my head out of the sand and think about anything other than finishing it.

But once I began revising and promoting, things really began to fall into place, and I think that’s when I find myself falling in love with the book and the story all over again.

My first book launched just on the cusp ahead of the pandemic (I was very lucky that I got to go to in-person celebrations and festivals). Launching a book in the midst of a pandemic will be quite a different experience — but one that I’ve found ways around by connecting with my wonderful readers through social media.

Culturess: I love, love Ana. Specifically, I love how angry Ana is, and that she’s not asked at any point to be less – less angry, less motivated, less determined in the pursuit of her goals. What do you like best about telling her story, and about her character generally? 

Zhao: Telling Ana’s story is such an empowering experience. I loved writing her character in Red Tigress, because she’s not just the emotional, vulnerable girl learning to accept her monstrosities in Blood Heir anymore.

She’s forced to realize that she must step up to become the leader of an entire movement, and she’s put in situations where she must choose between her personal motivations and political motivations, whether it’s with leaders of the rebellion or leaders of foreign kingdoms. Ana’s become more calculated and learned to polish herself into a fine blade: losing none of the hardness and determination and passion that has always driven her, but striking with technique.

Most importantly, we live in a time where people like me are facing increased discrimination, and to have such a powerful and unapologetic character on page fighting for what’s right is a healing balm for me when the reality is too painful.

Culturess: Related, one of the things you almost never see in stories about princesses fighting to reclaim their thrones – Ana is consistently asking herself whether she should, whether her people might fare better in a different political system, and if that’s more important than how she herself fits into it. Is this just a reflection of her growth as a character?

Zhao: This might have been one of my favorite parts of Red Tigress: flipping this trope on its head.

Ana has always been so stalwart in her pursuits and her goals — but she’s forced to slow down and really think about what she’s doing. She has to come to realize that she’s not just acting for herself anymore: her empire is thrown in turmoil by a ruthless mad monarch, and she is one of the few with the power to fight back.

Seeing Morganya’s wrath and rapacious lust for power begin to burn down Cyrilia has Ana question: is a monarchy right for her people? This book — and Ana’s forthcoming journey — is about sacrifice: choosing between what her heart wants as a girl and what is right for her people as an emerging leader.

Culturess: In one key difference from Blood Heir, so much of Red Tigress focuses on Ramson and his past. How do you view his story meshing with and complementing Ana’s?

Zhao: Ramson definitely thinks he’s the main character of this series, so he got main character treatment in Red Tigress — and by that, I mean tragic backstory being thrown in his face (hah!).

Ramson is an amazing foil to Ana because they’re literally coming from polar opposites: she is naive and has such a firm belief in all things righteous and just, whereas he’s so cynical and jaded from life experiences — and the two of them reaching for each other in the crossing paths of their lives has been one of my favorite aspects of this trilogy.

Ramson coming to terms with his past and the consequences of him running from his problems instead of facing them has always been inevitable, and it was so rewarding to write — though I suspect readers may be coming for me after the events of Red Tigress.

Culturess: Sorcha feels like Ana’s dark twin in many ways, just one who made different choices or never found people like May, Ramson, and Linn to hang on to in her life. Was that intentional and how do you view this character’s role in the series?

Zhao; Absolutely intentional, and I’m geeking out that you picked it up. I’ve always loved antagonists that reflect traits of the protagonist because it allows for a deeper and more nuanced exploration of what makes a hero and what makes a villain.

Both Sorsha and Morganya are near-mirror images of Ana, coming from backgrounds of abuse and forms of oppression — but they never found the light in their lives, and made choices that led down a path of revenge. Ana recognizes this when she comes face-to-face with Sorsha (and, in the first book, Morganya): That she was perhaps a step away from the cliff’s edge, but people in her life grasped her hands and pulled her back.

This series is all about the choices that we make as human beings in a morally gray world, and Sorsha reflects the tragedy of choosing hatred.

Culturess: How has being an immigrant yourself played into the kind of stories you want to tell?

Zhao: I don’t know if I call myself an immigrant — I’m more of a foreign resident at the moment, but being a part of the complex and nuanced identity of the diaspora has seeped into every single work I’ve written.

Blood Heir and Red Tigress both feature characters from multicultural backgrounds struggling to balance their heritage — we see this in Ana, in May, in Linn, in Ramson. and a few characters I won’t spoil in Red Tigress.

Linn, in particular, reflects all my questions of identity: being in a foreign land and absorbing its culture, yet ultimately having my actions guided by the customs and principles I was taught growing up. And, oh, her longing for home — that never ceases, sadly.

Culturess: What is the one thing you hope readers take away from reading Red Tigress and the Blood Heir series?

Zhao: I hope for my readers to learn a new perspective from a Chinese author exploring global issues, heritage, identity, culture, and love through a story that might not be traditionally “Chinese” or of the “Asian immigrant experience.”

There are very real issues embedded in the Blood Heir trilogy, as well as topics that reflect my own questioning on where I fit in and how my voice and stories can be expressed in the very niche tranche of international diaspora that is not the full immigrant experience or Asian American experience.

Most of all, I hope my readers understand the message of hope and of continuing to fight for justice — beginning with recognizing hidden issues in our world and examining our own knowledge.

Culturess: Can you tell us anything about what the sequel to Red Tigress will be like (and how long I need to prepare myself to wait for it!)?

Zhao: I am working on it right now, and I am so excited for the conclusion to this trilogy!

We’re going to find out all the secrets behind the conspiracy that surfaced in Blood Heir and continues in Red Tigress. There will be new secrets, twists and betrayals, and the exploration of politics and morals — and so much good, angsty romance. I hope you’ll love it!

Culturess: And finally, what are you yourself reading these days?

Zhao: I tend to switch between books, so: slowly working my way through Obama’s A Promised Land (that book is a whole tome!) and recently finished Amari and the Night Brothers, a fantastic middle grade by B.B. Alston in the veins of Artemis Fowl.

For YA, I’ve devoured These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong and am starting the ARC for How We Fall Apart, a dark academia by Katie Zhao with a full Asian cast forthcoming in August.

Red Tigress is now available wherever books are sold. Let us know if you’re planning to dive into this sequel,