Ann Liang on the books that inspired her fantasy novel, A Song to Drown Rivers

This post was written by Ann Liang, author of A Song to Drown Rivers.

When you’re an author, a question you often get asked is where the inspiration for your book comes from. While I can trace the inspiration behind my adult debut, A Song to Drown Rivers, to various sources—the Chinese legends my mother used to tell me when I was a child, the C-dramas I watched and loved growing up, the History classes I took in college, even the songs I listened to in the car—I’m constantly inspired by other authors. There are few feelings more thrilling and motivating than reading books by writers you deeply admire and studying their craft: the way they build their worlds, the way they develop their characters, the beauty with which they string together their prose. So here are a few of the books that left a lasting impression on me:

• She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan. Brutal, epic, and poetic, I still remember sitting there with my jaw hanging open after I turned the last page of Shelley Parker-Chan’s historical fantasy novel. The prose was so innovative and so precise, it felt like I was watching a C-drama unfold right before me. You can tell how much thought and research went into each decision, and I was deeply inspired by the way Parker-Chan engages with and reimagines ancient Chinese history.
• Circe by Madeline Miller. Circe’s voice drew me in from the first sentence, and I was struck by how her voice transformed as she did—at times weary, at times self-assured, but always vivid and insightful, with this vulnerable quality to it. Miller unearths the beating heart inside the epic legend and humanizes the mythological figure.

 

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• Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan. Inspired by Chinese mythology and the legend of the moon goddess, Chang’e. Crafted with lush, gorgeous prose, I adore this book—it was both achingly familiar and refreshing in the way Sue Lynn Tan brilliantly reimagines the Chinese folktale I’ve heard all my life.
• Descendant of the Crane by Joan He. An intricate, thought-provoking YA fantasy about a princess who must find her father’s killer. This was one of the first Chinese-inspired fantasies I ever read, and it was so special to see how Joan He captured the ruthless court politics, family secrets, the themes around sacrifice and leadership, and the beauty of the world even in its brutality.
• Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin. Considered to be one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, where myth, art, and folklore are seamlessly interwoven, this 18^th-century novel follows the lives of the wealthy Jia family. I studied the text when I was in college, and something that really stayed with me—and lingered at the back of my mind while drafting A Song to Drown Rivers—was our class discussions on the natural versus the unnatural, and the essence of desire.

Get your copy of A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang here.