Monday, October 26, 2020

Q&A with Yoon Ha Lee

From my Q&A with Yoon Ha Lee, author of Phoenix Extravagant:
How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

I've always thought a title should intrigue the reader and, if possible, just sound cool. It might be weird to have a story about a mecha dragon (featured on the cover!) called Phoenix Extravagant, but that was the title that came to me when I conceived this novel. It refers to a magical paint pigment with fiery and destructive power, and I picked the phoenix reference because it's based on a real-world watercolor pigment, PO49 (Quinacridone Gold), that has a glowing golden tone. The secret behind the creation of these magical pigments is at the heart of the story's exploration of themes of colonialism and assimilation.

What's in a name?

My setting, Hwaguk, is loosely based on…[read on]
Visit Yoon Ha Lee's website.

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Q&A with Yoon Ha Lee.

--Marshal Zeringue