Hello API Romance Authors!

This month, we have picked "The Sable Spy" by nyxiekitsune for Book of the Month. If you'd like to read this story, we encourage you to check it out in our Hidden in the Stars reading list.

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Logline:

When Saian spy Cassalyn Diao stumbles upon a treacherous scheme too big for her to handle alone, she has no choice but to seek help from old allies. Even if it means facing Marcus Dalton again.

Excerpt from the Book:

IT WAS A RAINY DAY, and Cassalyn Diao was dying.

There had to be some kind of irony in this, she thought to herself, almost smiling as she staggered through the streets, a hand pressed against the bleeding wound on her arm with a grimace. She was losing far too much blood. She needed to get help soon, and fast. She weighed her choices.

She wasn't supposed to be in Arecia. No, she wasn't supposed to return from her posting in Gira for at least a few more months. She had started separating herself from the Arecian Secret Service years ago, as her family worked to return to their home in Sai. This wasn't a sanctioned mission. Her mistake. But when she realised what she had unearthed was far past her own ability, and she suddenly found her allies dropping one by one like stones, she had sped to Arecia by boat. But she was too late. They managed to catch up with her the moment she got her feet on dry land. Or perhaps they were waiting for her here all along, and she had walked neatly into their trap. She barely escaped with her life.

Fuck. Cirinique, her little sister was out of the country most likely, on a mission of her own. The mission they had discussed. The mission she got this damned slash trying to complete. There would be no help there. Lady Kuroki's School for Girls had a small house that would be sparsely populated at this time of year, but it was too far away. She thought about her other friends: none of them would be able to help her with a wound like this. They were too far away, anyways.

She was out of choices, then.

Coward, she spat to herself, her boots landing on a splash of water. He was one boy. She could survive one stupid meeting. Especially since the other option was surely to bleed out on the cold Arecian streets. The Arecian Secret Service would be more than equipped to deal with her wound. There was no better choice.

About the Author:

Born in Hong Kong, Karlie Nyx is a writer of YA romance, fantasy and historical fiction, often themed and centralising around Chinese culture, of which her novel The Sable Spy the 2021 Wattys Awards. In her free time, Karlie reads about history, geeks out over DC superheroes and spends her days fencing or playing badminton. She's also an enthusiastic, but bad gamer. 

Interview:

1. What influenced your story? What inspired you to write it?

The Sable Spy was written because of Bridgerton. There is no other way around it. While I've had ideas for stories of a similar plot and characters since early 2020, it was watching Bridgerton and getting sucked into the world of Regency Romance that inspired The Sable Spy's Regency-inspired setting. My love for historical spies (especially those during the Cold War) and the ridiculous amounts of C-dramas I've consumed further inspired my novel.

2. What were some challenges you faced while writing your story?

Before The Sable Spy, I'd only ever been able to complete one novel, so I started the novel without a clue of whether or not it would even go anywhere. Since I was also quite young when I wrote the book (I was fourteen), I worried that the characters (who are in their early twenties) may not be portrayed with much accuracy. Fortunately, I seemed to have overcome both challenges.

3. What message do you hope to convey with your story?

I wanted The Sable Spy to serve as an introduction to those who may be interested in Chinese culture, and to show that it is possible to merge aspects of the East and West in a coherent story. The Sable Spy is also, of course, a story of forgiveness, loyalties and our ties to our own countries.

4. Do you have any advice for other authors who are interested in writing Asian & Pacific Islander Fiction?

Just get on with it! I used to worry about whether or not novels with API leads would do well, but once I stopped caring about it and just wrote, everything worked out in the end. Don't be afraid to add in aspects of your own culture! There's people out there hungry for novels that they can resonate with, and your book might just end up being that.

5. If you could write another story to be featured on the profile, which of our reading lists would you write it for?

Whispers of the Heart! I really want to write something that's completely based in Hong Kong, since I think the HK student experience is very unique, and since I've been studying in the UK for the past few years, I'm really starting to miss it!

6. If you are an author of Asian and/or Pacific Islander descent, what's one cool fact about your culture you can share with us?

In Chinese mythology, the universe we live in is literally the body of the primordial being Pangu, with the sun and moon being his eyes, his blood being rivers, etc.

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Thank you nyxiekitsune for giving us the opportunity to interview you and chat more about your book!

We'll see you all in the next Book of the Month.