Welcome back to Fantasy Magazine! We’re so happy to bring your story “God of the River” to our readers. Can you tell us what inspired this story and how it came about?
A few years ago, to celebrate his 80th birthday, my uncle decided to write his memoir, not for general publication but to create a family-history record that he could pass down to younger generations. He dictated the book to my aunt, then friends and family edited it, and I typeset it into a book for print just in time for his family-only book-signing event for his birthday. “God of the River” is partly inspired by his recollections and the increased number of otter stories in Singapore. There’s been a rash of otter attacks recently in the area where my parents live—my mom’s friend’s koi fish ended up beheaded, but with most of the bodies left intact. I found that to be a curious thing.
I felt a deep chill halfway through the story, when the references to Spitfires and Zeroes made it clear precisely when it was taking place. What led you to set this piece during the Second World War?
The WWII section was a vivid section in my uncle’s memoirs. It was a defining, traumatic part of history for Singapore and Southeast Asia that doesn’t appear as visible outside it as do other theatres of war. As a consequence, when writing historical fiction, I’ve often chosen to set short stories within the time period or refer to it.
For me, this story goes deep into the subjugation of women to men’s aims and goals, from Popo being forced to settle for the lowest of expectations to the world-girdling war and the roving bandits that put them all in danger. Is this a theme you were aiming for, and how did it influence the way the story came together, if at all?
My maternal grandmother’s (my Popo’s) marriage was an arranged marriage. While she never said much about it to me, I’ve often thought about how things could have been different had she been much less of a calm and gentle person. That was a key influence in the creation of the story Popo’s character, and it helped bring together the elements of the narrative itself.
There are a lot of themes of resistance in the story and bound up in A-Ling’s attempts to summon the River God, whether it be fighting against nature or other people. Nevertheless, a story about a god could just as easily be about the characters observing the god’s problem-solving power. How did A-Ling end up being an active participant in her story, rather than an equally-valid observer?
I prefer to write stories where the main character has direct agency, so as the narrative progressed, there had to be a climactic moment where the story became more about her and her struggles than about the titular character, yet it also had to work out in a meaningful and believable way.
Is there anything you’re working on now that you’d like to talk about? What can our readers look forward to seeing from you in the future?
I’ve been reading more historical Chinese novels recently, wuxia, xianxia, and otherwise, so many of the story ideas I have now are thematically related, even if they might not be set in a historical fantasy setting. I’m working on my next novel along those lines. Hopefully, people interested in my work will watch this space.