With her artful blend of historical intrigue and heart-pounding romance, Chloe Gong has quickly become one of the most exciting voices in young adult fiction. The Secret Shanghai Series, with the New York Times bestselling These Violent Delights, has been transformed into a Juniper Books Limited Edition book set! Chloe was kind enough to speak with us about her creative process, her love of classic literature, and what it’s like to build an empire of fantasy rooted in real-world history.
Juniper: Elevator pitch! How would you describe Secret Shanghai to those just discovering your series?
Chloe: The Secret Shanghai universe is Shakespeare meets Jazz Age Shanghai, spanning from a Romeo and Juliet retelling involving two gangs in a blood feud to an As You Like It retelling involving a fake marriage between an immortal assassin and a playboy spy. While the tone differs through the books, each installment is always twisty, angsty, and holds hope at the core.
Juniper: What inspired you to set the Secret Shanghai series in 1920s Shanghai?
Chloe: I have always loved the true history of 1920s Shanghai. It was an absolute melting pot of a city: because it was a free port there were huge amounts of refugees fleeing war from Russia and Eastern Europe, but because China had recently lost the Opium Wars, it was also a playground for the British, the French, and the Americans looking to make their fortune. Amidst this setting, I wanted to tell a story from the eyes of the locals, playing with both the glittering aesthetic of the era and the tumultuous politics. There was a civil war that was about to erupt in the coming few years, and as we move from the These Violent Delights Duet to the Foul Lady Fortune Duet, I really loved exploring that real historical transition.
Juniper: What made you choose Shakespearean plays as inspirations?
Chloe: It started as a bit of an accident, actually! The initial concept for These Violent Delights was “there’s a blood feud between two rival gangs, and the enemy heirs fall in love.” Of course, anyone hearing that would go, “So… you mean Romeo and Juliet?” I loved studying Shakespeare in school though, so it made sense to embrace the comparison. Rather than try to insist I’ve come up with an original story, I figured why not do a retelling, and engage with Romeo and Juliet? It makes for an interesting starting point, because everyone is familiar with the Shakespeare play, but people may be less familiar with 1920s Shanghai. From there on, it just made sense to continue with As You Like It, because I coincidentally already named the character Rosalind. It felt like fate! As soon as I finished writing These Violent Delights, I wanted to write the Foul Lady Fortune spin-off, and the play was a perfect fit for the themes I was working with.
Juniper: If you could hang out with one Secret Shanghai character for a day, who would it be and why?
Chloe: It would have to be Alisa. I just feel like she would be tons of fun, and she’s always up to the strangest activities, like climbing into the crawl space to eavesdrop. I’d probably learn everyone’s secrets so quickly.
Juniper: You love sharing beautiful fan art on your socials, can you explain the importance of fan participation in the literary world when it comes to art, fanfiction, edits, and beyond!
Chloe: I am so incredibly grateful for every bit of fanart, fanfiction, and fan edit that my readers make. When I was a teenager, I was heavily involved in bookish fandom, and expressed my love in that way too, so to now be on the receiving side is amazing because I know how much effort it takes and how passionate you need to feel about something in order to engage with it in that way. Word-of-mouth for books spreads through readers who are loud about what they love, and then more people can find these stories, so my readers and their fan participation are truly a critical component of why I get to write at all!
Juniper: In what ways does the Juniper Books Secret Shanghai Special Edition Book Set reflect the story within?
Chloe: The jacket designs are perfect in capturing the intense, vivid atmosphere that I wanted to invoke with 1920s Shanghai. I love historical fantasy because it feels like the best of both worlds sometimes: I get reference images of a true time period, true accounts of how buildings were laid out and ballrooms were decorated, and I also get to sprinkle in my own speculative magic. The Art Deco elements and the gorgeous gold foil all come together perfectly to depict the genre space that the Secret Shanghai books occupy.
Juniper: What’s next for you as a writer? Any new projects you can tease?
Chloe: In the YA space, I am launching a cyberpunk dystopian trilogy next! The first book is called Coldwire, and I have dreamed about writing in this space of neon cities and fighting the corporate overlords for years and years. I know it seems a little funny that I’m jumping from historical to futuristic, but the new series very much carries my signature focus of putting my characters through the wringer for maximum angst…
