Which came first, the characters or the world-building?
In terms of the whole series, the characters of Meiling and Shang (who will be introduced vaguely in this book, and featured as main characters later in the series). But by the time I wrote Guardian, I already had much of the world developed, so for that book, the world came before the characters.
Important question I’ve long wondered about: Is it pronounced Zhe-ning-hai, or Zhe-nin-ghai?
LOL, the most important question! It’s actually pronounced Jen-ing-hai. The “zh” makes a “j” sound.
You recently announced that you are now a full-time author! First of all, congrats! Second, how has writing becoming your day job changed your process?
Thank you so much!! It’s a dream come true for sure. Writing full time has honestly been wonderful. Most days fly by and it’s hard to tear myself away from my computer to go make dinner (though not every day, mind you! Sometimes I’m dying to be done!). The main thing that it’s changed about my process is that I can keep up with admin things better now and I’m able to make faster progress on manuscripts.