Iron Widow is a New York Times best selling novel that is described by it’s author as “Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid’s Tale retelling of the rise of Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history.” It is a YA book that takes twists and turns, knocks gender roles on it’s head, and is written by a rising star of literature, Xiran Jay Zhao (They/Them). Xiran was kind enough to give me an interview about the novel’s origin and how ranting on youtube has boosted their recognition. Here we go!
G: Why did you decide to start writing Iron Widow?
XJZ: Honestly? It came out of my disappointment in the anime Darling in the Franxx. Franxx had so many elements I loved to death and opened my eyes to how dual-pilot mechas could be used to explore themes of adolescence and sexuality, but it ultimately didn’t take it as far as I wish it would have. Iron Widow was born out of my rants to a friend about how Franxx could’ve done things differently, which ultimately became SO different that I was like “Oh my god, this is its own thing now. And I need to write it.”
G: Gender roles play a strong theme in Iron Widow. Did any of your experiences with this topic influence the novel?
XJZ: Definitely. I come from a family that’s tried to push gender roles onto me all my life, and I basically channeled every gender-based fear and nightmare that I’ve had into the world of Iron Widow. I actually had to tone down the horror from the book’s first draft.
G: What influences has anime played in the writing of Iron Widow?
XJZ: Asides from Darling in the Franxx, it’s inspired by a lot of high-action shonen anime like Dragon Ball Z, Saint Seiya, and Attack on Titan. Though I would say it’s almost a deconstruction of the shonen genre? I love shonen to death, it’s my favorite kind of anime, but it does NOT treat its female characters right. So this is like, a world that’s built from the ultimate teen male fantasy, but the story is about a girl who aims to tear it all down.
G: Your Youtube channel has really blown up over the last year. Did this affect the writing and promotion of Iron Widow?
XJZ: Iron Widow was finished long before I uploaded my first video so the writing itself wasn’t affected, but I’m for sure grateful that my videos have given me so much unexpected exposure for my book. I never thought so many people would eagerly watch me ramble about Chinese culture and history and then read a whole book inspired by it.
G: You have used a vtube avatar in an interview before. Will we see anymore of your vtube self?
XJZ: Haha, I commissioned the vtube model with the intention of getting into streaming, but I ended up being too busy for that. So I suppose it’ll just be something I bring up occasionally for fun now. I do use it in Zoom meetings when I can’t be presentable for whatever reason (like in summer when it was so hot I couldn’t wear a proper shirt in my room ).
G: What can we expect from you in the future?
XJZ: Look out for Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor, my MG debut that’s coming May 3, 2022! It’s like Yugioh meets Chinese Percy Jackson, about a Chinese American boy Zack who’s not really connected to his Chinese heritage, but then the spirit of the First Emperor of China possesses his AR gaming headset, and so he’s compelled to go on a journey across China to heist real artifacts and fight figures from Chinese history and myth. Also, there’s of course gonna be a sequel to Iron Widow!
G: Thank you for taking time to speak with us!
XJZ: Thank you for interviewing me!!
You can find more about Xiran from these nifty links (including where to buy Iron Widow).
www.xiranjayzhao.com/
www.youtube.com/channel/UCqSz_KlrE8_IDht7tWsQ-RA
www.instagram.com/xiranjayzhao/
www.twitter.com/xiranjayzhao
About the writer: Glitch is a digital demon from planet Fanboy, and is here to teach us humans a thing or two. You can find more of his reviews(and nonsense) over at
www.youtube.com/glitchthedigitaldemon
digitaldemonglitch.com