Q&A With Tesia Tsai 

Tesia Tsai is an author who tells tales of magic. Her first novel is Deathly Fates and her upcoming novel coming to us in July of 2027 is Where the Lotus Blooms. On top of being a teller of magical tales, Tesia is a professor of composition at Brigham Young University teaching first years! 

Q: Welcome to Book Notions Tesia! Would you please give brief descriptions of your books beginning with Where the Lotus Blooms?  The lovely covers and the fact you write tales of magic have me wanting to read both! 

A: Hello! Thank you for featuring me! Where the Lotus Blooms is about a princess exiled to a magical pagoda-prison after her own powers awaken. There she faces legendary demons from the past and is forced to reckon with the history of her people. It’s a story about the tales we tell, and a story about a girl learning to put herself first.

Deathly Fates follows a young priestess intent on saving her father from illness. She takes on a lucrative job to shepherd a dead prince home—only to accidentally bring him back to life. The two of them strike a deal to gather qi (life force) so he can stay alive, while uncovering political secrets throughout their journey.

Q: Where do your ideas for both novels come from? How long does it take you to write a novel?

A: Both works were inspired by Chinese folklore. Where the Lotus Blooms was largely inspired by Chinese xianxia dramas and cultivation systems. It also echoes elements of a famous folktale, “The Legend of the White Snake.” Deathly Fates, on the other hand, grew out of a rabbit-hole search into jiangshi and ancient corpse-driving practices. My close relationship with my father also played a huge part in the daughter-father dynamic of my characters.

I’m a slow writer, so it takes me at least three months to pin down a first draft. Deathly Fates was written during the pandemic lockdown, and it was surprisingly easy to write. Where the Lotus Blooms was a more finicky project. It took several tries to figure out what story I wanted to tell and who my characters were. I ended up starting over three or four times in the span of a year before settling on a final first draft. It probably didn’t help that second-book syndrome totally exists, and I felt a lot of pressure to make it good!

Q: Do you consider yourself a plotter or a panster when it comes to writing your novels? How many hours a day do you spend writing & editing? 

A: I would say I’m a mix of both. I generally start with a bare bones outline of the novel’s plot, including what the character needs to learn and what must happen for her to learn it. It helps sometimes to write a synopsis or bullet points, so I can get a bird’s eye view of the project as a whole. When it comes time to draft, however, I’m often making things up as I go from one plot point to the next. I can always revise it later anyway!

I don’t write every day. (I guess that makes me a bad writer, haha!) Instead, I tend to write in seasons, i.e., when I have a specific deadline, when school isn’t in session and I’m on a break, or when life’s pieces give me enough of a breather to create. During those writing seasons, I spend anywhere from an hour to six hours a day writing/editing. When I’m in the zone, time just flies by!

Q: What are messages and emotions that you hope your stories convey to your audience and why?

A: Every book I write has its respective message, though as is often the case in young adults, usually these messages have to do with self-discovery. For Deathly Fates, I hope readers will connect with Siying’s eldest-daughter energy; I hope they admire her tenacity while also recognizing that every human has limits, especially when it comes to what we can and can’t control.

Where the Lotus Blooms is more about a girl learning to be selfish—and I mean that in the most positive way possible. Sacrificing for others’ sakes can seem saintly at first, but often it just hurts everyone involved. I hope that as my readers follow alongside Lian’s journey, they feel inspired to put themselves first and let their unique lights warm those around them.

Q: Are you currently writing book 3? If so, is it too early to reveal any details? 

A: I am currently working on book 3, which I’m very excited about! Alas, I can’t share any details right now, but like its sisters, it will be inspired by Chinese folklore.

Q: If Deathly Fates & Where the Lotus Blooms were to get sequels, what would the characters in both novels be doing right now? 

A: Ooh, interesting question! Without revealing any spoilers, I’d say that Siying would be hard at work training the next generation of corpse-driving priests and priestesses, and Lian would be writing a book about spirits and magic.

Q: How do you juggle teaching and writing and what is your advice for anyone wanting to do one or both careers?

A: I’m honest with myself about timetables and bandwidth, and I constantly reset my priorities, depending on what needs more immediate attention. For the most part, though, writing is my main job—it’s what I’ve spent years building toward, and I treat it with seriousness and gratitude. Teaching, on the other hand, is there to add support and diversity to my routine. It allows me to share my writing knowledge with others and maintain a social life (lol). Plus, it keeps my brain stimulated in myriad ways which gives me a chance to continually learn.

As for advice, I’d say that if you love teaching others what you’re passionate about, then do it! Also, seriously consider if you enjoy interacting with students—and if you have the patience to handle all the lesson planning and grading, you’ll inevitably face it. Similarly, if you want to be a writer, then you must write. Write beautifully, messily, endlessly. Everything you write, whether it ends up seeing the light of day or not, is a necessary step in honing your craft and bringing you closer to your writing dreams.

Lastly, doing both is totally achievable. I know many authors who also successfully teach part- or full-time. You just must know how to balance your workload and regularly check in with yourself and your priorities.

Q: Does Hollywood have the rights to your work yet? Whether they do or not, the entertainment industry needs new creative ideas again and not remakes, reboots, prequels, sequels and spin-offs! Who would your dream cast be for the characters you created? 

A: I wish! I agree that Hollywood could use some fresh stories. I don’t necessarily have a dream cast for my characters. As with new stories, I’d love to see lesser-known or up-and-coming actors take on those roles. Hollywood is glaringly lacking when it comes to films with Asian leads (though I’m grateful for the movies we do have!), and considering my stories are all set in an alternate historical China, it would be amazing to see a full cast of Asian/Chinese actors and actresses, especially young, newer ones!

Q: Tesia, would you please provide links to your social media accounts so the readers of the blog and I may follow you and your work? 

A: Readers can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tesiatsai/ That’s where I’m most active, they can also check out my website for updates and book info on my website https://tesiatsai.com/ Thank you again for this Q&A! It’s always a joy to get to talk about my books.