Interviewing Eliza Chan

Hellooo!

I recently reviewed Tideborn by Eliza Chan a fantastic conclusion to the Drowned World duology where we have a an aquatic themed setting, a glorious mix of mythic folks to meet and serious themes on immigration and discrimination that are very relevant to today. It was a pleasure to invite Eliza back to the blog to talk about the book and a few other things

How do you like to booktempt Tideborn?

You might need to give me the answer to this one! Sequels are much harder to booktempt without spoiling the first book. Tideborn is the story of what comes next. When you think a solution has been found it is never as straightforward as it at first appears. The closest I can think of is the Hunger Games trilogy and how District Thirteen is both essential to the rebellion, but also adds a whole new set of issues. In Tidebornthe world gets bigger, but so too do the vying factions.

Or if you want the quick answer, it’s about grief, growth and messy mothers.

Both Mira and Nami start the book in very different places from when we first met them. How do you as an author approach their development in this sequel and the challenges you set up for them?

Nami, who has always been brash and impulsive, finally realised the consequences of her decisions and it makes her indecisive for once. She’s in a bad place at the start of Tideborn and has to go on a literal journey to find herself and figure out which of the people around her are a good influence. Writing the ship scenes were fun as I got to explore the wider world outside of Tiankawi city, but it also made for a simmering pot of old and new characters who would not usually interact with each other.

Mira on the other hand has to deal with the political fallout in the city. She is pulled in a million directions and at the same time, trying to hide the very real grief that she hasn’t had a chance to process. Balancing the city and the ship scenes was a challenge, but there in lies the beauty of a multi-point of view novel! I did have to write the scenes out on index cards to make sure the timeline all made sense and that the action and lulls didn’t clash with each other.

There are three fascinating and very different mothers in this book in the form of Cordelia, Trish and Jiang-Li was this something you wanted to explore?

I love messy mothers and there are not enough of them in fiction! Traditionally in fantasy, mothers stay at home: they are the ones warning against the dangerous adventure, or, often they are absent/killed off. I was tired of seeing the self-sacrifice mother type appear only to die protecting their children. I am a mother, and I adore my child but I also relish having my own life, my career and interests. I wanted to show a diversity of mothers and how they have their own goals and lives as well as how their parenting styles impacted on their children. Trish is the nurturing mother. The busybody who wants to matchmake everyone, who cooks dinner and has a sympathetic ear. Cordelia is the tiger mother. She does not want her children’s friendship, she wants them to thrive and survive, even if it’s to the detriment of her relationship with them. And Jiang-Li is the royal mother, whose knows her hereditary line is essential and puts that first and foremost.

In this book we explore the dangers of intolerance and populism as the people of Tiankawi react to the changes from Tideborn. How did this theme evolve as you write the story

It will be of no great surprise that I was influenced by what has been happening across the world lately and more particular in the UK where I live. Watching the death of truth in the media and the rise of populist personalities who put the world’s woes down to us v them makes me scream. I knew at once, that internal and external factions would use the changesfrom the end of the first book, which were positive and life-saving, and turn them into some sort of poisoned chalice. Anything that fit their own agenda. Yeah… sadly it was a lot easier to distort than I thought it was going to be.

Whilst this all sounds very doom and gloom, my favourite image in the book is the closing scene (if you’ve read it you’ll know). Fathomfolk and Tideborn don’t shy away from difficult political issues, but I believe a diversity of opinions, of cultures and backgrounds is something that makes us stronger as a community. At the end of the day, it’s a story of hope and trying our best.

We are quite used to a three-book structure in fantasy but this was a duology what did you enjoy about writing in this way.

No saggy middle! When I signed the book deal, I was asked if I would be able to make it into a trilogy. It was incredibly tempting, but I took some good advice from authors further along in their career who told me it should be as long as the story needs to be. I knew then that I only had enough for two books. On the plus side, it meant I wasn’t dragging the plot out unnecessarily, or leaving things on a cliffhanger ending for the third book. On the minus side, I think every fantasy author wants to write a trilogy at some point in their career. One day! The lovely thing about a sequel though, is I didn’t have to start the world-building from scratch or figure out who the characters were. It really allowed me to hit the ground running.

What else can we look forward to from you in the future and where can we find out more in this strange world of social media?

My next book is out mid-2026, a new historical fantasy adventure duology that starts with Harbour of Hungry Ghosts. It’s Chinese Buffy the Vampire Slayer in mid-19th Century Hong Kong. The main character is used to exorcising hopping vampires and hungry ghosts but needs to figure out why there’s an influx of foreign monsters. It’s my love letter to Hong Kong martial arts films, to kick-ass female action heroes and to the beliefs I grew up with. Mostly I just had a lot of fun with this one, which was good after Fathomfolk and Tideborn were quite weighty books.

The best place to find me is on my website www.elizachan.co.uk or by signing up to my newsletterhttps://elizas-newsletter-11f829.beehiiv.com/. I am also on Instagram @elizachanwrites and Bluesky @elizachanwrites.bsky.social

What great books have you read recently?

Oh too many! I read an early copy of City of Others by Jared Poon (out early 2026) which is an urban fantasy about the supernatural division in Singapore’s government. I don’t think I have laughed so much when reading, brilliant for anyone frustrated with bureaucracy and office politics.

I also recently picked up Strange Pictures by Uketsu which was a fascinatingly creepy mystery puzzle with lots of strange pictures. A short read but a really unusual way to tell a story that had my brain working hard.

And I finally read Samantha Shannon’s Priory of the Orange Tree, having been intimidated by its size for years. Her writing is so smooth and the world building was so immersive that time just flew past and I inhaled it over a week. Not to mention how it takes the St George myth and pulls it apart in such a satisfying feminist take. Honestly don’t put it off, absolutely worth the hype.