From Axie Oh, the New York Times-bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, comes an all new romantic fantasy that reimagines the Korean legend of Celestial Maidens.
A sword-for-hire seeks a girl who wields silver light in the first in a duology from Axie Oh, perfect for fans of Final Fantasy and Shadow and Bone.
The Dreamscape team was thrilled to have a Q&A with author, Axie Oh, who answers a few of our burning questions about writing, character voices, and audiobooks.
Q:THE FLOATING WORLD is a wonderfully imaginative story with a beautifully crafted fantasy setting. How did the idea for THE FLOATING WORLD first come to you? And which character’s voice came to you first?
THE FLOATING WORLD came to me in pieces after gathering bits of ideas for scenes and characters; for example, I had a dream of a girl holding a red umbrella over a boy to protect him from the sun, which later would become a huge element in the story. But it wasn’t until I decided that I wanted to re-imagine the legend of celestial maidens from Korean folklore, that the story really took off, and all the pieces came together.
As for voice, Sunho’s came to me the easiest, though it took several drafts to pull forth his interior thoughts and emotions. Ren’s voice was harder, and so I actually wrote her chapters entirely in first person point-of-view for the first draft in order to discover who she was; I then re-wrote her chapters into third person point-of-view.
Q:You’ve described THE FLOATING WORLD as “what would happen if a Ghibli heroine met a Final Fantasy hero.” How does your love of video games and Ghibli inspire you when writing?
And if you had to choose one Ghibli heroine and one Final Fantasy hero to describe Ren and Sunho, who would they be?
On an aesthetic level, video games and Ghibli inspire me so much because they provide so much in terms of visual and worldbuilding inspiration. I’m a visual and sensory writer, so playing video games or watching Ghibli films is very inspiring for me as I’m basically inundated with so many sensory details when experiencing them, which I can then bring into my own work.
As for my characters, I feel like Ren has Nausicaä’s courageous spirit and Sheeta’s kindness, while Sunho has Cloud’s stoicism and Ashitaka’s warmth.
Q: You draw on Korean folktales for some of your work – reimagining the legend of the Celestial Maidens for THE FLOATING WORLD and the classic Korean folktale The Tale of Shim Cheong in THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH THE SEA. Have folktales always been an important part of your life, and which folktale is your favorite?
Definitely fairytales and mythology were a huge part of my childhood, particularly re-imaginings. Some of my favorite books growing up were Beauty by Robin McKinley, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, and Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Noriko Ogiwara. I did own books on Korean folktales, most notably Tales of a Korean Grandmother and a chapter book called Sim Chung and the River Dragon. Because of the latter, which had beautiful illustrations, including the cover illustration of a young woman in a traditional Korean hanbok, as well as a dragon, my favorite Korean folktale was ‘The Tale of Shim Cheong.”
Q: You take inspiration from your Korean heritage and entertainment that you love. Some of our favorite examples include the Mecha Anime elements in ROGUE HEART and REBEL SEOUL, K-pop and Kdramas within XOXO and ASAP, the classic Korean folk stories and Ghibli storytelling within several of your titles, and of course, the Final Fantasy vibes of THE FLOATING WORLD. Are you able to share what inspiration(s) you’re using for your next work in progress?
I’m cooking up several projects at the moment (they’re all in that *shiny new idea* phase), but the one I’m most excited about combines the tropes of a K-drama, the action and plot of a sci-fi anime, and the sweeping romance of a romantasy. So basically I’m putting ALL my inspiration into one book!
Q: You’ve published 6 books across multiple genres, from contemporary to sci-fi and fantasy. You’ve also written both standalone stories and series. How was writing THE FLOATING WORLD compared to your previous works?
In terms of worldbuilding, THE FLOATING WORLD was definitely the most challenging compared to my previous works because it’s set in a secondary world that doesn’t directly share any history or parallels to our existing world (though the geography and culture of South Korea inspired elements in THE FLOATING WORLD). But because it’s a secondary world, it was so much fun to create a whole new magic system, as well as adding in fun steampunk elements, like airships.
Q: What was it like to hear Eden June’s narration for THE FLOATING WORLD? What was it like to hear this visceral and poignant YA fantasy out loud for the first time?
Absolutely magical. Eden June blew me away with her narration! Her voice perfectly captures my characters—I couldn’t be more pleased!!
Q: Book 2 in The Floating World series. THE DEMON AND THE LIGHT, is being released later this year. What can readers expect from the finale?
More romance! More heartbreak! A terrifying new villain (think Final Fantasy final boss vibes). Plus lots of chaotic team ups between characters who didn’t get to interact as much in book one.
THE FLOATING WORLD is available NOW everywhere you listen to audiobooks
Follow the retailer links below to add to your TBR today!
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