A Singaporean raised on a diet of teh tarik, classic books, and wuxia movies, June CL Tan is the critically acclaimed and UK #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Darker By Four duology and Jade Fire Gold. Her Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection books have garnered multiple starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and BCCB, and have been translated into multiple languages.

I had the opportunity to interview June, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Hello! I’m a Singaporean fantasy author based in New York, and my stories are inspired by Chinese mythology and diaspora culture. I’ve been fortunate to release three books so far—all YA fantasies. Jade Fire Gold is a standalone that draws from wuxia, while the Darker By Four duology is an urban fantasy inspired by underworld mythology.

What can you tell us about your project, Brighter Than Nine, the sequel to Darker by Four?

It’s the finale to the Darker duology, and I’m super excited for readers to finally find out what happens after that “devastating” (quoting my readers here!) cliffhanger in book one. The sequel dives deeper into the characters, following their growth, their choices, and how everything they’ve been through shapes who they become by the end.

Readers can expect even higher stakes, more twists, and definitely more romantic angst along the way. It’s intense and will hopefully be a satisfying and emotional conclusion to the journey.

What was the original inspiration for your duology?

A multitude of influences came together to shape this story. Some time ago, I was toying with two separate ideas—one centered on a protagonist who loses their magic at the outset, and another about an epic, love story that spans lifetimes. During a particularly difficult period in my life while undergoing chemotherapy, I found myself wanting to write something just for me. A kind of fun escapist book. I returned to both ideas and something clicked, and the bits and pieces fell into place as a single story. 

I’ve always been drawn to the emotional intensity of slow-burn, star-crossed romances in Chinese literature, media, and legend, especially those involving reincarnated soulmates, so of course I had to have that in the duology. Also, I’ve been fascinated by the Ten Courts of Hell in Chinese underworld mythology since I visited Haw Par Villa as a kid. It’s a century-old cultural theme park in Singapore filled with dioramas and sculptures depicting various myths and legends in Chinese folklore, and it has a dedicated exhibit about Diyu (the underworld). The vivid and unsettling depictions left a lasting impression on me for sure, and the mythology forms the foundation of the duology. 

However, aesthetically, I envisioned a modern urban world that’s part fantasy and part scifi, rather than historical, and here, I drew inspiration from my favorite donghua and anime. Ultimately, though, I wanted to write something immersive and unapologetically fun.

As a writer, what drew you to the art of storytelling, especially speculative fiction and romance?

I’ve always loved getting lost in fantastical worlds as a reader, and that desire naturally grew into wanting to create my own. I’ve a background in film studies, so I lean toward visual storytelling, and I’m drawn to speculative fiction for its ability to bring together cinematic worldbuilding and big, emotional ideas. 

I think speculative fiction also gives me the freedom to explore big ideas like the empire and the individual, magic and memory, and complicated truths of the human heart. My stories are also shaped by the mythologies, histories and folklore of East and Southeast Asia, so fantasy is a great vehicle for this.

Romance naturally found its way in because I personally enjoy stories that make me feeldeeply. There’s something powerful about exploring connection, longing, and vulnerability, especially when it’s set against high-stakes, fantastical backdrops. For me, the blend of speculative elements and romance creates the perfect space for both escapism and emotional truths.

How would you describe your creative process?

I wish I could say I’m super organized and have everything neatly plotted out down to each scene, but the opposite is true. My process is a lot more organic and chaotic. I usually start with an idea, a few key moments like the beginning and ending, and a general sense of how everything looks (like in a movie or TV show), then just kind of write my way through it.

Even when I try to plan in detail, things tend to go off track pretty quickly, so I’ve learned to embrace being an exploratory writer. A lot of the story comes together as I’m drafting. Characters surprise me, scenes shift, and sometimes things just connect in ways I don’t expect. It’s a bit messy, but it keeps the process fun and exciting for me.

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or difficult? 

I really love worldbuilding! I enjoy finding ways to sprinkle the worldbuilding in without it being info-dumpy. It’s like a puzzle where you have to find natural, seamless ways to weave those details into the story so the world feels rich and lived-in without ever pulling the reader out of the moment. The other thing I especially enjoy working on is character design and aesthetics. I find it fun and interesting to construct characters through their appearance, outfits, physical traits and behaviors and using these to show their personalities and growth arcs.

One of the hardest things for me is not knowing how certain emotional moments will land, Drafting and writing is sort of like sending something out into the void sometimes. You don’t always get instant feedback, so there’s that uncertainty. Humor is similarly tricky because it can be subjective, but I do enjoy weaving it in, even in darker scenes. 

As an author, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general?

A lot of my creative influences come from visual storytelling, especially movies, C-dramas, and anime which have shaped how I think about pacing, atmosphere, and emotional beats. I love their scale, drama, and emotional intensity, and that balance between epic moments and very personal storytelling, and it’s something I try to have in my own books. I also tend to “see” scenes play out in my head, so that cinematic lens really informs how I write action, tension, and quieter character moments.

I’m also really inspired by the cultures, mythologies, and traditions I grew up with, which naturally make their way into my stories through worldbuilding, tropes, plot, literary devices and so on. 

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want readers to know about you?

Cats, caffeine, and BTS are basically my life support system. I run on coffee, will drop everything for a cat, and there’s almost always a BTS track playing in my headphones. This probably explains a lot about my vibes haha.

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

I think a fun question about be something like, “If your characters could file a formal complaint about you as their author, what would they say?” 

And my answer would be that my characters would absolutely accuse me of emotional sabotage and damage. I guess“unnecessary suffering for narrative purposes” might be a good complaint! They’d also probably argue that I give them just enough peace to get comfortable before immediately ruining everything again for the most devastating effect – this is something I learned through watching C-dramas. And honestly… they wouldn’t be wrong.

What advice might you have to give for aspiring storytellers out there?

Write the story you can’t stop thinking about, the story you want to read. Another piece of advice I need to remind myself of regularly is to not wait for perfection, just start. It’s okay if you’re not sure of what’s going to happen five chapters later. It’s okay if the draft is messy before it becomes clear because you can’t edit a blank page!

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

Right now, I’m working on a few secret projects that I can’t share yet. Butt I’m really excited about them, and hopefully one day they’ll make their way onto bookshelves!

Finally, what books/authors would you recommend to the readers of GeeksOUT? 

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

The Hunger Games and its prequels, by Suzanne Collins

The Raven Boys (Raven Cycle quartet), by Maggie Stiefvater

The Passion and Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, by Jeanette Winterson

Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (I think everyone should read this book!)