Interview with JT Song, author of The Rule of Fire
Welcome to the blog! We’re so excited to have you. To kick things off, can you please introduce yourself and your works?
I go by JT Song, and I've been writing all my life. I used to be a ghostwriter and editor but have been working to get my own stories out there. Recently, I published The Rule of Fire with Tapas.
Set in ancient Korea and modern-day urban US, The Rule of Fire tells the story of a vengeful demon faced with an unexpected dilemma: take down the gods who condemned her to Hell for all of eternity…or build a new life on Earth with the help of a colorful cast of demons?
What or who inspired your writing journey? Have you always been a reader?
I'm a big fan of stories in all their forms: manhwa (Blade of the Phantom Master and We Saw the Bird Lost in the Middle of the Road), novels & graphic novels (The Woman Warrior, Pachinko, American Born Chinese, Persepolis), TV (Stranger Things, Wednesday, X Files, KDramas), and films (Studio Ghibli, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars to name a few).
As far as I can remember, I’ve been a reader and story creator. I was one of those kids who would read far into the night using a flashlight under the blankets to avoid parental detection and drift off to sleep dreaming up tales of heroes in faraway lands. And now, some years later, one of those stories—The Rule of Fire—is ready to be shared with you!
Describe a day in your life! What is your typical author routine?
I'm an introvert. I write. I read. I edit. I also love to cook Asian and Mexican food. I don't go out much. My idea of a great date is sitting comfortably together reading the same book together OR sitting side by side and reading different books (but interrupting each other to read an awesome line aloud). My idea of an adventure is re-reading The Lord of the Rings or trying out a new recipe.
‘The Rule of Fire’ is an action fantasy web novel on Tapas. What have been the highlights and challenges of the publication journey?
It was and continues to be an awesome journey to work with the fantastic novels team at Tapas. Kristianne Lee, the director who “discovered” and signed me, was a guardian angel/olympian coach/mentor all rolled up into one, an amazing fount of knowledge and experience when it came to web novels and the most respectful of the creative process out of anyone I’ve ever met.
Maggie Rosado, the manager whose dedication and support pulled me through the moments when I wanted to hide in a cave and never come out, is the best of the best.
I could not have made it without these two superstars! The hardest thing really was/continues to be just getting over myself. I am my worst enemy. I can rewrite one line for days then be super stressed about meeting deadlines.
Can you share some insights into your approach to world-building and creating an environment that captivates readers?
One of my mentors told me that she loves action fantasy because they manifest deep psychological truths in a magnified way. I always try to remember this, that all the cool world-building would be meaningless if the readers can’t connect with the characters. So for me, the characters come first and the world-building comes second. And once the characters have been created, the world they must inhabit in order to reveal themselves becomes easier to tease out.
Fun Questions & Speed Round!
Favorite Asian Food? Bibimbap
Favorite Book of 2024? Memory Piece by Lisa Ko (novel) and Solo Leveling Ragnarok (web novel)
Book you’re most looking forward to in 2025? I have three! But it’s not breaking the rule of just naming one book by that much since all three are by the same author. Vitaly is a fellow web novelist who published around the same time I did, and I started reading the beginnings of Enduring Good, 21 Days, and Observer Causality on the Tapas app and got totally caught up, but then I had to take a pause in order to finish my rewrites. But once I’m done, I’m going to binge read!
