What is the title of your latest release?
TO DREAM IN DARKNESS
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
What if Death fell in love with Life?
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
This book was inspired by the C-dramas I watched as a child, so I knew I wanted it to be set in Ancient China.
Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
I would probably be too intimidated to hang out with Rujia in real life, but I would definitely drop by her temple every now and then.
What are three words that describe your hero?
Ambitious, determined, resourceful.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I was really fascinated by the Civil Service Exams, and I learned a lot about how mentally and physically rigorous that process was during my research for this book—like how candidates were basically locked up in a cell for multiple days at a time just to complete their exams.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I might tweak a few words here and there as I go, but I always wait until the draft is done to make big-picture changes.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Asian bakery bread—I genuinely think I could just live off bread for a while and be pretty content.
Describe your writing space/office!
This is very specific, but I basically write every book curled on up on the corner of my couch in my living room using the armrest as a table.
Who is an author you admire?
Oh, so many—Sally Rooney is one who comes to mind right away, as I’m just in awe of how she captures the intricacies of human relationships.
Is there a book that changed your life?
There was a time when I was going through a terrible reading and writing slump as a teenager, and then I picked up SHATTER ME, and something just clicked—it’s what really inspired me to try and write novels of my own.
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published). Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I was in Australia when it happened, which meant there was a huge time difference and I had developed this habit of refreshing my emails the second I woke up, even when my eyes were still blurry. So I was still in bed when I saw the news, and I spent a good few minutes just squinting at the screen in disbelief before I ran out to tell my whole family the news. It was such a surreal moment, it still is, when I think about it.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
Honestly, there are books I love in every genre; it’s more about the writing style and characters for me. But these days I do gravitate towards women’s fiction.
What’s your favorite movie?
It’s very hard to pick just one, but a nostalgic favorite for me is Our Times.
What is your favorite season?
Spring—I just love the warm weather and getting to wear dresses and go out in the sun, and I love when the days start getting longer too.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Something cozy with really close friends and family.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I recently read MY HUSBAND by Maud Ventura and I have not been able to stop thinking about it since.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I always crave Beijing cuisine - it’s just very comforting and reminds me of my mom’s cooking.
What do you do when you have free time?
Read, take photos, see friends, doomscroll, make up more stories in my head.
What can readers expect from you next?
I’m very excited to be returning to romcoms again, and this time it’s a beachy brother’s best friend romance, which was so much fun to write. I also have a secret dark academia romance that I’m dying to share more about.
Two gods strike a bargain that leads them on a journey with devastating consequences in this lush historical fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Ann Liang.
China in the age of brilliance, where gods freely wander the three realms. Amongst them is the cruel and beautiful Death God, who has never failed to collect a soul on time. Until now. For when he seeks out Rujia, the noble god of healing—and the only god he is fated to kill with his own hands—she makes him an offer he can’t refuse: she will help lift the excruciating, century-old curse placed upon him if he gives her a one-month reprieve.
Rujia knows she isn’t as noble as everyone believes. Her deal with Death is merely an excuse to buy herself time while she figures out an escape plan. But when her plan causes the Celestial Palace’s collapse and the beloved crown prince’s disappearance, she and Death are both held responsible. The only way to avoid the wrath of all the other gods is to travel across the realms and safely retrieve the crown prince themselves.
Yet the journey proves far more treacherous than expected. As the unlikely alliance between them blooms into more, and Death’s resolve to kill Rujia weakens by the day, neither can outrun their intertwined fate without devastating consequences: A mysterious plague. An empire-destroying flood. A thousand deaths—and rising—to restore the balance Rujia's disrupted. And if Rujia continues to live despite the will of the Heavens, this is only the beginning...
Fantasy Historical [ St. Martin's Press, On Sale: October 27, 2026, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9781250289483 / eISBN: 9781250289490 ]
Ann Liang is the New York Times and Indie bestselling author of the critically acclaimed YA novels This Time It’s Real, If You Could See the Sun, and I Hope This Doesn't Find You. Her books have sold into over twenty foreign territories. Born in Beijing, she grew up traveling back and forth between China and Australia, but somehow ended up with an American accent. She now lives in Melbourne, where she can be found making overambitious to do lists and having profound conversations with her pet labradoodle about who’s a good dog.
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