When I first started writing Jade City, I knew the story I had in mind might very well involve more than one book, but I didn’t know if that first novel would sell to a publisher, much less whether I would get to write an entire trilogy. The green bone saga spans around 30 years taking the characters on a long journey – did you plan this out when you first started writing Jade City or did you decide it later? And how did you manage such a long time span while writing? The Republic of Espenia’s occupation of Euman Island is a fictional reflection of the American military presence on Okinawa. 1920s Prohibition and the heyday of the mafia in America made its way into my story in the form of the ban on jade in Espenia and the resulting rise in the activities of organized crime by the Crews of Port Massy, with Blaise “the Bull” Kromner being partly inspired by the real life figure of Al Capone. The function of the Kekon Jade Alliance was inspired by the De Beers monopoly that controlled the diamond industry for over a hundred years. I modeled the jade smuggler Zapunyo partly on the notorious Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

The subway system of Janloon is lifted from Toronto, Canada, where I used to live. The jade disciplines were inspired by the superpowers of wuxia heroes in Jin Yong novels and feats in Shaw Brothers kung fu movies. Jade City has been described as ‘The Godfather with kung-fu’ and I wholeheartedly agree with this comparison overall, but what were some smaller things that inspired the intricate details of the books? When the simmering tension between the Kauls and their greatest rivals erupts into open violence in the streets, the outcome of this clan war will determine the fate of all Green Bones and the future of Kekon itself. The Green Bone clans of honorable jade-wearing warriors once protected the island from foreign invasion–but nowadays, in a bustling post-war metropolis full of fast cars and foreign money, Green Bone families like the Kauls are primarily involved in commerce, construction, and the everyday upkeep of the districts under their protection. It’s the only place in the world that produces rare magical jade, which grants those with the right training and heritage superhuman abilities. The Kaul family is one of two crime syndicates that control the island of Kekon. JADE CITY is a gripping Godfather-esque saga of intergenerational blood feuds, vicious politics, magic, and kungfu. Trigger Warnings: violence, death, drug use, drug overdose, mentions of sexual assault, mention of suicide, and self-harm

Jade war fonda lee