It isn’t often when I have the chance to *catch a series* whilst the breadth of the series has been written, released, and on the fringes of bowing out of the public eye! A few of the series I am attempting to read further inside during 2015 dance around this same fact, as I haven’t been able to read the books as quickly as they have been produced! However, it was such an honour to host Ms. Rowland on the curtain call for her series set in 17th Century Japan! There were moments of the story wherein I found myself a bit unsettled but overall, I felt a growing curiosity in seeking out more information surrounding Reiko and Sano — how their lives would continue to knit together and what might befall them in the end!
I had no idea as I was reading the stories I had selected from the Sano Ichiro series, that within The Concubine’s Tattoo would await the fuller back-story on how Reiko and Sano came together! I never would have guessed Rowland might have considered giving Reiko a lesser role of importance in the series — as I must confess, I appreciated the change of broadening her appeal and giving her such a strong presence within the interior structures of where the stories within the series take the reader! To me, Reiko was quite the asset to have alongside Sano!
As I mused about what I wanted to focus my conversation with Ms. Rowland upon, most of my emerging questions were fuelled by wanting to understand her journey with the series, and how the series evolved from Book 1 to Book 18; there were twenty years between the two bookends, and for me, it provided me with an unending muse to draw out the questions I wanted to broach of her! I hope as you read this conversation, you will not only be inspired by her answers, but perhaps, will feel inspired to tackle reading a series of this length and/or of attempting to write an ongoing series if your a writer!
The Sano Ichiro Mysteries:
Shinjū
Bundori
The Way of the Traitor
The Concubine’s Tattoo
The Samurai’s Wife
Black Lotus
The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria
The Dragon King’s Palace
The Perfumed Sleeve
The Assassin’s Touch
The Red Chrysanthemum
The Snow Empress
The Fire Kimono
The Cloud Pavilion
The Ronin’s Mistress
The Incense Game
The Shogun’s Daughter
The Iris Fan
Book Synopsis for “The Iris Fan”
Japan, 1709. The shogun is old and ailing. Amid the ever-treacherous intrigue in the court, Sano Ichirō has been demoted from chamberlain to a lowly patrol guard. His relationship with his wife Reiko is in tatters, and a bizarre new alliance between his two enemies Yanagisawa and Lord Ienobu has left him puzzled and wary. Sano’s onetime friend Hirata is a reluctant conspirator in a plot against the ruling regime. Yet, Sano’s dedication to the Way of the Warrior—the samurai code of honor—is undiminished.
Then a harrowing, almost inconceivable crime takes place. In his own palace, the shogun is stabbed with a fan made of painted silk with sharp-pointed iron ribs. Sano is restored to the rank of chief investigator to find the culprit. This is the most significant, and most dangerous, investigation of his career. If the shogun’s heir is displeased, he will have Sano and his family put to death without waiting for the shogun’s permission, then worry about the consequences later. And Sano has enemies of his own, as well as unexpected allies. As the previously unimaginable death of the shogun seems ever more possible, Sano finds himself at the center of warring forces that threaten not only his own family but Japan itself.
Riveting and richly imagined, with a magnificent sense of time and place, The Iris Fan is the triumphant conclusion to Laura Joh Rowland’s brilliant series of thrillers set in feudal Japan.
I personally love reading serial fiction, as you get to gain such wonderful insight into the breadth of not only the world in which the stories live but the central and supporting cast of characters of whom you draw a personal attachment towards. What was the original thread of inspiration which drew you into creating a series set around Sano Ichiro?
Rowland responds: Samurai movies! Particularly the ones directed by Akira Kurosawa. He also directed a contemporary detective film called “High and Low.” That was my first inkling notion of a mystery set in Japan.
I am not even sure if I ever watched a samurai motion picture! I haven’t had the chance to delve into cinema on Japan, as I tend to be engaged with foreign films such as “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” which are about Chinese martial arts history. I have even earmarked in my mind wanting to watch films starring Jet Li due to how attached I had become to ‘Crouching Tiger’; however, I grew up with Japanese culture (fine art, music, etc) from my grandparents who appreciated Japan and gave me a cultural foundation outside of film. I will have to see if there are a few samurai films that are not violently graphic past my tolerance point and see if I can start to watch the films of Japan!
I appreciated the recommendation as when I looked up the information on High and Low I found it has thus far been accredited as a re-telling of Shakespeare’s MacBeth! Finding films with connections to Shakespearean plays is a bit of an unexpected hobby of mine — I tend to find them long before I realise which play is being used as inspiration!
How did your original conception for the series evolve over the course of the 18 novels? Did you have a thorough plan outlined before you started to write the series or did you simply allow the words to flow in the direction of where the characters and their stories led you?
Rowland responds: In the first book (Shinju), it was just Sano solving a crime by himself. I didn’t know if the first book would sell to a publisher, let alone sequels. When it did sell, I realized that a series needs a cast of continuing characters. I started filling in his life, and he acquired a sidekick, wife, children, and enemy.
I love how the entire series was a serendipitous journey spun out of a readership who wanted to know more about the character you created in Sano before they fell for the ensemble cast who make reading the series quite intricate as the entire cast is quite expansive! The only part that surprised me a bit is there wasn’t a character map and a history of the cases by which Sano had solved included in The Iris Fan; where you could take a quick look back at how inter-connected his cases were to the present circumstances in the concluding 18th novel! Of course, I had the ARC copy of the story, and perhaps there were extra features in the finalised edition.
What was one of the hardest moments whilst writing the series? Was there a particular editing of a scene or of a character that you felt was the most difficult choice to make? Or was it a particular thread of story as your series is a mystery series which could lend itself to hard-hitting narrative choices?
Rowland responds: The hardest time was when my editor had so many problems with the 5th book (The Samurai’s Wife) that I pretty much had to rewrite the whole thing. Originally, Reiko had a very small part in it. I greatly expanded her part, and I think it solidified her role as Sano’s detective partner throughout the series. I didn’t exactly enjoy rewriting a whole book, but it turned out better than the original.
I am so very THANKFUL to your Editor! As I had eluded to ahead of this conversation, one of my most beloved parts of the series is the interaction between Sano and his wife, Reiko! I would have grieved surely if her role had either been marginalised or simply not the sole focus of Sano’s life outside his duties and the service he gave to the shogun. I can well imagine a re-write of this magnitude was over and beyond a project any writer would want, but as a reader who came into this series quite unconventionally, I can assure you, Reiko is my favourite character! I had forgotten to reveal this on my book review, as I had so much I wanted to convey and express on behalf of the three books I had read prior to the 18th — throughout everything, the highs, the lows, the in-between moments that had me question if I could carry forward further — Reiko was there, guiding me, encouraging me, and giving me a root of a tether to her world and the story which kept expanding in front of my eyes!
Three BIG cheers to your lovely Editor! She gave me a character I shall not soon forget!
What do you feel was the most rewarding part of creating a series of 18 novels set in 17th Century Japan? What was the most intrinsic reason for giving your readers this particular time period of Japanese History?
Rowland responds: My favorite thing was bringing the time and place to life. The Tokugawa period had everything a mystery writer could want—a unique culture, fascinating people, and the potential for interesting crimes.
The setting of the series had such a stark rawness to it; where people lived their lives but just outside of their observational focus were a darker undershade of conspiracies, criminal behaviour, and an independence of embracing selfish desires and pursuits of power. I can well imagine if through your non-fiction research, the era not only shed a light on these thematics but eclipsed even far worse scenarios than perhaps alighted in your series! Yet, part of what appealed to me were the bits of light sprinkled through the context, where you could start to see the strength of the people who lived during times of uncountable sorrows (especially in regards to how wrecking an earthquake was to an era of construction that simply crumbled rather than stood through the shocks) and started to work towards a life they could find a bit of peace and a measure of normalcy. The backdrop was such a minefield for investigative services, that the dichotomy was at times a bit numbing. I can see how inspired you were in crafting the mysteries as you were never short on which thread you could explore next in the stories themselves!
I decided to get a broad overview of the series prior to reading “The Iris Fan” by borrowing the first of the series “Shinju” as well as the previous two before the last “The Incense Game” and “The Shogun’s Daughter”. Do you feel this is a good way to gain traction on the series in-progress or were there other stories perhaps more central to the overview of the series that I should have read instead?
Rowland responds: I think the ideal way to read a series is to start with the first book, but I realize that not everyone wants to read 17 books before starting the latest one! If you don’t want to, I recommend starting with The Concubine’s Tattoo. That’s the book in which Sano marries Reiko and his feud with Yanagisawa kicks into high gear. It’ll give you a deeper understanding of the characters.
OOh, how I wish I had thought to ask you this question prior to requesting my ILLs! I had missed the importance of this novel, and it would have been a great ‘fourth’ for me to read in order to be as close to Sano and Reiko as I felt myself becoming! Hmm, you have given me pause for thought, as I would love to see how they came together in marriage and so, I will leave this a bit open-ended to pick up The Concubine’s Tattoo to see what happened as they attempted to start their life together! I am sure the events surrounding their union were quite dramatic! They never truly had any ounce of a life without constant fear or tribulation; I am keen to know how their relationship began! Reiko is was blessed to find Sano who understood her internal fire and her willingness to be openly honest in their conversations rather than passive! Hmm,… yes I do agree, if a new reader to this series wanted to be granted a great overview, they definitely should read these in sequence!
You are also the writer behind “The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Bronte” series – do readers of this collection of stories have new releases coming to them after the Sano Ichiro mysteries conclude? And, being I am a new appreciator of Ms. Bronte (via “Jane Eyre”) what compelled you to write the series based on her? Why do you think her essence still resonates with readers today inasmuch as Jane Austen?
Rowland responds: Charlotte Bronte could be the patron saint of aspiring women writers. She was a country parson’s daughter who became the scandalous best-selling author, and her famous novel is still loved today. Her outlook on women, love, and work strikes a chord with many modern readers. Her life was as dramatic as her fiction, and I thought she would make as good a heroine as Jane Austen has done in many books. But my two books about her weren’t as well received as I hoped for, and I probably won’t be continuing the series.
Dear me, that is terribly sad! To have to end a series whilst it is in the opening of it’s telling; I will have to see if I can find copies of these mysteries after I finish my readings of Jane Eyre! I have a re-telling for Eyre upcoming soon, which makes me have a sparked new desire to read Eyre but also, to gather a better sense of who Charlotte was as a writer because like you, I did consider her one classical author to look up towards due to her family history and the way in which she was able to write with freedom. I am only just beginning to find the Jane Austen mysteries (by Stephanie Barron) and I do have it in mind to read at least the first two in order to feature my ruminations in time for this upcoming Austen in August 2015! I will have to remember to get in touch with you at a later date once I have read your Bronté novels! Cheers!
Do you feel your readers who have read the whole series in total will find an ending they can celebrate or feel wanton for a new installment to further satisfy their curiosities? Sometimes series end quite ambiguously and leave readers feeling a bit lost at the conclusion. How did you align in your mind what to give and what to hold back from this last novel?
Rowland responds: I wrote the ending that I thought Sano and company deserved. That means things turned out well for some characters and not for others. So many series peter out inconclusively because the publisher dropped the series or the author died. I didn’t want to let that happen to myself or Sano. So I decided to end the series before anything could happen to prevent the grand finale we wanted.
The ending for me felt well conceived and had a restitution inside it that I think long-term readers would find appealing to discover as much as I had as a newbie! The character I felt the worst for was Hirata, but I must say, I did not pick up the clues for who was behind the ‘fan’ nor as far as how the murder which would free Masahiro to marry Taeko would be such a sacrifice of life out of love. You definitely knitted in a heap of hidden avenues to carry the characters forward and a few of them had me re-thinking the prior novels which set-up the foreshadows!
As writing novels is both challenging and stimulating to the writer who pens them, I was quite curious if you are going to take a hiatus from writing a new release or if you already have sorted out where your imagination is encouraging you to go after spending so much time in the world of 17th Century Japan?
Rowland responds: I’m working on a thriller set in Victorian England.
Now, you’ve selected my bonefide favourite portion of British history — and a thriller, no less! I will have to remember to keep watch on the name of your next release and see if I can soak inside this new story a bit easier than I had found the Sano Ichiro mysteries!
Which of the 18 novels are your absolute favourites and why?
Rowland responds: Shinju because it’s the first, The Iris Fan because it’s the last, and The Concubine’s Tattoo because it’s about three of my favorite topics—love, sex, and marriage.
Of all the supporting cast of characters and the villains you surely have enjoyed breathing to life on the page, which do you still fondly reflect back on now?
Rowland responds: Yanagisawa! I wrote a different murderer for each book, and I would be hard pressed to name all 18 of them, but Yanagisawa is the biggest villain in the whole series, and I’ll never forget him. Besides, he’s hot!
I give you full credit for choosing him — I was a bit bemused on how you wrote him with such an accurate portrayal of his internal character! Next to the shogun, I found Yanagisawa to be the one character I truly did not warm to seeing repeat his appearances but knew that his role was quite key to keeping Sano firmly in front of the investigations.
If a reader cannot get enough of your novels for the Sano Ichiro mysteries or the Shinobi mysteries by Susan Spann, which authors would your recommend them to try next? As breathing in this world around samurais is quite addictive!
Rowland responds: I don’t know of any other ongoing samurai detective series. I would recommend some of my favorite non-fiction books about Japan: The Dog Shogun by Beatrice M. Bodart-Bailey (a biography of the shogun that the character in my series is based on), Samurai Warlords by Stephen Turnbull (a brief, beautifully illustrated history), and The Dark Side, Infamous Japanese Crimes and Criminals, by my friend Mark Schreiber. Also The 47 Ronin, a graphic novel written by Sean Michael Wilson and illustrated by Akiko Shimojima.
I appreciate the list you’ve compiled for non-fiction choices of reference! I had not thought to ask for non-fiction recommendations, but I do enjoy reading non-fiction time to time! I might have to start to scout if there are other series set in Japan but perhaps in a different time where the samurai are not as active or voiced; as I have found a new niche of international stories I appreciate!
When you’re not wholly consumed by research, writing, and the joy of reading for pleasure where do you find your ‘days off’ are best spent to celebrate the joy of the everyday?
Rowland responds: I love to draw and paint. Maybe someday I’ll write and illustrate a graphic novel.
I positively LOVE the art of graphic novels! The illustrators have surely put a permanent smile on my face, as I cannot get over the artwork which graces the book covers and the plates inside! One day I would like to purchase the collection books which feature artwork from different graphic novelists and illustrators! The art truly fascinates me, and I think you’d be great at doing this!
Converse on Twitter via:
#LauraJohRowland, #SanoIchiro , & #SanoIchiroMysterySeries
I am truly thankful to have participated in the final round of book releases on behalf of the Sano Ichiro mysteries, as even though I wouldn’t say the book series was a complete fit for me, there were key characters who I felt myself inclined to care about and see how their lives would improve by the end of the last novel. Having the opportunity to converse with Ms. Rowland was a true honour, as I appreciated getting to know a bit about her writerly approach to the craft as much as how she carried the series for twenty series whilst maintaining the continuity! Another aspect of the book series I had forgotten to relay to you on my review, is that she has such a clever memory for connecting all the loose story-lines and key characters from one book to the next, you felt as though you were progressing forward without forsaking anything of the past!
I look forward to bringing a variety of bookish conversations and writerly inspirations from authors throughout this New Year of 2015! Stay tuned as I have several already scheduled to arrive between now and Spring, but as the year progresses I am looking forward to revealing even more! It is a heap of joy for me to host authors, whilst I am reading their stories, but sometimes I appreciate hosting authors for interviews or guest posts in lieu of reading their stories! Especially if their book is not yet released in print.
The Virtual Road Map for “The Iris Fan” can be found here:
Previously I shared my ruminations & impressions on The Iris Fan!
See what I am hosting next for:
By checking out my:
Similar to blog tours, when I feature a showcase for an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog.
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