I’ve always enjoyed action-packed thrillers, intriguing crime fiction, and complex mysteries, but I also enjoy cultural nuance, immersive settings, and deep relationships, more frequently found in literary, historical, or women’s fiction. When I set out to write The Ninja Daughter, I decided to write the book I wanted to read.
I wasn’t thinking about fitting into or busting out of a genre: I wanted to write a story about a Chinese-Norwegian modern-day ninja with complex family issues and a mission to protect. I wanted to set my story in a city that could serve as a microcosm for national, social issues and a macrocosm for my character’s own cultural diversity. I wanted to tell a gritty, urban tale; and I wanted it to be action-packed and entertaining.
So how does a debut author tackle such a lofty goal? This one read the works of those who succeeded before her—not just with ninja, but with high-tech science, fringe medicine, professional sports, and serious social issues. Great writers tell stories that inform, entertain, and keep the pace. These were the stories I wanted to read.
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Most of the public’s understanding of ninja comes through exploitation action flicks, ridiculous (and occasionally hilarious) comedies, stylized Japanese martial arts movies, and anime cartoons. Whether seen as cultural bogeymen, deadly assassins, or mystical warriors, ninja have one important characteristic in common—exceptional ability.
Want to market yourself as highly skilled? Throw the word ninja in front of whatever you do and everyone gets the message—ninja tech, ninja marketing wizard, American Ninja Warrior. Everyone seems to want a bit of ninja stardust for themselves.
But fast-paced action, life-threatening excitement, esoteric secrets, AND tea time with family? That was something new.
Ever since Eric Van Lustbader captured our attention (or at least my attention) with The Nicholas Linnear/Ninja Cycle Series, readers have been gobbling up thrillers about shadow warrior assassins. Most take place in exotic settings and historical times with ninja cast in villainous roles. Some books, like Lustabader’s The Ninja (1980), straddle past and present with their ninja appearing on both sides of the ethical line. Others, like The Lawson Vampire Series by author and fellow ninja Jon F. Merz, take their shadow warriors beyond the limits of human ability. Most take place in Asian countries involving espionage and international intrigue. I love reading these types of books, but I wanted to write a story that was grounded in urban grit and infused with cultural and family heart.
One of the challenges was pace.
Authors of all genre who build their stories on little-known or erroneously-known subjects, have the added task of educating their readers without stalling the plot. This is especially true for thriller writers, whose readers don’t usually have patience for exposition. They want cool information, but they don’t want to stop the action to read about it.
Paul Wilson, author of the Repairman Jack series is a master at infusing fascinating facts into fast-paced thrillers. In his new ICE Sequence series that began with Panacea and continued with The God Gene and The Void Protocol, Wilson incorporates deep science and exotic locations. He does this with beautifully efficient prose where every word earns its spot on the page. Every sentence has impact and purpose. Every word pushes the story forward. And yet, he writes full characters, meaningful relationships, and broadens the knowledge and perspective of his readers.
Jonathan Maberry (Joe Ledger series) is another writer who does an exceptional job explaining complex science and technology in action thrillers. Much of the enjoyment of his books comes from learning about the cutting-edge technology that he’s researched—intently. The man is a walking Google search of information, and yet, he only shares what the readers need to know, when they want it, with direct verbiage they can easily digest. His readers expect accurate information, realistic combat, and authentic relationships, wrapped in a fantastic yet grounded adventure.
As Wilson and Maberry did with science, J.T. Ellison informed and exhilarated her readers with Alpine ski racing in Tear Me Apart. From the first scene, Ellison inserted bits of research as her hero sped down a mountain. She used the facts to enrich the experience and heighten the emotion without ever slowing the pace or distracting from the suspense. Back when I was writing screenplays, I held to the rule of three. Every scene had to drive the plot, expand a character/relationship, and keep the pace. Ellison fulfilled this objective in every scene of her suspense thriller.
Medical and legal thrillers, although not always tasked with a steady dose of action, are also enriched by technical information. Authors like Tess Gerritsen (Bloodstream), Daniel Palmer (The First Family), Joseph Finder (Judgment), and Alafair Burke (The Better Sister) educate their readers while still keeping them on edge and barreling through the story. Tess Gerritsen even managed to accomplish this goal with music and history in her recent suspense novel Playing with Fire.
What do all these authors have in common besides exceptional level of writing craft? They deliver their facts when their fiction requires it.
I wanted to do the same. But I also wanted to infuse my story with culture.
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Crime fiction has amazingly diverse authors if you know where to look. Steph Cha (Your House Will Pay), Attica Locke (Heaven, My Home), Walter Mosley (Leonid Mcgill series), Joe Ide (IQ series), Isabella Maldonado (Veranda Cruz series), Tracy Clark (Borrowed Time)—the list goes on and on. My own publisher, Agora Books—the new diversity-focused crime fiction imprint of Polis Books—has a stellar lineup of debut and veteran novelists writing culturally fascinating, entertaining, and thought-provoking work. All of these authors, and so many more, drive the action while delving into race, culture, and relationships. All of them take their readers into places and communities that either resonate strongly or teach us something new. And all of them keep the pace by serving the story.
My interpretation of a modern ninja thriller is gritty, contemporary, action-packed, and reflective of the diversity that surround us. So it’s not surprising that The Ninja Daughter features a female action hero or that it was written by a mixed-race woman with intense martial arts experience. My background speaks to the genre as solidly as the content and style of my story.
Most action writers are men, but it doesn’t mean women can’t write high action or realistic combat. Taylor Stevens (Liar’s Legacy) and Zoë Sharp (Bad Turn) have proven themselves with every book with the Vanessa Michael Monroe and Jack and Jill series for Stevens and the long-running Charlie Fox series for Sharp. Both of these women have experience in martial arts and a strong knowledge of combat.
Although I’ve never served in law enforcement or military, many of my former martial arts students have been deployed or faced violence on the job in correctional facilities or on the street. This gave me an insider’s view into some of their conditions and forced me to verify everything I taught them: Nobody tests a teacher harder than a student who has faced violence on a regular basis. They don’t take shit, and they don’t just believe. They make you prove a technique works and earn their respect.
But the grittier the subject, the more desperately we need to laugh, which is why The Ninja Daughter also has humor—not the Ninja Turtle brand of silliness, but the wry and often sardonic humor of a warrior. The darker the world, the more laughter is needed. Readers and writers, alike, need a chance to breathe and recover. We need room to be entertained.
