Strike The Zither

2022
Map art for “Strike The Zither”
commissioned work

“Strike The Zither” by New York Times–bestselling author Joan He | Macmillan Publishing

Book 1 in the Kingdom of Three duology, a reimagining of the Chinese classic 三国演义 helmed by a lady Zhuge Liang

The year is 414 of the Xin Dynasty, and chaos abounds. A puppet empress is on the throne, and three warlordesses each hope to claim the continent for themselves. Only Zephyr knows it’s no contest.
Orphaned at a young age, Zephyr took control of her fate by becoming the best strategist of the land and serving under Xin Ren, a warlordess whose loyalty to the empress is double-edged—while Ren’s honor draws Zephyr to her cause, it also jeopardizes their survival in a war where one must betray or be betrayed. When Zephyr is forced to infiltrate an enemy camp to keep Ren’s followers from being slaughtered, she encounters the enigmatic Crow, an opposing strategist who is finally her match. But there are more enemies than one—and not all of them are human.

The people on this project

• Author: Joan He
• Art Direction & Book design: Aurora Parlagreco
• Cover art: Kuri Huang
• Character illustrations: Tida Kietsungden
• Map art: Anna Frohman(n)
• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan, NY

I might have lost an “n” on the way, but gained another beautiful and inspiring creative experience with some lovely people across the big pond. :)

Process

To create the map I did some research and gathered information about the territory of the Three Kingdoms first. I then picked a few maps from that era that had a split in territory similar to Joan’s loose sketch as a base and combined it with Joan’s new arrangement.

Fun little side note: For the compass – since it is an invention of ancient China – I wanted to merge the ideas of ”the south pointing fish“ and other early versions of the compass with the concept of Yin and Yang by having one fish in the center of the compass pointing south and the other pointing north. Combining eastern and western culture in a way.

Joan He

Joan He was born and raised in Philadelphia but still will, on occasion, lose her way. At a young age, she received classical instruction in oil painting before discovering that storytelling was her favorite form of expression. She studied Psychology and East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Pennsylvania and currently writes from a desk overlooking the Delaware River. She is the author of the critically acclaimed YA fantasy Descendant of the Crane, as well as the scifi The Ones We’re Meant to Find.