Human Interest

'These Violent Delights' Author Chloe Gong Announces Spin-Off Series, 'Foul Lady Fortune' — Featuring Rosalind!

Chloe Gong's new novel Foul Lady Fortune will be published by Margaret K. McElderry Books on Sept. 27

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Published on January 20, 2022 03:00 PM

Fans and followers of Chloe Gong, prepare yourselves!

The 23-year-old author of the bestselling These Violent Delights duology has started a new two-part series — and the protagonist is "prickly-but-passionate" Rosalind Lang!

On Thursday, Gong exclusively shares with PEOPLE that her new novel Foul Lady Fortune will be published by Margaret K. McElderry Books on Sept. 27. It follows These Violent Delights' Rosalind, who serves as a Nationalist spy in 1931 Shanghai in a captivating retelling of Shakespeare's As You Like It.

"Even before I finished writing my debut, the seeds of this spin-off were taking root," Gong tells PEOPLE in a statement. "Rosalind was a character who had such a compelling background, who made terrible mistakes that I wanted to explore, but she remained in the background because it wasn't her story."

The author continues: "Now she gets her time in the spotlight: to fall in love (and be loved back!), to fight for what she believes in, and I'm so proud of how she shines."

Gong's debut novel These Violent Delights — a fantastical twist on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, filled with monsters and gangs and set in 1920s Shanghai — landed in the No. 3 spot on The New York Times' YA bestseller list when it published in November 2020. The second and final book in the series, Our Violent Ends, is also on the bestseller list, where it debuted in the No. 1 spot. (It is currently holding the No. 2 spot.)

Romance and Shakespearean drama continues in Foul Lady Fortune. In 1927, Rosalind almost died. She was saved by an experiment that resulted in a powerful but dangerous secret: she is unable to die. In order to make up for her traitorous past, Rosalind works as a spy for her country. She's ordered to team up with another spy, Orion Hong, with whom she pretends to be married, in order to track down a serial killer with suspected foreign ties. Their assignment gets increasingly treacherous as they delve further into the murders, while battling their own personal demons.

"I had so much fun writing these characters and expanding the world of my previous duology," explains Gong. "New readers, prepare: it's 1930s Shanghai, the city is filled with spies, and people aren't who they say they are. Returning readers, brace yourselves: you'll see plenty of familiar faces in this new decade, starting with our prickly-but-passionate protagonist."

Gong has grown a fiercely dedicated fanbase because of her immersive world building and for her social media presence. During the pandemic, she won fans over when she started talking about Our Violent Ends in her TikTok videos.

Gong has also been applauded for bringing Asian and LGBTQ characters to the forefront in fantasy.

"There's not enough out there, I think, where a certain racial or core identity is the character's backstory," Gong told PEOPLE in November. "And then their plot line is just completely unrelated — about fighting monsters and falling in love. I think that's something that everyone wants to read about."

Foul Lady Fortune will hit bookstores on Sept. 27.