An accidental author

But she refused to change her storyline, even though friends advised her to.

"I have my own stance as a writer," she says.

Many readers say Di An's approach is much softer in this book than her previous ones.

She says it may be because she has become a mother.

"My daughter needs an emotionally stable mom. She'd feel very strange if I were too emotional."

"And fewer things irritate me since I turned 30. The unspeakable emotions that pushed me to write in my teens have disappeared."

Di An was born in a family of writers. But she didn't want to follow her parents' path when she was young.

Her father didn't believe she was talented enough to write novels at the time.

But she started to write when she studied in France and felt very lonely. Writing became a way to express herself.

She published her first work, The Sisters' Jungle, in the literary magazine Harvest in 2003.

Di An later wrote Farewell Paradise and then the City of Dragon trilogy, which together propelled her onto the China Writers Rich List.

She disliked it when people referred to her parents in front of her when she was younger. But she doesn't mind it today, since she's more famous than them.

"My father was once asked for an autograph after he gave a university speech because he's 'Di An's father'. He was glad to be called as such."

Di An doesn't expect her daughter to become a writer. "Everyone is different," she says. She just wants the girl to be able to support herself as an adult.

Di An says she sometimes feels anxious since the market is constantly changing. She worries her readers may shift their interests.

"But that uncertainty can be reduced, as long as I write."

Contact the writer at wangru1@chinadaily.com.cn