Author Spotlight: priest

[momijizukamori]

The end of September snuck up on me! But here's the author spotlight for priest, with a big shoutout to the priest discord server for helping me round up links and adaptation info :)

A prolific author in her mid-30s, known for writing across a wide range of genres. She's most-recognized for being a danmei author, but has also written some gen and boy-girl/yanqing novels. Common features of priest novels:

• novels are typically not driven by relationship conflict, and rather have some sort of main non-romantic plot that the relationship twines around
• as such, characters tend to get together relatively early but still have to deal with the main plot before they can have a happily-ever-after
• Gongs who cook
• Some blurriness around which character is the gong and which is the shou (including many shous who think they're the gongs)
• Her danmei novels are all labeled as shou POV, they're usually written in shifting third-person-limited POV which mostly switches between the main pair but with occasional ventures to other characters/events to build dramatic tension for the reader
• Lots of literary refs to both Chinese and Western classics, and language that is considered somewhat more complex/aimed at an older target audience
• Pets, particularly cats (particularly fat cats). The pets are all fine, I promise.
• relationship dynamics that skirt the bounds of propriety - age gaps are common, but also characters who met when one was a child, characters who were raised together as children, etc. To quote someone on twitter - the pseudo-incest is a feature, not a bug
• completed danmei novels so far are all happy endings (other novels vary)

If you like...

• scifi - Can Ci Pin or You Yi/Itinerant Doctor
• historical/court intrigue - Sha Po Lang, Qi Ye (in part)
• wuxia - Tian Ya Ke or Bandits
• xianxia - Liu Yao, Tai Sui, or Jin Se
• modern supernatural + mythology - Guardian or Lie Huo Jiao Chou
• crime/thriller - Huai Dao or Mo Du
• modern/coming-of-age - Da Ge or Guo Men

Adaptations

Many priest novels have been licensed for various types of adaptations, of which only a few have actually materialized.

Manhua

• Can Ci Pin - ran for 18 chapters
• Lie Huo Jiao Chou - ran for 101 chapters on BiliBili (covering 82 chapters of the novel). Some chapters were briefly available in English officially before BiliBili shut down their international manhua site, and there are 7 chapters available fan-translated

Donghua

• Can Ci Pin - one season, 3D CG animation.
• Lie Huo Jiaou Chou - one season, cel-style CG animation. Available with English subtitles on Crunchyroll, at least in the US.

Live Action

• Guardian - adapts the novel of the same name, for a very, very loose definition of 'adapts' (the plot was heavily altered to remove any supernatural/mythological references and replace them with sci-fi nonsense). The first priest live action series, and the first dangai series, really. Notorious for having a budget of two yuan and some candy wrappers they found under a sofa, but has an enduring fandom on the strength of the casting and acting of the main cast
• Word of Honor/Shānhé lìng/山河令 - Adapts Tian Ya Ke/Faraway Wanderers
• Legend of Fei - adapts 有匪/Bandits
• Justice in the Dark/光·渊 / Guang Yuan - Adapts Mo Du/Silent Reading. All the characters have new names for ?? reasons ?? and they added in some sci-fi nonsense which I personally think somewhat undermines themes of the original novel, but otherwise sticks fairly close to the novel beats. The entire series has supposedly been filmed, but only eight episodes have been released, which cover the entire first arc (chapters 1-33) and the beginning of the second arc

Audio Drama

• Sha Po Lang
• Mo Du (edited in August 2022, unfortunately)
• Lie Huo Jiao Chou
• Tian Ya Ke
• Can Ci Pin
• Liu Yao
• Da Ge
• Guo Men
• Youfei

Links

General

• https://pipi.carrd.co/ - general priest info card, somewhat out of date
• https://discord.gg/n9QxrRZbe9 - general priest discord server (friendly but fairly quiet)
• http://www.jjwxc.net/oneauthor.php?authorid=145956 - priest's JJWXC profile
• http://yikouliaoyadexiaotiantian619.lofter.com/ - priest's Lofter account

Novel-specific

• Can Ci Pin - https://cancipin.carrd.co/
• Guo Men - https://info-guomen.carrd.co/
• Huai Dao - https://huaidao.carrd.co/
• Jin Se - https://jinse.carrd.co/
• Lie Huo Jiao Chou
  • https://lhjc.carrd.co/
  • https://liehuo.carrd.co/
• Liu Yao - https://readliuyao.carrd.co/
• Mo Du - https://modustarter.carrd.co/
• Qi Ye - https://qiye.carrd.co/
• Sha Po Lang
  • https://spl-info.carrd.co/
  • https://shapolangpriest.carrd.co/
  • https://ziliujin.net
• Shan He Biao Li - https://shanhebiaoli.carrd.co/
• Shou Cong Zhi Dao - https://sczd.carrd.co/
• Tian Ya Ke
  • https://tian-ya-ke.carrd.co/
  • https://ghost-valley.dreamwidth.org/
• You Fei - https://youfeitl.carrd.co/
• Zhenhun
  • https://readguardian.carrd.co/
  • https://sid-guardian.dreamwidth.org/
• Zhongji Lanyin - https://zhongjilanyin.carrd.co/

Comments

[geraineon]

Thank you so much for writing this month's author's spotlight, and thank you to the priest discord server too!

I love priest's cats XD

Want to add, there's a Taiwanese adaptation of Da Ge called Unknown (yay pseudocest!): https://mydramalist.com/762497-unknown

[momijizukamori]

Oh, that completely slipped my mind - I'll add it to the list (and maybe some info links for the various LA adaptations...)