S3 EP146: Amber Chen, Bestselling YA Author of Of Jade and Dragons

Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt - Book Talk Podcast

Join the conversation, text us now.

Hello Happy People,

Today Dianne shares her chat with Bestselling YA author, Amber Chen. Amber stands out in her career for many reasons, but the most surprising aspect may be her educational background.
After graduating from the prestigious Cambridge University, where she earned a BA and MSci in biochemistry, she went on to work in science. However, when you note that Amber also earned a diploma in screenwriting, it’s clear that being a writer was always a possibility in her future.
Unfortunately, according to Amber, the film and TV industry in her part of the world does not provide her with the same kind of opportunities as her science degrees. Amber began honing her craft writing web novels on Wattpad. One of her early works, The Cutting Edge, gave her a taste of seeing her work turned into a screenplay .
After a lot of hard work, Amber did get a publishing deal with Penguin for her young adult, silkpunk, fantasy, Of Jade and Dragons. Her debut novel hit #1 last summer on The Bookseller and, as of this writing, is sitting at #2 in Teen & Young Adult Geography & Cultures Fiction eBooks, #6 in Teen & Young Adult Myth & Legend eBooks, and #15 in Myths & Legends for Young Adults on Amazon.co.uk.
Her second book in this duology has recently gone on pre-order for a July 17, 2025 release for the hardcover and is already climbing the bestseller lists. It is sitting at #184 in Teen & Young Adult Geography & Cultures Fiction eBooks on Amazon.co.uk and is #1 and #2 on Amazon.com for New Releases in Teen & Young Adult Asian Historical Fiction for hardcover and ebook respectively. Follow Amber Chen on social media to see what she publishes next, because odds are ... it's going to be good!

Amber's Website
Amber on Instagram
Amber on TikTok
Amber on Amazon.com
Amber on Penguin
The Cutting Edge on MeWatch
Support the show

BurckhardtBooks.com:

• BUY THE LATEST ISSUE: Book Banter Magazine
• Buy & Read: The Into the West Saga Serial books
• Subscribe: Our Newsletter
• Apply to be a guest on our podcast: Podcast Guest Application

About Dianne:

• Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author
• Meet Dianne EP 1: Who Am I?
• Dianne Burckhardt on Facebook
• Dianne Burckhardt on TikTok

Support Us:

FREE options. Learn more, Click here!