Exclusive Interview
Inside the Anaverse: Ana Huang Gives Update on ‘Twisted Love’ Series, Teases ‘The Defender’ & More (VIDEO)
Ana Huang just published her 14th novel in five years, but we can assure you that the romance-writing BookTok legend is only getting started.
Following the release of her best-selling novel King of Envy in April, Swooon sat down with Huang to discuss her new book, future publications (including The Defender and King of Gluttony), and the upcoming adaptation of Twisted Love.
When it comes to Vuk and Ayana, the leads of the fifth Kings of Sin book, Huang explained, “I knew Vuk would be a [main] character ever since he popped up in King of Pride,” adding, “a scarred, big, brooding hero is basically my kryptonite.” While Vuk may have come naturally to her, the author told Swooon that creating a love interest for him was less simple. However, once Ayana returned to the Anaverse in King of Sloth, Huang knew that she and Vuk were a perfect fit.
During our conversation, Huang also revealed more about the main characters of her next Kings of Sin book, King of Gluttony. As she put it, “Sebastian [Laurent] has popped up quite a lot already in the series,” but we haven’t really gotten a chance to get to know him. Huang noted that the most important thing to know about Sebastian going into King of Gluttony is that his family owns a culinary empire, so we’re expecting a little bit of a Salt Bae 2.0 when it comes to the leading lad. As for the female lead, “Maya [Singh] really popped up first as a character in King of Envy, although her family, the Singhs, have been mentioned kind of briefly throughout the series.”
With both of their families in the culinary industry, Sebastian and Maya are “definitely rivals-to-lovers.” While Huang has yet to share much about the book, she was able to reveal to Swooon that Sebastian and Maya “went to the same boarding school when they were little, so [they’re] academic rivals-to-lovers.” Now that they’re grown up, that rivalry has shifted to their careers, resulting in a “a very fun dynamic.”
On May 15, Huang dropped the cover and blurb reveal for her next book, The Defender, the second Gods of the Game book, which will be hitting shelves on October 28. Expanding on the blurb, Huang said, “It’s going to be a coach’s daughter, forced proximity romance.” What readers did not previously know is that “their story will have a tiny little bit more suspense in it than The Striker did. Not as much as King of Envy did because that had a lot of suspense.”
The reason for the suspense? “There’s kind of this danger that makes Vincent have to move out of his house, and he ends up moving into Brooklyn’s house,” the author teased. As anyone would if they were forced into close quarters due to a dangerous situation, “They come up with this bet. Basically, ‘Who can make the other person cave first, or kiss the other person first?'”
Outside of the romance, Huang teased, “[The Defender] also explores their relationships with their families because Vincent is adopted, and Brooklyn moved from the U.S. to London to be closer to her dad.” Plus, now that the guys have a team book club, we’ll definitely be seeing more of Huang’s fictitious dinosaur erotica author, Wilma Pebbles.
Don’t worry, Brotherhood series truthers, we’re right there with you, daydreaming of a dark romance mafia series written by Huang. We made sure to ask her what’s next for Roman Davenport and the rest of the Brotherhood. In response, Huang did not confirm or deny a potential Roman-led romance, which, honestly, is still a win in our book. She even went as far as to say, “watch this space,” hopefully referring to more news on the subject soon. As for her next book series, following the conclusion of Kings of Sin and Gods of the Game, Huang divulged that she does know what series will come next. “It’s going to be a little bit darker, I think, than what my current series are,” she said. Fans should expect “a little bit more action and suspense.”
Naturally, we had to approach Huang about her reaction to our viral Twisted dream cast. You know, the one that fans lauded as “some of the worst casting they have ever seen.” Huang couldn’t confirm any of our picks (though we’re certain that fans would riot if our dream cast became a reality), but she did share that ever since the Twisted adaptation announcement, she has found it fascinating to see her fans’ vision for the characters. “My readers are very, very passionate about the casting,” she admitted. “Just a reminder that these are just people’s dreams. Their dream casts and fan casts are not set in stone yet.”
Regarding the adaptation, Huang told Swooon, “We are moving along on the process. Right now, we are focusing on just kind of nailing that script and then everything else kind of flows from that.”
Twisted Love, Series Premiere, TBA, Netflix
