Quest for revenge: Blood and Honor gives us the female fighter we love to see kick butt
When Michelle Henriques-Wilson was ten years old, living in Kingston, Jamaica, her mother sent her to watch movies all day in the theater to distract her from boys.
It was the late 70s and Bruce Lee had sparked a new interest in Chinese martial arts, with his impeccable speed and blend of various fighting styles, or, what Lee termed Jeet Kune Do—a “style without style.”
What began as a distraction for Henriques-Wilson developed into an obsession with Asian culture, from studying Japanese history and tai chi to collecting a library of anime and wuxia-based films.
On Wednesday, she published her first martial arts fantasy, Blood and Honor (Northampton House Press), under her pen name Chelle Ang, a combination of her given name and middle name, Angela.
Michelle Henrique-Wilson’s (aka Chelle Ang) Credit: Lora Gray
Set during the Qing Dynasty, China’s last line of emperors, Blood and Honor is a sword-fighting tale of sixteen-year-old Xiao Meiying on a blood-thirsty hunt for revenge. And she’s got just cause. When Meiying awakens to see her father fighting a masked intruder who is attempting to steal his Blood heirloom sword, she discovers the truth behind her mother’s death and the sword’s secret power.
The evil warlord Yu Tai stole her mother’s Honor sword and she lost her power to live. Meiying, a swordswoman and martial arts expert, vows to reunite the swords and save her father, whose life is also dwindling. She journeys toward Wudang Temple to stop Yu Tai, who seeks the swords’ powers for himself.
The book is available on Kindle, Nook, and Kobo.
Henriques-Wilson, a police investigator, musician and photographer, lives in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., with husband Michael Wilson and two Maltese dogs, Yuki and Kaya. She and her husband built a makeshift theater in their garage, which holds 400 titles, of which three-quarters are Asian.
She began the tale while studying for her Master of Arts in creative writing at Wilkes University, in Wilkes-Barre, Penn. She wanted to tell a story of a strong female martial artist with blue topaz eyes.
“The idea behind the myth is if you own both swords, you will have immortal life,” Henriques-Wilson said. “If you watch a lot of martial arts films like I do, in most events, there is always someone searching for life everlasting. We all know it’s something we will never have, but to see how far people will go to get everlasting life is fascinating to me. It’s a circle of life, you protect, you defend, you love and honor.”
And what would a martial arts story be without love? Pan Lei, a dangerous martial artist from Meiying’s past, resurfaces and is strangely connected to Meiying. They must put aside their differences and work together to get the swords back.
Lenore Hart was the first Wilkes teacher to mentor Henriques-Wilson. With her help, Henriques-Wilson finished the first draft. Hart’s husband, David Poyer, worked with her on the Master of Fine Arts, which required Henriques-Wilson, who has never visited Asia, to research the Asian culture and mysticism.
Michelle Henriques-Wilson, Credit: Michael Wilson
“I tell you he put me through the ringer,” Henriques-Wilson laughed. “[Hart and Poyer] have two different teaching styles and each comes together at the end. He helped me to polish the work and make it better.”
This included what Stephen King calls, killing your darlings. Poyer told Henriques-Wilson she had to change the original title, Tortoises Navigating Water, because the American audience would not understand it.
“I liked the title Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and I wanted my title to sound as beautiful and poetic,” Henriques-Wilson said. “One sword had a picture of a tortoise and another, a picture of water.”
Blood and Honor does have a more enticing ring to it. Henriques-Wilson is working on a sequel, Dragon Etched in Silver, and, surprisingly Poyer loved that one, she laughed.
“I am so thrilled I was a part of that whole learning experience,” Henriques-Wilson said. “I would do it all over again, just for this end product, even if I wasn’t published.”
Henriques-Wilson would love to visit The Forbidden City and Asia’s countryside one day. Her favorite films include Come Drink With Me, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, Kiss of The Dragon, the Once Upon a Time in China series, and True Legend.