There is a certain irony in the fact that Camille Chong's debut novel centres on two young women leading secret double lives. By day, the 23-year-old Singaporean is preparing to become a full-fledged lawyer specialising in intellectual property. A graduate of University College London, she is currently completing the final stages of her legal training before entering practice in Singapore. By night, she writes fantasy fiction populated by moon goddesses, mythical fox spirits, and rivals destined to fall in love.
That balancing act eventually gave rise to Love, Gods & Sinners, her debut novel published this month by First Ink Books, an imprint of Pan Macmillan. Set in a futuristic version of Singapore infused with Asian mythology, the story follows Harper Leong and Tia Njauw, two housemates who cannot stand each other. Harper is the future leader of the feared Fox Clan. Tia is a rising star among the government-backed sentinels. While they spend their days working as interns at a tech company, their nights are consumed by a secret war that pits them against one another. When Harper is ordered to assassinate Tia, things become more complicated (there’s a delicious twist in the plot).
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The road to publication began long before Chong started studying law. Growing up, she was an obsessive reader who regularly smuggled library books home after her parents decided reading was becoming a distraction from schoolwork. After attending Crescent Girls' School and later Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), she began publishing fiction online at 14 and completed her first full manuscript while still in school.
Her writing continued to develop through the Ministry of Education's Creative Arts Programme, where she met other young writers and received formal mentorship for the first time. Later, while revising Love, Gods & Sinners, she joined an online mentorship programme through Twitter that paired her with Los Angeles-based writer Lilly Lu. The experience offered both editorial guidance and an introduction to the realities of publishing.
Years, rewrites and countless late nights later, Love, Gods & Sinners is finally making its way into readers' hands. And in case you’re wondering, Chong has already completed the sequel, which is slated for release in 2027. Ahead of her debut book launch, we spoke to her about growing up on dystopian fiction, finding community online, and taking inspiration from a superhero cartoon to create an internationally published novel.
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What kind of reader were you growing up?
"I was a huge reader. The kind who always had multiple books on hand because I'd finish one halfway through the day. At one point, my parents actually stopped letting me borrow books because they felt it was affecting my studies. So I'd hide library books in my bag and read them whenever I could. I was especially obsessed with dystopian fiction, zombie stories, virus outbreaks… anything along those lines."
Your debut novel has been years in the making. How did the idea first come about?
T"he original inspiration was actually from Miraculous (an animated series adapted from French cartoon Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir). I was fascinated by the idea of two people leading double lives and not knowing who the other person really was. I was also reading a lot of fanfiction at the time and became interested in how different writers played with secret identities, romance, and tension. I wanted to take that concept and raise the stakes. So instead of two heroes, I created a hero and a villain who were supposed to be enemies."
How would you describe Love, Gods & Sinnersto someone picking it up for the first time?
"Officially it's a fantasy rom-com. Unofficially, it's a superhero-versus-supervillain story where a government-backed heroine falls in love with the criminal she's supposed to stop. The complication is that they live together and don't realise they're enemies when they're out of costume. I've always joked that it's a bit like Batman and the Joker sharing a flat."
How much of yourself is in the book?
"Probably more than I'd like to admit. A lot of readers tell me that Harper, one of the protagonists, sounds suspiciously like me. She's braver than I am, but many of her jokes and reactions probably came from my own voice. The book was written during a very formative period of my life. I was learning a lot about friendships, relationships and how people communicate. Some of those experiences naturally found their way into the story."
As a student, how did you end up finding writing mentors online?
"I've been writing for most of my life and publishing fiction online since I was 14, so I was already part of a lot of writing communities. Around the time I finished the first draft of Love, Gods & Sinners when I was 18 or 19, I applied for an online mentorship programme I found through Twitter. These programmes pair aspiring writers with authors who already have agents or publishing experience. I was matched with Lilly Lu, a writer based in Los Angeles who was publishing her own debut novel. She read the manuscript and helped me work through things like pacing, structure, and character introductions. At that point, the book looked very different from what readers will see now. It was my first real glimpse into how publishing works. Up until then, writing had always been something I did on my own. Suddenly, I was speaking to someone who understood agents, editors, and the realities of getting a book published."
The novel explores romance, but it also touches on larger ideas about power and government. Was that always the plan?
"Not initially. The political side of the story became more important as I got older. I was studying law while revising the book and spending a lot of time thinking about systems, institutions, and authority. I don't think the novel gives definitive answers, but it does ask questions about who gets power, how people use it, and how much trust we place in the systems around us."
How did you find time to write while studying law and preparing for the bar?
"A lot of planning and very little social life. When I was studying, I'd spend entire days switching between law work and writing. Later, when I was working full-time, my schedule was basically 9am to 7pm at work and then writing from 10pm until midnight. I also write everywhere: on the train, while walking to lunch, in cafés. If I have ten spare minutes, I'll probably be making notes on my phone. I recently finished the sequel in about 20 days because I knew I had exams coming up. That worked out to roughly 4,000 words a day."
You have already finished the sequel. What comes next?
"It feels surreal to say it: The sequel is already finished! But for now we’ll be promoting Love, Gods & Sinners in the UK for the Young Adult Literature Convention (YALC) this October, and hopefully, speak at the Singapore Writers Festival this November. Beyond that, I think the kinds of stories I want to tell are changing as I get older. I still love fantasy, but lately I've become interested in bigger themes, things like colonialism, language, climate change, and how societies shape the way we think. Writing a book takes so much effort—so many people put in effort to distribute it—that I increasingly feel I should use that opportunity to say something meaningful."
Love, Gods & Sinners is available at major bookstores from 11 June 2026.