What is it about your experience and upbringing that inspired you the most to write?
I didn’t see very many stories in the media related to being an immigrant or being Chinese-American in the United States. I want to see more of these narratives brought up in the books I read, the TV shows and movies I watched, and more. Romance is my favorite genre–so I started there. I’d love to see more Chinese-Americans, and Asian people in general, get their happily-ever-afters!
Name 3 authors and 3 books:
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Temporary Wife Temptation by Jayci Lee
Faker by Sarah Smith
What do you think is the best quality a writer can have?
Always being open to learning something new!
Any last words?
I’m currently obsessed Animal Crossing: New Horizon, so if anybody wants to be friends… hit me up.
Challenge: Write a one-sentence story!
Once I paid off Tom Nook, it was time for him to pay me back.
What is it about your experience and upbringing that inspired you the most to write?
I’ve always believed in magic, so that’s part of it, and ties neatly into the other reason, which is that I wanted to see my mythology and heritage and people like me as the focus of a fun, magical story for once. From there, I decided I would write Hindu-inspired fantasy—and did.
Name 3 authors and 3 books
1. Anna-Marie McLemore and When the Moon Was Ours
2. June Hur and The Silence of Bones
3. Ciara Smyth and The Falling in Love Montage
What do you think is the best quality a writer can have?
A deep, compassionate desire to understand the world we live in, so you can then do your best to recreate that truth in your work.
Any last words? (Fun facts, comments, something you’d like to share with the world, etc.) The background of my website is the absolutely gorgeous illustration Asma Kazi did of the magical Night Market in Star Daughter, and if you look closely, one of the tents says (in Gujarati), “Shveta’s Stories.” So I’m there, too!
Challenge: Write a one-sentence story!
Someone left a pan of freshly baked fudgy brownies on the counter—and then I found it.
I received an ARC of Star Daughter from Edelweiss, and I am currently reading and LOVING how lyrical and beautiful it is while learning more of Hindu mythology! It releases in 3 months on August 11, 2020!
Asian background: Originally from Malaysia, I Iived in a number of different countries, including Germany and Japan, while growing up. I now live in California
What is it about your experience and upbringing that inspired you the most to write?
Since we moved so much, I had to adapt to different schools and new people all the time. I always liked to read though, so whenever we got to a new place, I’d make a beeline to the library. Books were my comfort, and I made friends with the librarians and other fellow bookworms.The richness of the library and the sense of a world of stories has always filled me with wonder and excitement.
Name 3 authors and 3 books
Miracle Creek— Angie Kim
Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World — Haruki Murakami
The Housekeeper and the Professor — Yoko Ogawa
What do you think is the best quality a writer can have?
Curiosity and empathy (ok, that’s two qualities!)
Any last words? (Fun facts, comments, something you’d like to share with the world, etc.)
Dark chocolate is my writing companion (I make multiple trips to the fridge to ensure that I haven’t finished all of my stash!).
Challenge: Write a one-sentence story!
New housemate wanted; must love alligators.
The Ghost Bride is one of my personal favorite novels, and I still need to binge the new Netflix adaptation! (After I re-read it, haha!)
Asian background: I am 3rd generation Singaporean Chinese – my forebears came from Shanghai, Guandong and Fujian to work and settle in Singapore. I am Hokkien (Fujian ren).
What is it about your experience and upbringing that inspired you the most to write?
I see myself as Singaporean Chinese and Southeast Asian. Southeast Asia itself is such a diverse place with rich mythologies and cultures. I am also inspired by Chinese myths and folklore. After studying and living in Australia for 7 years, I became more appreciative of my Chineseness and started writing stories with Chinese or Asian characters.
Name 3 authors and 3 books
Eeleen Lee, Liquid Crystal Nightingale
Zen Cho, Sorcerer to The Crown
J. Yang, the Tensorate series.
What do you think is the best quality a writer can have?
Tenacity and the refusal to give up.
Any last words? (Fun facts, comments, something you’d like to share with the world, etc.)
Hi Asian authors and creators, I know this is a difficult period for us. We are hard pressed to create, to produce something. Yet, because it’s such a challenging time, we do not need to blame ourselves for not being able to create or write . Cut yourself some slack, go do something else. It’s OK not to be OK during this time.
Challenge: Write a one-sentence story!
Casting off her chains, she became a dragon and soared into the sky.
What is it about your experience and upbringing that inspired you the most to write? I grew up in a house full of books shelved haphazardly, with no regard to genre or any other means of classification. As a result, I have very little patience with genre boundaries or labels, and prefer to write stories that defy them. However, I’ve always gravitated toward stories that literalize some aspect of reality we normally understand as metaphor. This is usually described as the province of magic realism, but I think it taps into some deep feature of how we process reality as human beings. We grasp the abstract by embodying them in tangible metaphors and reify cherished values in stories.
Name 3 authors and 3 books Tochi Onyebuchi — Riot Baby Peter Tieryas — United States of Japan S.L. Huang — Zero Sum Game
What do you think is the best quality a writer can have? A unique voice and vision, conjuring forth stories no one else could have told.
Any last words? (Fun facts, comments, something you’d like to share with the world, etc.) Being a slow writer is not a problem. It took me more than a decade to write my first series, and I couldn’t be happier. Go at your own pace and tell the stories you want to tell.
Challenge: Write a one-sentence story! Missed Connections: “Unless you return and rescue me from April 30, 2020, I’ll make sure that your timeline never comes to be.”
The Paper Menagerie is one of my favorite short story collections of all time! Thank you Ken for agreeing to be interviewed and featured today!
What is it about your experience and upbringing that inspired you the most to write?
I wish I had a more exciting answer for this haha. But writing and reading were always an escape for me when I was younger. My real life was kind of a downer, so fantasy books and stories became my refuge. Since I never saw myself in any of those fantastical places I loved so much, I wrote myself into them. Of course, I wrote myself as white because that’s what everything around me told me I should want, and it took years and years to dismantle the self-hatred. But it was definitely during those early years when I really discovered my passion for writing and how much it meant to me. So I guess I’m grateful for that 🙂
Name 3 authors and 3 books
Descendant of the Crane by Joan He
The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones.
What do you think is the best quality a writer can have?
Persistence. Writing for publication means coming up again so many obstacles, and it can really wear you down if you’re not mentally prepared. But the good thing is that publishing is a long game, and if you stick with it, eventually your book will find its readers ❤
Any last words? (Fun facts, comments, something you’d like to share with the world, etc.)
In addition to being an author, I also wanted to be a paleontologist, a historian, an English college professor, a mermaid, a witch, and a fairy. I still want those last two tbh.
Forest of Souls will be released on June 23, 2020! Look at this beautiful cover!
What is it about your experience and upbringing that inspired you the most to write?
The food! I’m such a foodie and am always suffering from one craving or another. My father is the best cook I know and his cooking evokes so many memories. His specialty in cuisine ranged from Chinese, Filipino, to western dishes. First, I wanted to write about how food made me feel and then I found a story and a plot to match these emotions. To this day, I continue to delve into my back catalogue of favorite meals to find inspiration for future novels.
Name 3 authors and 3 books.
Suzanne Park – The Perfect Escape, Loathe at First Sight
Helen Hoang – The Kiss Quotient, The Bride Test
Tif Marcelo – The Key to Happily Ever After, Once Upon a Sunset
What do you think is the best quality a writer can have?
Resilience. As a writer, you have many battles to fight. While the publishing industry is tough and rife with rejections, you also have to contend with self-doubt. Surviving all these hurdles with your mental health intact is as important as writing the words down on the page. Keep going, be kind to yourself, and know that I’m cheering you on.
Any last words? (Fun facts, comments, something you’d like to share with the world, etc.)
This is a dark time right now and finding comfort and joy in the little things shouldn’t cause anyone guilt. Take good care of yourself so you can take better care of those you love.
Challenge: Write a one-sentence story!
She picked up the knife and couldn’t decide what to stab it into- her husband or the slab of venison on the counter.
Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop is coming out on August 4, 2020. I received an ARC from Roselle’s publicist, which I am super excited to read and review! You’re a rockstar, Dache!
Chinese diaspora. My mother was born in Taiwan into a Hokkien Taiwanese family, but my father and paternal grandfather were actually born in South Africa, migrated to Malaysia and then ended up in the US. My paternal grandmother was born in the island of Mauritius, which is in the Indian Ocean!
What is it about your experience and upbringing that inspired you the most to write?
When I was growing up in Central New York (imagine Pennsyltucky but in the Empire State) I always felt very much like the other. I never wore the right clothes or knew the “cool” things to do, and I grew up with my grandparents who were quite restrictive. So books were always my friends, and I always wanted to grow up to write books that other people could take solace in, could learn from, and grow by reading.
Name 3 authors and 3 books
Kelly Loy Gilbert, Picture Us In the Light Kacen Callender, Felix Ever After Ismee Williams, This Train is Being Held
What do you think is the best quality a writer can have?
Perseverence and faith in your story. The path to publication can be long, and even when it isn’t there are always highs and lows. If you believe in the story you’re telling, you’ll be able to persist, and the world will be better for having your perspective.
Any last words? (Fun facts, comments, something you’d like to share with the world, etc.)
As many of you guys know, i’m a doctor in real life, so I just wanted to thank everyone who’s been staying at home to both #FlattenTheCurve and #KeepTheCurveFlat. I’m so grateful for the virtual ways we’ve been connecting, however, and can’t wait to start seeing readers IRL!
Challenge: Write a one-sentence story!
When the wind howls, I close my eyes, breathe, and bend; still I soldier on.
What is it about your experience and upbringing that inspired you the most to write?
I think it’s just reading. I was a voracious reader as a kid. I spent a lot of time at the public library. The only thing I ever wanted to spend my allowance money on was books. My mom called me her little bookworm, because my nose was always stuck in a book. The reason my eyesight is so bad now is because at night after everyone went to sleep, I’d read with a flashlight under my blankets. I think when you read that much, it’s only a matter of time before you decide you also want to write.
Name 3 authors and 3 books
Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian
Yellow by Don Lee
Toxicology by Jessica Hagedorn
What do you think is the best quality a writer can have?
Not being afraid of or resistant to a major overhaul and revision of your novel after you’ve already completed what you believe to be a good draft. I don’t doubt that your first completed draft of that novel is decent, but no matter how good it is, you can make it worlds better after diligent revision, and I don’t mean a light line-edit here or there, I mean cutting out whole scenes, writing new ones, deleting characters out of the novel, adding characters, changing the ending, changing the beginning, big stuff.
Any last words? (Fun facts, comments, something you’d like to share with the world, etc.)
I started a novel writing vlog. This one I’m linking has some ramblings in it about being raised by traditional Asian parents and wanting to be a writer. =) Link: https://youtu.be/lltxtGuzBk0
Challenge: Write a one-sentence story! Heaven’s council condemns a self-absorbed apsara (celestial maiden), punishing her to reincarnate as a human, and while at first, faced with earthly suffering, she desperately tries to return home by deceiving humans and nature spirits alike, the apsara then falls in love with a human, and sacrifices herself to save his parents, demonstrating to the council she’s learned her lesson, but when the council gives her passage back to heaven, she renounces her divinity to stay on earth with her love and her newfound parents.
I received a tarot reading from Benebell back in 2015 when Holistic Tarot was published. It’s one of my favorite tarot books of all time, and her reading was super memorable! A MUST-READ for anyone with interest in tarot!
Jo Wu 