Cathy Lamb: Friends, Jean Kwok wrote the New York Times bestseller, Girl In Translation.

It was one of my favorite books of 2013. I highly recommend it. Because I loved that book, I tracked down Jean and begged her (in a nice and non – pathetic sort of way) to let me interview her. Lucky for me, she said yes.

It’s my understanding Girl In Translation is at least partially autobiographical. You immigrated with your family from Hong Kong, lived in Brooklyn in an apartment with no heat, and your family, including you, endured jobs in sweatshops. You ended up at Harvard. What part of Girl In Translation is your story? All of it?

Jean Kwok: A great deal of Girl in Translation was indeed based upon my own life. Although the book is a work of fiction, my heroine Kimberly Chang and her mother live in an apartment that mirrors the one I grew up in: overrun with rats and roaches, plaster falling off of the walls and ceilings, and worse of all – no central heating through the bitter New York City winters.

Kimberly and her mother also work in a sweatshop in Chinatown that is a replica of the one I remember working in as a child, and I was by no means the only child there.

Like Kimberly, I was able to do well in school and that was my escape route. However, I will never forget the people I left behind.

Cathy Lamb: I am just appalled at the conditions of your apartment and that children were allowed to work in a sweatshop in the US. I thought we by passed that a hundred years ago. I am in awe of your personal story, the incredible struggles you faced as a child, and the stunning success you have now.

Let’s talk about your new book, Mambo In Chinatown.  I am fascinated by Charlie Wong and her life in Chinatown and how everything changes for her over the course of the story. We have a culture clash, we have family members in conflict, we have poverty, and we have dancing. What a combination.

Can you tell everyone what Mambo In Chinatown is about and what inspired you to write it?

Jean Kwok: Mambo in Chinatown is the story of a poor girl in Chinatown, Charlie Wong, who works as a dishwasher in a noodle restaurant. It was partly inspired by my own life, since I grew up very poor in the slums of Brooklyn. After my family moved to the US, we started working in a clothing factory in Chinatown and even though I was only five years old at the time, I went there every day after school and worked as well. Although I was lucky enough to have a gift for school, my heart remained in Chinatown throughout my years studying at Harvard and Columbia.

I wanted to write from the perspective of someone who works day and night just to make ends meet. When my heroine Charlie gets the chance to work as a receptionist at a ballroom dance studio, she slowly discovers her own dance talent. I wanted to invite readers to step into the closed worlds of Chinatown and ballroom dance.

As Charlie flourishes, however, her little sister Lisa becomes chronically ill and their widower father insists on treating Lisa exclusively with Eastern medicine. Charlie struggles to win a prestigious ballroom dance competition in order to save her little sister, and herself.

In a lot of ways, this is a book about finding your own dreams and talents, no matter how unusual or unlikely they may seem to be.

“Finding your own dreams and talents.” I will have to remember that line and share that with my kids.

On another note, do you know how to mambo?

Actually, I worked as a professional ballroom dancer for Fred Astaire Studios in New York City for three years in between my degrees at Harvard and Columbia, so I learned how to mambo then. As Charlie discovers in the book, mambo is one of the hardest and most exhilarating dances.

When I was doing research for Mambo in Chinatown, I went back into the professional dance world both for research and to film a promotional video. I have to admit that I hit my very kind and forgiving dance partner several times during rehearsals by accident! You can see the finished video here:

http://jeankwok.com/events.shtml

Oh, I love this!

In your opinion, what are some of the struggles that immigrant families face?

Being misunderstood, being ignored. I think we’ve all had that experience of seeing someone on the bus, who is dressed so differently and who seems so different from mainstream America. It’s easy to dismiss that person, to think, “Oh, and she doesn’t even speak English properly.”

But I’ve been that person and I find that one of the most powerful things about novels is that they can deposit you inside the mind and heart of someone else, regardless of nationality, race or religion. One of the nicest comments I’ve heard from a reader is that when someone bumped into him accidentally on the subway after he read my book, he wouldn’t get mad or feel racist anymore but he would think, “That person could be Kimberly or Ma.”

Jean, what an amazing gift you’ve given people with your stories. You bring your characters to life and then readers apply their new knowledge and understanding to the people they meet in “real” life. 

 Where do you live now? How is your family?

The members of my family are all doing very well, so I’m extremely grateful for that. They’d always been quite ashamed of our past but with the publication of my book and the warm reception of many readers, that has turned to pride.

I actually live in the Netherlands now, which shows how unpredictable life can be. I married a Dutch man and we live there with our two boys, ages 8 and 10.

I just was in and out of the airport in Amsterdam. I should have waved. What a beautiful place to live. 

What is the hardest part about being a writer? The best part?

The hardest part is the writing itself, of course. So much of the time, writing is like trying to shoot termites in the dark.

The best part is having readers tell you that your book meant something to them, that it might have changed their lives for the better.

I felt that way after reading Girl In Translation. It opened a whole new world for me. I think it’s easy to get lost in our own comfortable lives and block out everyone else’s entrenched, radically unfair problems. 

Tell me, because I’m always curious about how other writers write.  How do you write your books? Outlining? Day by day, thought by thought? Do you follow word count goals? Editing goals?

I need to mull over my characters and story for a long time before I can begin to write. Once I feel like I have something that coheres into a possible novel, I start writing short pieces, little explorations into new territory. As I get a clearer idea of the shape of the book, I write a rough outline of the whole thing on Scrivener. There will be radical changes but the outline is just a rough map for me so that I don’t completely lose my way.

I then force myself to write a complete rough draft from beginning to end, no matter how terrible. I rewrite and rewrite and rewrite. When I’m working steadily, I set a word count goal for myself per day instead of an amount of time that I need to sit in front of my computer. If the deadline is far away, I like to write about 1200 words per day but as my agent starts asking how my new book is going, that target number can go way, way up.

What’s a typical day like for you?

I have to balance writing, publicity and my family. I usually wake up at 6am, although I used to be a night person! When I’m up against a deadline, I get up at 5am to get some writing in before my day begins. I take the kids to school and then write or do interviews, etc. until they come home. Sometimes I need to do Skype events or write a piece for a magazine, and that can be difficult while the kids are clinging to me like little Velcro monkeys.

I’ve also had a great deal of international publicity since my books have been published in 17 countries so I travel a lot as well. Many schools have added Girl in Translation to their curriculum, and one of the things I enjoy doing most is giving talks to students who have studied my book.

I am a former teacher and I am just thrilled that students are reading your books. 

What are your future plans and goals, both personally and professionally?

There are still many books I’d like to write, worlds I’d enjoy showing to my readers. I believe in trying to enlighten and entertain my readers at the same time. My next book will be about a woman who moves to Amsterdam to start a new life.

Personally, I’d like to find peace. Since I’m writing this interview while on an airplane because this is the only free period I’ve had for weeks, I’m not sure how likely this goal is. 😉

Wishing you peace, always, Jean.

Thank you for your time.