I have done both.
In The Great Wall, I share the experiences I
had while living in China. It was silly but while I was in edits for this story
I got quite homesick for Suzhou. Let me share with you some of the locations
Styx and Jin’s story takes place in.
Locations:
Yintang: This is Styx and Jin’s hometown and where I
spent a good deal with time. Yintang is not modern, like Shanghai. It has one
big shopping center, numerous tiny shops and countless stalls. While I was
there they still advertised community TVs because not everyone has their own. Access
to the Internet was spotty at best, if you could afford it. Spending some much
time here I understood how closeted Styx would be. Gay wasn’t even a
possibility in the world of Yintang. The town also helped me understand how Jin
needed to leave, and how his work in massage spas helped give him hints that
the rest of the world might be different than Yintang.
Suzhou: The band lives in my apartment. (Yes, we were
crazy enough to buy there. BTW: When you buy an apartment in China you buy a
shell with concrete walls and only a few rooms walled out, pipes, windows and a
dirt/cement floor. You need to design and contract everything else. Toilets,
sinks, ceiling, walls are added along with walls, appliances, paint, flooring,
etc.)
Suzhou is where I spent most of my time while I was living
there. So, I know where the farmer’s market is and I know how expensive the Japanese
market in comparison. I used to go to the German Restaurant across the street
from our apartment weekly. I sat in the pavilion Jin does his Gong Chi in. I
would meander through one or more of the eighteen gardens of Suzhou, at least two
or three times a week. I even attended a wedding.
Beijing: I rode the night train to Beijing. It’s like
trying to sleep during a slow extended earthquake. I was driven down the pothole
ridden road to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall (I was bounced so high out
of my seat I actually hit my head on the ceiling of the van). The band goes to some
of the attractions I visited while touring Beijing.
One of their band members Indigo is from L.A. so he’s the
shocked version of me going WTF? Why can’t I get hot water, Internet &
cable on the same day? What do you mean they don’t take credit cards? What do
you mean there is no LGBTQIA community here?
Have you ever had to put an 'in progress' story aside
because of the emotional ties with it? You were hurting with the
characters or didn't know how to proceed?
I wrote The Great Wall while I was living in
China. Suzhou’s closet is so deep I didn’t find the only gay friendly club
until I had been there for five years. Since I only write happily ever afters I’m
not going to lie I struggled trying to find out a way to happiness with The
Great Wall that was realistic.
Living there altered the potential and possibilities I saw because the
limitations were intense.
An American reader might see the path to their HEA without
difficulty but I’ll tell you I sat in my (their) my apartment for hours
(crying) unable to plot their happy ending. All my friends who were Chinese
married regardless of their orientation and would readily tell me there was no
gay in China… that was a Western concept. I racked my brain for several months
trying to find a path forward that would be true and possible in Suzhou.
I’m thrilled to report I found a way to give a satisfying happily
ever after that would be realistic outcome to Jin and Styx so they could have
their true happily ever after.
What's next for you as an author?
I’m working on Club Zombie #3. It’s contains the original scene
that blossomed into the sexy zombie plot bunny that evolved into the Club
Zombie series. I had to write the first two books to get to the scene that
started it all but finally made it to this point!
Then before there was Yuri On Ice there was a YouTube video
two of my friends showed me. So, I’ll be working that delicious plot bunny. (A
skater and a hot rocker…) I’ve been taking notes on this story for about two
and a half years.
And by June, I hope readers will join me for another visit
to China.
With so much going on in the world today, do you write to
explain? To get away? To move past? To widened our knowledge?
Why do you write?
I write to promote equality. I truly believe we can change
hearts and minds with every page we turn/write. I’m grateful readers allow me
to share my stories with them.
The Great Wall
Blurb:
Destiny will be decided by a battle between heart and mind….
Jun Tai “Styx” Wong loves two things: playing the drums and
his best friend, Jin. But being a good Chinese son means he can’t have
either—he’ll have to marry a girl of his parents’ choosing and settle into a
traditional job. His move to the bigger city of Suzhou is both a blessing and
curse, as living with Jin makes it harder for Styx to suppress his desires.
Nearly dying while trying to eradicate his feelings serves as a wake-up call
for Jin, who takes extreme measures to keep Styx safe from harm.
When given a second chance at life and happiness, will Styx
be able to claim the future he wants with Jin, his bandmates, and his music?
Can love and hope grow with the constantly looming threat of Styx’s parents
ordering him home? Great things await—if Styx finds the courage to break down
the wall that stands between him and everything he wants.
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