Author Christine Son :: FAQ

Q: What are you? Can you speak Chinese?

A: Yes, I get these questions all the time. All the time. Sometimes in non sequitur contexts (“I like your statute of limitations argument. What are you?” “Hey, I’m going to Venezuela for vacation. Can you speak Chinese?”). I don’t mind, and every now and then, I like to ask people to guess (that makes for some interesting conversations). To answer the question — I’m Korean, and no, I don’t speak Chinese. I speak Korean at a kindergarten level, which is amazing because my parents have always spoken to me in English. What’s even more amazing is that I speak Korean better than my husband, whose parents speak to him exclusively in our mother tongue.

What else am I? I’m a 32-year-old Dallasite who loves peach cobbler, silly movies, laughter, stand-up comedians, The Daily Show, Hawaii, Balenciaga handbags, Texas Hold ‘Em, Belvedere vodka, chocolate, Spam (the quasi-food, not the Internet scourge) — you know, nice things.

Q: Where do you get ideas for your books? Are your characters based on people in your life?

A: To some extent, yes, the characters and scenarios in my writing stem from my own experiences. Chunks of OFF THE MENU were products of my own frustrations and desires in life. But, I’m not writing roman-à-clefs, and I don’t deify or vilify my friends and not-friends in my books (it’s tempting sometimes, but I find it fundamentally wrong). Actually, the characters are far removed from real people, even if they have blended shades of their qualities. Of course, my mother doesn’t believe that my characters are figments of my imagination, and she’s convinced that Whitney’s mother is her in written form. Good thing I made the character likeable (which, of course, my mother is).

Q: Are you working on any new writing projects?

A: Yes! My work-in-progress is about a dysfunctional, blended Korean family that discovers what it means to be family. I’m not at a point where I can describe it any better than that, but I’ll update as the story comes together.

Q: You write about Asian-Americans. Why?

A: Why not? The proverbial “they” say to write about what you know, and if I don’t know what it is to be Asian, then I’ve got issues, and perhaps a bit of sensory deprivation. Of course, I’m not writing a guide to an entire, broad culture in this country, and my perspective will not be the same as others’, but if it sparks interest in what I think is a fascinating, wonderful group of people, fantastic!

Q: You work full-time, often with travel and long hours. When do you find time to write?

A: I know a woman who has four young children who’s managed to crank out four books. By comparison, my situation is tons more manageable. I’ll write a couple hours a night, and if my weekend is free, I’m up at five or six in the morning, and will go at it until about ten or eleven at night. Unfortunately, I’ve never been one who could work in small bits of time, which is why I have to block off entire days to write. It helps that I don’t sleep much, even if I tease that I need a solid 14 hours to function. It also helps that my husband will sneak off to Vegas and leave me alone to work. It’s tough sometimes, but writing is a strange, obsessive passion. Someone described writers as those who can’t live without writing, as opposed to those who love to write.

Q: What do you do in your free time?

A: Qu’est-ce que c’est, free time? Oh, I like doing loads of things. Going to new restaurants. Watching Lost, Top Chef, Project Runway, Ugly Betty, Chuck, 24, South Park, 30 Rock, Heroes (I may spend too much time in front of the TV). Hacking at a ball at a golf range (club to ball contact, here I come!). Girlfriend trips. Vacations with my husband. Reading (of course!). Convincing my mother that characters are not based on her.

Have a question? Send it to me, and I may post my answer!