{"id":47669,"date":"2021-01-07T11:12:04","date_gmt":"2021-01-07T16:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/?p=47669"},"modified":"2021-01-06T11:22:12","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06T16:22:12","slug":"author-interview-emiko-jean-in-shelf-awareness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/author-interview-emiko-jean-in-shelf-awareness\/","title":{"rendered":"Author Interview: Emiko Jean [in Shelf Awareness]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Emiko Jean: Searching for Belonging\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

When\u00a0<\/em>Emiko Jean<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>isn’t writing, she’s reading. Before she became a writer, she was an entomologist, a candlemaker, a florist, and most recently, a teacher. She is the author of <\/em>Empress of All Seasons\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>We’ll Never Be Apart. In her third novel,\u00a0<\/em>Tokyo Ever After\u00a0(Flatiron Books, May 25, 2021), a California teen turns out to be a Japanese princess<\/em>.<\/p>\n

You’re quite the literary chameleon \u2013 your first book was a psychological thriller, your second a historical Japanese fantasy and now this effervescent contemporary romance with a timeless “I’m really a princess” trope. What’s the genesis here?<\/strong>
\nI have genre hopped, haven’t I? But when you look at my work, there is a build there. Most deal with underrepresentation. I think\u00a0Tokyo Ever After<\/em>\u00a0was a natural genesis. We just don’t have a lot of Asian princesses, period. And growing up, I never saw myself represented in princess media. I think\u00a0Tokyo Ever After<\/em>\u00a0felt really needed. When the concept came to me, it made a lot of sense that a Japanese princess YA book should exist in the world. I grew up in a pretty big Japanese community but didn’t know until later in my life that Japan actually still had a royal family. When I learned that, it instantly made me think of\u00a0The Princess Diaries<\/em>\u00a0(a movie I loved as a teen) and I wondered how that might look cast in Japan.<\/p>\n

Did you have to think twice about fictionalizing an existing family\/monarchy\/history?<\/strong>
\nYes. I knew about the royal family’s role in WWII but I didn’t realize they had continued with the monarchy until later in my life. I had to think carefully about what to put on the page, what to and how to recognize certain historical events and in what ways I wanted to represent them, and how this fictionalized monarchy responded to these events. In many ways, it was the same as how the current royal family rebuilt after the war. I did feel a heaviness, a pressure to represent that part of history, while keeping the novel fun and current.<\/p>\n

How did you do the research? Do you speak\/read Japanese? Any major surprises?<\/strong>
\nI don’t speak any Japanese, other than the phrases my father yelled at me when I was young. (Ha!) I did a ton of research from royal biographies, actual memoirs, big historical books, and some generic royal romances (my favorite!). One of the big surprises I wrestled with was the complex naming systems of the royal family, who are given very specific names and honorifics. I pulled in some friends from Japan with the help of my cousin who has a big network over there. They read drafts of the novel and helped with my translations.<\/p>\n

Tokyo Ever After\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>got you a new publisher, new imprint, new editor \u2013 and a spectacular preempt deal that made publishing news. What’s that experience been like? What was it about this manuscript, do you think, that made the industry pay such attention?<\/strong>
\nIt’s been amazing. And also sort of surreal, much like a dream. But it has mostly been business as usual, revising\u00a0Tokyo Ever After<\/em>\u00a0and working on the second book. I think\u00a0Tokyo Ever After<\/em>\u00a0was very timely in that the industry has been looking for #OwnVoices novels with new perspectives. That it had such strong comps, The Princess Diaries<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Crazy Rich Asians<\/em>, made it so publishers understood the concept right away. I think it’s also a fun book, and being whisked away to another “world” is really attractive. Royal stories and that peek behind the veil have always been popular.<\/p>\n

Tokyo Ever After\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>sure seems ready for a close-up: Has Hollywood come calling? Who might you choose for your dream cast?<\/strong>
\nThe book has been optioned and there have been discussions. I wish I could give more details! Dream cast? I don’t know, it’s one of those things I try not to think about. I’m suspicious and afraid of getting my hopes up! But I’d love to see more Asians on screen, period.<\/p>\n

I’ve heard a sequel is already in the works. Might we get a sneak peek?<\/strong>
\nI don’t know if I can say too much about the plot of the second book! There will be more romance, more kissing … maybe some heartbreak. And definitely more insights into the royal family’s customs, maybe even a royal wedding! Shoot, I’ve probably said too much!<\/p>\n

The #OwnVoices movement encourages and values authenticity over appropriation. At some point, did you make a conscious decision in your writing that you would showcase your heritage?<\/strong>
\nI did. My first book,\u00a0We’ll Never Be Apart<\/em>, had a white main character and that was purposeful. I didn’t think it would be published using a Japanese character. But after that came out and the #OwnVoices movement began to gain traction, I decided to go for it and write a Japanese fantasy \u2013 which was like coming home. Being able to explore my heritage (in a magical way) was an incredibly enriching experience. And I don’t think I would have been prepared to write Tokyo Ever After<\/em>\u00a0without it. I learned Japanese history first, then came a Japanese contemporary novel. From now on, I am very committed to writing Japanese American characters in my novels, showcasing them in all walks of life.<\/p>\n

Did you ever have “I’m really a princess” fantasies yourself?<\/strong>
\nWhen I think of my younger self, it’s kind of complicated. I did entertain the idea but I didn’t let myself be too enthralled with [such fantasies]. Again, growing up and not seeing my skin, hair, eye color in literature or on film really closed that world off to me. So maybe I did wish to be a princess but never really considered it a possibility, or more that I felt ashamed by that desire to be a part of a world that was closed off.<\/p>\n

With\u00a0Tokyo Ever After<\/em>\u00a0hitting shelves in May, so many girls like us can dream, too!<\/strong>
\nYes! Exactly. This is truly a book of my heart. And if you strip down the comps,\u00a0Princess Diaries\/Crazy Rich Asians<\/em>, and the big publishing deal, it’s really about a girl searching for where she belongs. It mirrors so much of my personal journey. I hope that’s what readers will identify with. Every girl should be able to\/have the right to dream BIG!<\/p>\n

Interview<\/strong>: “YA Maximum Shelf:\u00a0Tokyo Ever After<\/em>,”\u00a0Shelf Awareness Max<\/em>, January 6, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n

Readers<\/strong>: Young Adult<\/p>\n

Published<\/strong>: 2021<\/p>\n

Author photo credit<\/strong>: Susan Doupe\u0301<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Emiko Jean: Searching for Belonging\u00a0 When\u00a0Emiko Jean\u00a0isn’t writing, she’s reading. Before she became a writer, she was an entomologist, a candlemaker, a florist, and most recently, a teacher. She is the author of Empress of All Seasons\u00a0and\u00a0We’ll Never Be Apart. In her third novel,\u00a0Tokyo Ever…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,426,6535,31],"tags":[6608,58,59,9491,10,24,51,13,129,39,41,6872,9492,9490],"class_list":["post-47669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-author-interview-profile","category-fiction","category-japanese-american","category-repost","category-young-adult-readers","tag-bookdragon","tag-coming-of-age","tag-cultural-exploration","tag-emiko-jean","tag-family","tag-historical","tag-identity","tag-love","tag-mother-daughter-relationship","tag-parent-child-relationship","tag-royalty","tag-shelf-awareness","tag-shelf-awareness-max","tag-tokyo-ever-after"],"yoast_head":"\nAuthor Interview: Emiko Jean [in Shelf Awareness] - BookDragon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/author-interview-emiko-jean-in-shelf-awareness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Author Interview: Emiko Jean [in Shelf Awareness] - BookDragon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Emiko Jean: Searching for Belonging\u00a0 When\u00a0Emiko Jean\u00a0isn’t writing, she’s reading. 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