Interview with Author Cindy Pon

Today the tremendously talented Cindy Pon is here to tell us all a little bit more about Chinese names and how writing her two novels were so different, but equally rewarding.

GC: I loved reading your Chinese Fantasy/Adventure, set in a land of

elusive gods and mysterious evils, what first inspired you to write Ai

Lings story? What do you think influenced the plot and your writing?

CP: I wrote Silver Phoenix because fantasy was always my first genre love

and I had just

begun to study Chinese brush painting. I decided to meld these two

loves and interests

and write a Chinese inspired fantasy. It was the first novel I wrote

so I had no idea what

I was doing. I tend to be a pretty intuitive writer, even into my third novel.

GC: Did you always plan to base the story in a fantasy world that was

influenced by Chinese culture, or did the Kingdom of Xia evolve as you

wrote?

CP: Yes, it was always my intention to have Silver Phoenix be inspired by

the Chinese culture!

I knew very little at the beginning other than that, and that it would

be a heroine's journey,

and it would be about unrequited love.

GC: I pride myself on being a 'Name-Know-I-All,' but I know less than

nothing about Chinese names, their structure, if meaning is important,

ect. Think you can enlighten me?

CP: I'm no expert myself. But the surname or family name comes first. And

the name is usually composed of one or

two characters. Ai Ling's full name would be Wen Ai Ling and Chen Yong

is Li Chen Yong. Usually, names do

carry meaning, or you can be named after someone like a relative with

an exact character in your name or one

that sounds the same.

GC: Did you feel any major differences in yourself sitting down to write

the sequel, than you did when you began Ai Ling's story in Silver

Phoenix?

CP: Yes. Writing Fury of the Phoneix was very different than Silver

Phoenix. I had all the time in the world

with Silver Phoenix. Fury was tough as it was on deadline and I gave

my editor such a rough draft. That

was scary. But in the end, after at least three major revisions, I

think that Fury is the stronger novel. I'm

very proud of it.

GC: Do you have any peculiar writing habits?

CP: I always like to have food and drink close to hand. =) I wrote much of

Silver Phoenix at Starbucks and Fury at my local boba shop that has great

mapo tofu!

GC: What is next for you as an author?

CP: I'm working on another unsold Xia fantasy. it's in the baby baby stage

so I won't

say much more than that.

GC: Cindy, thank you so much for coming on the blog. I can't wait to see

where Silver Phoenix and Ai Ling's story will go next!

CP: Thanks so much for having me Gabrielle! I hope you all enjoy Fury even

more than Silver Phoenix. =)

Want More Cindy?

Silver Phoenix : Beyond the Kingdom of Xia

Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins, April 28 '09

Fury of the Phoenix

Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins, March 29, '11

cindypon.com