Work in Progress
Last month, I was deep into the line edits for my novel, When Sleeping Women Wake. I finished a couple of weeks ago, and now it’s back with my editors! One of the most nerve-wracking parts of this process is writing new material for them to review. I’m constantly waiting for their feedback to find out if the new material is working. Writing brings me joy, but it’s also a craft—I’m still learning so much and don’t think I’ll ever write ‘effortlessly’ like some authors claim to. While some view writing as an artform where ideas flow freely, I see it more like architectural design, needing a solid foundation where every detail fits together seamlessly. Maybe I’m overthinking it, but that’s how I feel right now. This month, my editors are collaborating with the art department to create cover designs, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with!
Tip of the Month
One of the keys to becoming a productive writer is to establish a consistent writing routine. Set aside dedicated time each day or week for writing, and treat it like an important appointment. Read my latest blog on how to set clear writing goals.
Author Feature
I had the absolute pleasure of catching up with author Di Lebowitz this month. We first connected several years ago when I was a bookseller. I came across her debut novel, The Marks Left on Her, and knew I had to stock it in the shop. It was a great decision—her book became the first to be stocked in an Australian indie, and it sold out immediately. People were drawn to both the cover and Di as an author. So, when she self-published the remarkable and heart-wrenching tale of her grandmother’s (Paupau) life during post-war Hong Kong, I knew I had to read it.
Here’s our discussion on her newest novel, A Hakka Woman:
What made you want to share Paupau's (Ah-Ping) story, especially focusing on her life as a Hakka woman in post-war Hong Kong?
There were many reasons. First was a personal if not selfish reason of mine—my grandmother is now 92 and has early on-set dementia. It became apparent to me around 4/5 years ago that I was losing her. The realisation that one day she won’t be here, was terrifying, and I wanted to do something, anything to preserve her. For me, that way was to write her story.
On top of that, during the lockdowns, I was unable to visit her, so we spent a lot of time doing video calls. To help with her memory, I would ask her about her life and get her to talk about it. Most of her stories I already knew—she would recount them all the time when I was a child. I found that getting her to talk more helped her cognition. More importantly, having her revisit her past with me gave me a deeper and fuller understanding, appreciation, and love for her.
Much of Paupau’s life parallels that of Hong Kong’s story—a story of a people seeking refuge, a people of immigrants and dislocation, all united in their resilience, strength and determination to keep going. This isn’t often shared in the western or in the English-speaking world, much less about the Hakka people and their unique lived experience.
How did you capture Paupau's strength and resilience in facing such difficult circumstances?
This was the easiest part of writing A Hakka Woman. Paupau is the strongest woman I know, and I believe defines what resilience truly means. All I had to do was just put her story to paper and keep her voice as authentic as possible. Her strength and resilience naturally came through. It was a completely organic process.
What was your writing process like? Did you have a routine?
For this book, it came out completely organically. Whilst writing my own memoir, a lot of memories of and with Paupau came out, which didn’t make it into Marks, but I wrote them down anyway and kept it in a separate notebook. Whenever I am at the start of creating something, it’s always handwritten. I don’t use my Mac until much later in the process.
I had a whole notebook filled with Paupau—from what I recall about her childhood to snippets of our time together in Hong Kong. I had always wanted to write her story and found that I had, without thinking, already written it. From there it was a matter of structure, delving deeper into her life and psyche and making it more of a ‘book’.
I don’t really have a specific routine. Most of my writing starts with a thought that strikes me when I am doing the most mundane thing, which gets scribbled onto a post-it note before I transcribe it into a notebook. Some things stay in the notebook, some get used.
How have your family and friends responded to the memoir?
I was really nervous when this book came out. Many friends had become such big fans of Paupau from my first book and had also donated to this crowdfunding project to get the book published, so there was a lot of pressure to live up to expectations. With my family—because they all know Paupau so well—I was really worried about portraying her as authentically as possible. So far, they love this memoir—friends telling me this is the best book they have ever read to family sharing how proud they are of me for capturing our Paupau. I am really honoured that this is how they feel about the book.
What was it like for you, as her granddaughter, to retell this personal story, and what challenges did you encounter?
This is the greatest honour and gift I as a granddaughter can receive – to tell and share her story. Few people have the chance to do this and I am so grateful that I could. It was in a way a straightforward project — write her life down but at the same time, it was complex. I wasn’t just writing events down; I brought Paupau to the reader—the essence of her being. To do this, I had to live her, breathe her, to make her memories my memories, her pain my pain. As an empath, this brought me so much closer to Paupau, gave me an even deeper and greater appreciation and love for her, but it was taxing on the mind and heart. Often I would have to stop writing because I could feel what she felt. The other challenge was ensuring Paupau’s voice was as authentic as possible. Not only does she not speak English, Paupau’s vocabulary is quite limited. On top of that, as a writer, my voice naturally became intertwined with hers. I talk more about this in the epilogue, so I hope this will encourage readers to get the book and read it.
To learn more about Di and Paupau, visit: https://www.dilebowitz.com/
Quote of the Month
As featured on my Instagram, this month's quote comes from one of my all-time favourite authors, Eileen Chang:
“Small white clouds floated in the blue sky above, and on the street a flute vendor was playing the flute - a sharp, soft, sinuous, Oriental tune that twisted and turned in the ear like embroidery, like a picture of a dream in a novel, a trail of white mist coming out from under the bed curtain and unfurling all sorts of images, slowly uncoiling like a lazy snake, till finally the drowsiness is just too great, and even the dream falls asleep.”
Until next month, stay happy and healthy!
Emma, x
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