Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today I’m
excited to have debut author Betty Yee here to share about her YA historical
fiction Gold Mountain. It’s set in the 1860’s when the Transcontinental
Railroad was being built. I love historical fiction and am super excited to
read this one.
Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:
Working on the Transcontinental Railroad promises a
fortune—for those who survive.
Growing up in 1860s China, Tam Ling Fan has lived a life of comfort. Her father
is wealthy enough to provide for his family but unconventional enough to spare
Ling Fan from the debilitating foot-binding required of most well-off girls.
But Ling Fan’s life is upended when her brother dies of influenza and their
father is imprisoned under false accusations. Hoping to earn the money that
will secure her father’s release, Ling Fan disguises herself as a boy and takes
her brother’s contract to work for the Central Pacific Railroad Company in
America.
Life on “the Gold Mountain” is grueling and dangerous. To build the railroad
that will connect the west coast to the east, Ling Fan and other Chinese
laborers lay track and blast tunnels through the treacherous peaks of the
Sierra Nevada, facing cave-ins, avalanches, and blizzards—along with hostility
from white Americans.
When someone threatens to expose Ling Fan’s secret, she must take an even
greater risk to save what’s left of her family . . . and to escape the Gold
Mountain alive.
Before I
get to my interview with Dannie, I have my IWSG Post.
Posting: The first Wednesday is officially Insecure Writer's Support Group Day.
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns
without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire
can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of
all kinds!
The awesome co-hosts this month are Kim Elliott, Melissa Maygrove, Chemist Ken, Lee
Lowery, and Nancy Gideon!
Optional
Question: It's the best of times; it's the worst of times. What are your writer
highs (the good times)? And what are your writer lows (the crappy times)?
My
writer highs were in the early years of my writing about 20 years ago when I
was super excited about writing and had my first manuscript go to acquisitions
at Little Brown. I didn’t know it had even gotten that far until the editor I
submitted to sent me a very nice rejection about a year after I submitted it to
her.
My
lows have been after my husband died and I lost all my drive to write. Even
now, I’ve seen how hard writers must work and not always succeed even if they’ve
been traditionally published. It’s hard to get too excited about the
possibility of being published, when there is so much about it you can’t
control. I try to focus on the joy of writing for the sake of writing instead.
What
have been your highs and lows?
Interview With Betty Yee
Hi Betty! Thanks so much for joining us.
Thank you so much for inviting me!
1. Tell us about yourself and how you
became a writer.
Reading has always been
a source of comfort and joy. From an early age, I learned to climb into the
world of books. I never wanted the stories to end, so I spent a lot of
time retelling my favorite stories to myself in my daydreams, sometimes
changing scenes, adding new characters, even inserting entirely new adventures.
I longed for sequels and if they weren’t forthcoming, I made up my own. I began
writing down some of my re-imaginings. Before long, I realized that more and
more of the stories had veered far from the source material, and moreover I
enjoyed and preferred creating my own worlds and characters!
I started taking writing classes and
joined a writing group that I’ve been a member of for over ten years. I love being around other writers. Their
encouragement keeps me going, but more than that I love talking with them about
books, writing craft, and the writing process. Giving feedback to other writers
has taught me to look at my own work more objectively.
2. I’ve always
loved books too. Where did you get the idea for Gold Mountain?
The idea for Gold Mountain began with a character: a
Chinese girl disguising herself as a boy. I had the character, but needed to find a compelling reason
for her to take such drastic steps. It wasn’t long before I placed her in a
setting I long held an interest in: 1865 and the construction of the American
transcontinental railroad. All my life I’ve heard about the thousands of
Chinese sojourners who worked on the transcontinental railroad, and how
dangerous that work was. I was curious about who the workers were. Here was a
chance to find a face and a story for those unknown people.
On
Writing a Riveting Historical Fiction Story
3. Ling
Fan’s story starts in China and then moves to America. Share about the research
you had to do for both places and the challenges you faced in having research
both settings.
My parents grew up in the 1920’s in the southern province
of Guangdong, China. They were raised in villages very similar to Ling Fan’s
fictional hometown, Lo Wai. Many of the descriptions of everyday life in China
come from stories my parents told me of what life was like for my grandparents
as well as for themselves. An early scene in the book in which we see Ling Fan
stealing oranges came from stories my mother told me of how as a girl she was
guilty of climbing up her neighbors’ fruit trees to steal snacks!
My research into the life of the railroad workers was much
more challenging. I started off by getting a general sense of the time period
both in China and in the United States. I wanted to get the perspective of the
big events before and after the years that GM takes place. I read extensively
about construction of the railroad–Stephen E. Ambrose’s Nothing Like It In World was an invaluable resource as was Lila
Perl’s To the Golden Mountain. I made a timeline of major milestones in the
Central Pacific’s progress because I wanted to embed as much of that into the
novel as possible. This was tricky as the actual timeline doesn’t fold
perfectly into the novel’s timeline. The challenge of writing historical
fiction lies in balancing the needs of the novel with the needs of being as
historically accurate as possible.
What I was most surprised by in the
course of my research was how little
information there is on the lives of the Chinese sojourners themselves. There
was virtually no primary source material–no letters, no payroll records, etc.
There’s a lot of detailed information about the financial backers and details
about the construction work, but most of my information about the sojourners
came from secondary sources.
Shortly after I finished work on GM,
I learned about Stanford University’s Chinese Railroad Workers in North America
Project. I encourage anybody interested in learning more about these remarkable
workers should check it out!
4. That’s
great that you could rely on your families’ experiences in China. Were you a
plotter, punster, or something in between when writing Gold Mountain? Has your
plotting process changed since you worked on this manuscript?
I was a pantster for most of the first draft. It wasn’t
until I began to feel the edges of the story and officially began a second
draft that I wrote my first outline. Now, whenever I start a new writing
project, I begin with an outline, but try to be flexible with it. More often
than not, I wind up changing things completely, so I suppose that makes me a
plantster!
5.
Readers have said that they couldn’t put your book down. Share your tips on
making historical fiction a page turner.
I think that the key to writing engrossing historical
fiction is in finding the balance between the needs of the story and the needs
of being faithful to historic events. You don’t want to bog your readers
down with so much historical background
that they feel as though they're wading
through a text book, but you also don’t want to make your story so lacking in
detail that it could take place in any time period.
Careful world building is one way to strike that balance.
Fantasy and science fiction writers are familiar with the importance of world
building, but this is also true for historical fiction. Quite a lot can be
conveyed by a quick description of the geography of a scene. Everyday objects
reflect the technology of the time period and casual conversations between characters
can quickly summarize social attitudes and biases. Every bit of world building
adds up to a compelling tale.
On Your
Road to Publication
6. Your
agent is Emily Keyes. How did she become your agent?
I started by using
databases such as Query Tracker, MWSL, Publishers Marketplace and Literary Rambles to search for agents
interested in books similar to Gold Mountain. I also looked for agents that had
some experience with editors of books I loved. From there I sent out my
queries. I’m so fortunate that Emily Keyes reached out, expressing interest.
When we talked on the phone, I was impressed by Emily’s enthusiasm for Gold
Mountain. I knew I’d found a staunch advocate for myself and my work!
7. Glad
researching agents at Literary Rambles helped. What was your submission process
like? What tips do you have for other writers going on submission?
After a few rounds of edits, Emily felt we were ready for
submission. Early on, we’d discussed publishing houses that might be a good
fit. Emily has an excellent sense of what editors are looking for, and what
they are interested in. She sent GM to a fair sized list of publishers and we
waited to hear back. We were very fortunate to get an offer from Amy Fitzgerald, editor of
Lerner/Carolrhoda!
We were very lucky that submission for GM went quickly,
but quite often this is not the case. My tip for writers going on submission is
to be patient and trust your agent. Agents work hard behind the scenes for their
clients and they are skilled at navigating the currents of publishing. The best
thing that writers can do at this point is to keep writing! Also, there are so
many groups on social media who have members who are in the same boat.
Connecting with them helps keep things in perspective.
On
Marketing Your Book
8. You
are part of the #22Debut group. How has that helped you get ready for your
debut book release?
The #22Debuts is a group of kind, generous, supportive
writers who are always happy to share their experiences, resources, support and
advice. The group chats, vents, and celebrates milestones. It has been so
helpful knowing what to expect, and to have advice on how to navigate the year.
Members enjoy sharing examples of marketing graphics, author websites,
pre-order campaigns and ARC giveaway ideas. Being a member of the #22Debuts has
kept me sane this year!
We’re able to amplify our individual social media presence
by featuring collective events such as monthly chats (every 22nd of the month)
on Twitter and occasional month long “meet the author” expos on Instagram. The
group has a collective hashtag on Twitter and Instagram which boosts posts from
members. There’s also a beautiful website, https://www.22debuts.com/ that features each member’s book and author
information.
9. Being
part of a debut group sounds so helpful when you’re trying to navigate your
debut year. What are you doing to promote Gold Mountain and celebrate its
release?
I’m doing a couple of
author events with my long time friend and fellow 2022 debut author,
Karen Winn. Karen Winn is the author of OUR LITTLE WORLD, coming from
Dutton/Penguin Random House on May 3. We will be in conversation on the theme,
Coming of Age in America.
Our first event
will be in person in Boston on May 24th.
https://vilnashul.org/events/event/coming-of-age-in-america
10. What
are you working on now?
I have several ideas simmering in the back of my mind, but
currently I’m drafting a MG fantasy novel
based on Chang’e, the Chinese moon goddess, the Jade Rabbit and the Monkey
King.
Thanks for sharing all your advice, Betty. You can find
Betty at:
Author Website: https://bettygyee.com
#22Debuts Website: https://www.22debuts.com/
Twitter: @B_Yee09
Instagram:
@bgyeewriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bgyeewriter
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57223569-gold-mountain
Email: bgyeewriter@comcast.net
Giveaway Details
Betty has generously offered an ARC of Gold Mountain for a
giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via
the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave
a comment by May 21st. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile,
you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have
your email address.
If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog
and/or follow me on Twitter, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an
extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This giveaway
is U.S. and Canada.
Upcoming Interviews and Giveaways
Monday, May 9th I have an agent spotlight interview
with Jennifer Unter and a query critique giveaway
Tuesday, May 10th I’m participating in the Life’s a
Beach Giveaway Hop
Monday, May 16th I have a guest post by Donna
Gallanti and a giveaway of her MG fantasy Unicorn Island: Secret Beneath the Sand and I’m participating
in the Mom’s Rock Giveaway Hop
Monday, May 23th I have an agent/author guest post
by Natalie Lakosil and Tracie Badua with a giveaway of Tracie’s MG contemporary
Freddie vs. The Family Curse and a query critique giveaway by Natalie
Hope to see you on Monday!
