Hello Emily! Thank you so much for allowing me to ask you some questions about An Arrow to the Moon. It’s such a bewitching story, and I loved every part of Luna and Hunter’s journey. It reminded me a lot of eating dark chocolate, sweet, but with a hint of bitterness at the end. Thank you for sharing this story with us!
Emily, can you tell us a bit about yourself and about An Arrow to the Moon?
Thanks so much for having me! I’m based in Brooklyn, New York, and I tend to write things that are a bit sad and a bit weird. I suppose I generally aim to make readers sad and hungry.
An Arrow to the Moon is my second novel, and it’s a mashup of Romeo & Juliet and Chinese mythology. Houyi (the divine archer) and Chang’e (the goddess of the moon) are reimagined as Hunter and Luna, two Asian American teenagers in 1991.
What were some of your favorite tales to read/listen to when you were growing up?
I drank in pretty much any fiction that was available to me. And now that I think of it…my parents kept compilations of myths and fables and fairytales around the house, so I suppose it’s no surprise that I’m very drawn to those! As a kid I did also especially love hearing my dad tell me about Houyi and Chang’e.
How did an An Arrow to the Moon come to be?
I’d always wanted to write my own version of Houyi and Chang’e, and I’d always wanted to do a retelling of Romeo & Juliet. It was like two puzzle pieces clicking into place. As soon as I had the idea, I knew I had to write it.
There are several perspectives you’re writing from in this story, each with their own unique piece of the story to add. Who was your favorite to include?
This is a hard one! I think the most interesting perspective for me to write was Rodney Wong. He was not a part of my original plan, and when he appeared I found myself doing a ton of research in order to create his character. My favorite experience is always when the book takes on a life of its own and surprises me, and it just becomes my job to follow where it wants to go. Rodney Wong actually brought me the most surprises.
When you sit down to draft a book, what are some elements that you tend to focus on?
I’m a chronic rewriter so my answer to this depends largely on where in the drafting process I am. On the first few drafts I’m trying to figure out what the story is meant to be, and who my characters really are. I start off with an idea in my head, but in the process of writing it I usually discover that many of my initial instincts were wrong. So during those early drafts I’m just trying to find the momentum, and get swept up in experiencing the story for myself.
In later drafts I’ll have a better sense of what I’m really trying to do. That’s when I’ll comb through for specific things. I might do one edit all the way through that’s just focused on changing a couple characters a certain way, and then do another edit all the way through that’s just focused on fleshing out an emotional arc. It goes on and on like that. The process feels very similar to painting watercolors—I start out with a pencil sketch and then slowly create the layers, and the story begins to come to life.
The beginning of the book takes place during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which features mooncakes. Do you have a favorite type?
This is probably my favorite question to answer: lotus-seed paste with double salted-egg yolks!
What kind of research went into the creation of your story?
There was so much. If I made a full list of all the topics I spent hours and hours diving into, you would probably ask me if this book has any real cohesion to it! I will often find myself devoting five hours to researching one very specific niche thing for the sake of writing a single sentence…that then gets deleted three drafts later. It’s a bit annoying and yet I can’t stop. I also tend to get the ideas for the next couple books I want to write during this process, so even if a detail doesn’t make it into the final manuscript, the time spent still feels worth it.
Some examples of research items that took up quite a lot of my time for this book include Chinese mafia groups, the Qin dynasty, the Terracotta Warriors, common rabbit behavior, how townships deal with natural disasters, East Asian shipping vessels in the 70s and 80s, museum practices, career logistics for those in academia… It goes on and on.
How will you celebrate the release of your book?
I’ll have an in-person event (at Books of Wonder) and two virtual events (through Politics & Prose and Tattered Cover) to launch the book the week it comes out! And I will probably consume a lot of celebratory chocolate.
Any reading recommendations that you have for our readers?
I could go on and on, but I will limit myself to just three: I adore Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo and can’t stop screaming about it. I’m currently reading and loving Lakelore, Anna-Marie McLemore’s latest release. And Melissa Albert has a book coming out soon called Our Crooked Hearts that I had the privilege of devouring early—it’s absolutely incredible.
Finally, please let us know how we can support your book!
There are so many ways: Buy it from a local bookstore, request it at the library, add it on Goodreads, share pictures of the cover and tell people about it! And you can follow me on social media: my handle everywhere is @exrpan. Pandemic book promotion has been strange and difficult—authors and independent bookstores need support more than ever.
