We chat with NYT bestselling author Pintip Dunn and her daughter Love Dunn about their uniquely vibrant romantasy, The Lotus Flower Champion.
Hi, Pintip and Love! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourselves?
Hi! We’re so thrilled to be here.
Pintip: A first-generation Thai American, I grew up in a tiny town in Kansas. I went on to graduate from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language, and to receive my J.D. at Yale Law School.
I’m a two-time RITA® award winner and a New York Times bestselling author of eight young adult novels. My books have been translated into four languages, and they have been nominated for the following awards and lists: ALA’s Hal Clement Notable Young Adult Book List; Kirkus Reviews Best Indie Book of the Year; a Junior Library Guild selection; the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire; the Japanese Sakura Medal; the MASL Truman Award; the Tome Society It list; and the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award.
I’m obsessed with penguins, and my childhood dream was to marry someone whose last name is “Gwynn” — so that my name could be “Pin Gwynn.” Alas, I got stuck with Dunn instead, but my husband and three children are worth the sacrifice.
Love: I’m a bi-racial high school junior who has OCD. I have a deep passion for storytelling and have written fourteen manuscripts to date. My other interests include dance, volleyball, piano, violin, and public speaking. My favorite activity, however, is cuddling my dog, Strawberry. I frequently engage in writing sprints with my mom — and easily beat her word count every time.
When did you both first discover your love for writing and stories?
Pintip: When I was in the first grade, my teacher asked us what I wanted to be when we grew up, and my answer was “author.” So, even though I’m not sure how, I knew from a very young age that this was what I was meant to do!
Love: Ever since I was young, I would tell myself stories when I was in bed. That’s how I fell asleep every night. However, I didn’t write my first manuscript until the fourth grade, during NaNoWriMo. Fast forward a few years, and I started writing seriously in the seventh grade when the pandemic started. For the first time, I started writing down the stories I would tell myself in my head, and I fell in love with writing.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
The first book you ever remember reading:
Pintip: A story in the first-grade reading textbook about a boy who had a stuffed bear named Foo Foo. The year before, my brother had named his stuffed animal Foo Foo, and I remember being so impressed with his creativity… that is, until I found out many months later that he had borrowed it from a story.
Love: Alpha Oops, by Alethea Kontis
The one that made you want to become an author:
Pintip: Little Women (I’m quite positive that I didn’t read this book when I was six years old. However, this is the book to which I remember rewriting the ending because I wasn’t happy with how the story turned out.)
Love: Forget Tomorrow, by Pintip Dunn. This was my mom’s first book, and she showed me that it was possible to achieve your dreams.
The one that you can’t stop thinking about:
Pintip: The Hunger Games.
Love: I Will Always Write Back, by Martin Ganda, Caitlin Alifirenka, and Liz Welch.
Your latest novel, The Lotus Flower Champion, is out October 31st! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Thai folktales meets The Wilds.
What can readers expect?
An epic adventure featuring a biracial heroine with OCD, who is marooned with 10 strangers and her mother on a remote island, which looks like paradise but feels like hell, due to the machinations of an evil scientist. The story is brimming with intriguing psychic abilities, swoony romance, and heartwarming family relationships.
Where did the inspiration for The Lotus Flower Champion come from?
The inspiration for this story came nine years ago, when Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappeared on March 8, 2014. The Lotus Flower Champion is our answer to what happened to all those people. The story idea became more complicated by our interest in Thai folktales – and more layered still when we decided to tell the story with a heroine who has obsessive-compulsive disorder, which mirrors Love’s own struggles with this mental health condition.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
It was very meaningful for Love to write about a heroine with OCD for the first time. Love’s struggle with this disorder has been long and oftentimes lonely, as she did not always know others who suffered from the same condition. We hope that this story will make others who also struggle with OCD feel less alone. It is so vastly important for young people to see themselves reflected in stories, and we hope that anyone who has felt a little bit different, for whatever reason, can find a bit of themselves in Alaia.
What was the writing process like?
Love wrote the first draft of the manuscript, and then Pintip revised that draft.
What’s next for you?
We are working on our next co-authored project together, which we hope we will be able to tell you about very soon!
Pintip’s next novel will be Seasick, a YA thriller that she co-authored with the incomparable Kristin Cast. Seasick will be released in June 2024.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
One of Pintip’s latest favorite books is Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson.
Love would like to recommend The Spy School series by Stuart Gibbs.
