Mani asked Lisa See:

I've just read about your new project and I can´t wait, Your books bring such an insight on a culture that "westeners" may never fully and trully understand, I´m always learning lots of new things by reading your novels! thankyou so much for portraying China like that. So the question is: How long does it usually take you to finish a book, from start ( when you come up with the idea) until you see it published?

Lisa See Thank you so much for your kind words about my books Mani! I'm so glad you've enjoyed them, and are excited for my next novel!
I'm sorry to say I never know how to answer this question. I think about books for a long time before I sit down to write them. So, is it the two years from the day I decide this is the one until I deliver it to my publisher? Is it the five to eight years that I’ve been thinking about the idea and maybe collecting little bits and pieces of research? Or is it my entire life, because I feel like I put everything I know—about life and relationships up to this point—in a book?

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