Holly asked Jennifer Sun:

What was it like to transition from being an executive to being a full-time writer? And related to that, did you start thinking about the plot for this book while still in the business world?

Jennifer Sun The transition from the daily routine of a financial manager to that of a full-time writer was quite easy - I don't have to get into a car, fight the traffic to get into the office anymore. Instead, I get up every morning, have a cup of coffee, sit myself down in front of the computer and try to write. What I've found is the amount of discipline that's required for a writer is actually far more than when I was working in the business world. You have to show up for work every day - it's ninety percent hard work and ten percent inspiration, or artistic talent. I get up around 4:00AM almost every day and write for about three hours, some days words flow nicely; on other days, I stare at the screen until my eyes bleed with not much to show for.

In terms of developing the plot and characters of Two Tales of the Moon, my life in the business world definitely helped making the story believable. Each of the main characters in the book is not based on any particular person I know in real life, but I felt somewhere and at different times in my professional life, I have met all of them collectively - from Will and Lu, both successful in business yet with a personal life burdened by their pasts, to Kevin the back stabber colleague, to Lu's mother who sold her soul to the communist government in exchange for a privileged life, to Sage the eternal believer in happily-ever-after-life. Whether we choose to hate them or love them, together they present, I would like to quote the IndieReader review,"a compelling story that reveals that the human struggle is the same regardless of one’s past or cultural upbringing."

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