Group Reads Discussions 2023: "Spirits Abroad" Q&A with Zen Cho

[SFFBC, Ancillary Mod]

Please welcome the author of February's Fantasy pick to our group! Zen Cho, thank you so much for coming to talk with us! We're so excited to discuss a truly beloved collection of stories in Spirits Abroad.

Members, please share your questions about whichever edition of Spirits Abroad that you managed to get hold of. Our esteemed guest will stop in to answer as she is able!

Thank you again!!

--

Official discussion threads:

Story by Story (tagged spoilers)
Final thoughts (spoilers)

[Ryan, Your favourite moderators favourite moderator]

Hello Zen and thank you for doing this! I shall endeavour to make this a better experience than Nine Worlds.

[Anna]

Welcome Zen and thank you for joining us! I'm very much looking forward to rereading my favorite stories ^_^

[Aga]

O wow! This is so cool! I know what I’m reading next.

[Levi]

I would be curious to hear about your writing process, both how you write in general, what writing looks like for you in daily/weekly rhythms, etc., as well as what it looked like for this book in particular.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Thank you so much for joining us, Zen!

I think my favorite story from the original collection is "First National Forum on the Position of Minorities in Malaysia."

I love the differences in opinion based on age and group status that we see here, but also the mercurial "audience" we have in the roundtable members. What prompted this story and what frustrations or fondness did it bring up for you?

We've been talking in group about how hard it is to capture things like "minorities" as they relate to groups who are not in, say, the US or UK. Can you talk about how this conversation works or, in your opinion, ought to work? In other words, what would you have wanted to come out of the First National Forum?

Also, you write horror and humor in about equal measures. Do you find one more difficult to write technically or emotionally?

[Alexandra]

Thank you so much for agreeing to answer our questions! :)

I really appreciate how you work with contrasts, such as horror and humour (I am thinking about "House of Aunts", one of my favourites in this collection) or the magical and the mundane. Is it a conscious choice? If so, how did it come about?

I am also curious about how an idea for a story comes to you. Do you brainstorm with yourself? Or is it a process you are not always aware of?

[Zen]

Hi everyone, sorry for my belated appearance! It’s been an intense month 😅 Thanks to everyone who’s asked questions, will start answering them and do feel free to ask more!

[Zen]

Levi wrote: "I would be curious to hear about your writing process, both how you write in general, what writing looks like for you in daily/weekly rhythms, etc., as well as what it looked like for this book in particular."

It's really variable these days as I have a day job and two small children, so have to go with the flow to some degree. But when I'm working towards a deadline (whether self-imposed or external), I like to do a bit every day, even if it's only a couple of sentences at the end of the day. I use Pacemaker (pacemaker.press) to set myself manageable daily word count targets -- I like it because you can set an overall word count goal and end date, as well as specify periods of time when you won't be working, or days of the week when you'd like to do more/less. I'm lucky to work part-time so have a couple of weekdays to devote to writing, and will do more on those days.

I take breaks between projects when I don't write, and usually I spend the time catching up on my reading/other media or doing research.

I wrote the stories in Spirits Abroad very early in my career -- it was my first published book -- so the rhythm was a bit different. At the time I was trying to make writing into a habit, so I wrote every day even if there weren't any deadlines. Doing that gave me space for experimentation and learning, so though I'd say most pro writers I know don't write every day, I am glad I did it for a while. (And the habit-forming worked!)

[Zen]

Allison wrote: "I think my favorite story from the original collection is "First National Forum on the Position of Minorities in Malaysia."

Thank you!

I love the differences in opinion based on age and group status that we see here, but also the mercurial "audience" we have in the roundtable members. What prompted this story and what frustrations or fondness did it bring up for you?

I worked for an NGO in Malaysia for six months in my early 20s, organising moderated forums of the kind that features in the short story, so that was what inspired the story. I found the people who showed up and the discussions that resulted really interesting, not to mention funny -- the exchange between the uncles who argue about Malaysia being more beautiful in the 50s vs 70s was drawn directly from life. The public discourse in Malaysia about issues like religion, human rights and minorities is frustratingly behind what it should be, but watching people who were often very different have one-on-one discussions and manage to be civil or even friendly was encouraging. I wish there were more examples of that.

We've been talking in group about how hard it is to capture things like "minorities" as they relate to groups who are not in, say, the US or UK. Can you talk about how this conversation works or, in your opinion, ought to work? In other words, what would you have wanted to come out of the First National Forum?

It's hard online because American (and to a lesser degree, British) concerns dominate the Anglophone sphere. I'd appreciate people from big countries remembering that it's a big world out there and there are many communities they may not know much about, who have valid concerns. Being open and listening go a long way.

Also, you write horror and humor in about equal measures. Do you find one more difficult to write technically or emotionally?

I enjoy incongruity and the surprise of a subversion, which I think is my reason for being drawn to stories about death and ghosts. I use them as a springboard for jokes. So I guess my answer is horror would be more difficult, if I were trying to write it ...

[Silvana]

Wow, thanks for doing this with us.

A question burning in mind since I read House of Aunts, have you watched any pontianak/kuntillanak movies? and what do you think about Asian horror stories/movies in general? I'm from Indonesia and we do share some of these er, supernatural beings LOL

Enjoyed Black Water Sister a lot too, keep up the good work!

[Zen]

Alexandra wrote: "I really appreciate how you work with contrasts, such as horror and humour (I am thinking about "House of Aunts", one of my favourites in this collection) or the magical and the mundane. Is it a conscious choice? If so, how did it come about?"

Thank you! I suppose it is a conscious choice, though it partly feels like something that was decided for me. I'm drawn to the juxtaposition of incongruous elements and that's what I enjoy about fantasy as a genre. I see it as an artefact of my childhood reading -- as a child and young adult I really loved British children's fantasists like E. Nesbit and Diana Wynne Jones, so I'm very much influenced by that whole tradition of mundane fantasy.

I am also curious about how an idea for a story comes to you. Do you brainstorm with yourself? Or is it a process you are not always aware of?

Usually there's a really clear spark -- often inspired by other stories -- and then the brainstorming happens when I try to work out the details of the story: character, plot, setting. So with House of Aunts the originating spark was, "What would the antithesis of a teenage vampire romance like Twilight be? Oh, if the teenage vampire in love lived in a house full of nosy aunties". My imugi story "If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again" came about when a Korean American friend was talking about imugi and said, it's funny, there are stories about how some of them give up on becoming dragons and just go around eating people. I was thinking a lot about creative/career success and failure at the time, and the idea of a mythological creature who'd decided to identify with failure intrigued me. I like fantasy for the ability to take a very human relatable topic -- like not achieving your dreams -- and punching it up to 11.

[Zen]

Silvana wrote: "A question burning in mind since I read House of Aunts, have you watched any pontianak/kuntillanak movies? and what do you think about Asian horror stories/movies in general? I'm from Indonesia and we do share some of these er, supernatural beings LOL"

No, I haven't watched any pontianak/kuntilanak films, because I think Asian horror movies are too scary! I'm a total wuss when it comes to film; I only like romcoms, cartoons and light-hearted scifi about robots punching kaiju. But I used to gobble up Russell Lee's True Singapore Ghost Stories when they circulated at school so that was a big source of inspiration for me.

[Melanie, the neutral party]

Hi. First thank you for spending time with us.
1. Why are there so many versions of this book? (I'm not judging, just curious. At what point will you start a new collection instead of modifying this one?)

2. I have not read any of your other works, but I am thoroughly enjoying the world building in many of these tales. Which, if any, might become a full length novel?

3. Just a repeat compliment, I like how you are effectively able to mix humor into many of these tales without having to pause the story. They are just so delightfully human.

PS: I am listening to the audio and the narrator is perfect for the job. (I know that is generally a decision made out of your hands).

[Bonnie]

Zen wrote: "I see it as an artefact of my childhood reading -- as a child and young adult I really loved British children's fantasists like E. Nesbit and Diana Wynne Jones, so I'm very much influenced by that whole tradition of mundane fantasy."

(I discovered Edith Nesbit in Edward Eager's books. In Half Magic and Seven-Day Magic the children go to the library and check out books by her. Last year I finally read one (my library did not have it) they specifically mentioned, The Enchanted Castle.)

What do you read or plan to read:
-for pleasure
-as aspiration, 'ought/want to read' more of...
-to your kids
?

[Bonnie]

In our book club call someone asked what the sections referred to:

Here
There
Elsewhere
Going Back

an answer: Here = Malaysia. There = UK. Elsewhere = SF worlds.
Is that right?
How about "Going Back" ?

[Melanie, the neutral party]

There were not any of the going back selections in the audio book?

[Anna]

The "Going Back" stories have been slotted into "Here" for the new edition.

[Melanie, the neutral party]

That makes sense. Thanks Anna.

[Zen]

Melanie wrote: "1. Why are there so many versions of this book? (I'm not judging, just curious. At what point will you start a new collection instead of modifying this one?)

That's an artefact of the book's complicated publishing history. It was originally published in 2014 by a Malaysian indie press called Buku Fixi, but Fixi only distributed the book in Malaysia, so I retained ebook rights and self-published on Amazon etc so international readers could access it. The ebook was an expanded edition of the Malaysian print version, with author's notes and additional stories. Some years later the Fixi edition went out of print, so I looked for a new publisher and was very happy when Small Beer Press released it in a new expanded edition -- the first print version to be published in the US. The Small Beer Press version is based on the ebook, but has a few new stories (and less one story that was in the ebook edition, that the publisher and I agreed didn't really work).

So it's a bit complicated, but it's more because of rights and territories and that sort of thing than because I'm really doing any new work to the book. I'm not sure when I'll next do a short story collection; that requires me to be writing new short stories and my energy is mostly channeled towards long-form work these days.

2. I have not read any of your other works, but I am thoroughly enjoying the world building in many of these tales. Which, if any, might become a full length novel?

Thank you! I think of my most recent novel, Black Water Sister, as Spirits Abroad: The Novel. It's set in Malaysia in a fairly mundane contemporary setting and features spirits from local religious and folk beliefs. I'd also like to do more with the premises of One-Day Travelcard to Fairyland and possibly Balik Kampung (Going Back) some day, so those are the most likely to turn into full-length novels.

3. Just a repeat compliment, I like how you are effectively able to mix humor into many of these tales without having to pause the story. They are just so delightfully human.

PS: I am listening to the audio and the narrator is perfect for the job. (I know that is generally a decision made out of your hands)."

Thank you so much! I did actually get some say in the narrator and worked with her on pronunciations, and though I can't listen to the audiobooks of my own stuff, I've heard great feedback.

[Zen]

Bonnie wrote: "(I discovered Edith Nesbit in Edward Eager's books. In Half Magic and Seven-Day Magic the children go to the library and check out books by her. Last year I finally read one (my library did not have it) they specifically mentioned, The Enchanted Castle.)

I need to read Edward Eager! The Enchanted Castle isn't actually one of my favourites. Of the fantasy Nesbits I think my favourite is the Psammead trilogy, especially The Phoenix and the Carpet (I was appalled at myself when I realised I'd unconsciously lifted the climax of my second novel from The Story of the Amulet, haha). But my very favourite Nesbit novels may be the non-fantasy Bastables books.

What do you read or plan to read:
-for pleasure
-as aspiration, 'ought/want to read' more of...
-to your kids
?

- For pleasure: at the moment, romcoms and nonfiction about Southeast Asian history. I also really love the kind of book that's published by Virago and Persephone Press, and biographies of female writers.

- Aspiration: I'm very behindhand on current SFF and particularly wish I were better at keeping up with friends' new books.

- To my kids: They have a lot of books! The younger one's on board books with textures, and the older one likes books featuring fire engines. We read a lot of Richard Scarry.

[Zen]

Bonnie wrote: "In our book club call someone asked what the sections referred to:

Here
There
Elsewhere
Going Back

an answer: Here = Malaysia. There = UK. Elsewhere = SF worlds.
Is that right?
How about "Going Back" ?

Yes, that's right. "Going Back" was additional stories that didn't appear in the original Malaysian print edition of the book, but only in the ebook I self-published for international audiences -- I thought it worked well to separate them out from the rest of the book, so eg readers who had both versions could jump easily to the ebook-only stories, and since the stories all happened to be set in Malaysia I called the section "Going Back". (As Anna notes, those stories have been included in the "Here" section for the new Small Beer Press edition.)

[SFFBC, Ancillary Mod]

Zen, thank you again so much for stopping by to answer our reader's questions! It's been wonderful to get your thoughts! Can't wait for your next release!

[Zen]

Thanks for having me!!