You might recognize the subject of our Author Spotlight today – Jo Wu has been featured in all 3 of the new Insignia anthologies releases this year! I love her stories (my favorite is ‘The Amaterasu Kimono’ in Castles & Kimono), and she has been a pleasure to work with on these projects.
Let’s get to know her a little better…
Jo Wu was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she studied Biology and Creative Writing at UC Berkeley. When writing, she can be found typing away in her Google Docs, accompanied by a Poisoned Apple mug that is constantly refilled with green tea, while blasting a mix of metal and orchestral scores. When she is not writing, she will be sewing her next costume or deadlifting her next powerlifting goal.
Official Website: jowu.co
TWENTY-FIVE QUESTIONS
- Author Name/s: Jo Wu
- Years active as a writer: All my life!
- What genre/s you write: To put it loosely, speculative fiction
- Favorite genre to write: Fantasy for sure!
- Favorite length of story to write: It really depends on the project. I do enjoy flash fiction because I enjoy practicing the art of brevity and efficiently getting ideas across. But I also enjoy the labor of love of plunging headfirst into a novel.
- Your nationality: American
- Country you live in: USA
- Number of Asian countries visited: 3 (Taiwan, China, Japan)
- Favorite Asian country (visited): Taiwan
- Favorite place in Asia (visited): Taipei
- Place (city or country) you most want to visit in Asia: Since I’m stuck in quarantine in the US during the time of this interview, I am struck with deep wanderlust, so it’s impossible to choose just one place. I’ll go for these 4 countries I have yet to visit: Korea, Thailand, Singapore, and Bhutan.
- Favorite Asian cuisine: Chinese (which in of itself is very diverse)
- Favorite Asian dish: I really have too many to choose! I love dim sum, hotpot, and Korean BBQ, and I can eat my way through a Taiwanese night market for HOURS. My boyfriend and friends call me the Black Hole Beagle for good reason!
- Favorite Asian movie (any genre): Spirited Away
- Favorite Asian book (any genre): The Ghost Bride, by Yangsze Choo
- Favorite Asian celebrity: Bruce Lee, though if I have to choose someone living, I really like Ming-Na Wen.
- Best thing about being a writer: It can be done anywhere at any time and all you need is pen and paper, or access to some word processor if you’re inclined to go digital.
- Worst thing about being a writer: How isolating and lonely it can be.
- Day writer or night writer: Night
- Drink and snack of choice (while writing): Tea, tea, and more tea! I’m not much of a snacker while writing, as I don’t really like food in my writing space.
- Number of short stories/poems submitted each month (av): On average, zero. If I’m really in an itch to write, and feel super motivated, maybe as many as 5 a month.
- I dream to be published with/in (publisher/publication): One of the Big 5 publishers
- Most active on (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram): For writing-related activities, Twitter.
- Self-published, traditionally published, or both: I would prefer to be traditionally published.
- Currently working on: Revising my middle-grade fantasy novel about a Chinese fox spirit who travels to the Underworld and Taiwan to save her parents. I have a handful for R&R requests from agents. Fingers crossed for agency representation soon!
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Work Published with INSIGNIA STORIES:
Southeast Asian Fantasy Drabbles (Insignia Drabbles Vol.2.)
‘Moon Rabbit’, Insignia 2020: Best Asian Speculative Fiction
‘The Amaterasu Kimono’, Castles & Kimono (Insignia Series Vol.8.)
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INSIGNIA STORIES 