Dr. Margaret Chung’s Secret Identity
Although few people know of Dr. Margaret Chung today, her death was major news when she passed away in January 1959. In its front-page obituary, the San Francisco Chronicle described her as “‘Mom’ to thousands of veterans of World War II and show business celebrities,” but nowhere was it mentioned that Chung was probably gay. Had that been widely known, it’s unlikely that she would have been as publicly beloved.
Identity and Possibility
When did you first see yourself in a book? Ever since diversity and inclusion became a major part of the book world discourse, I’ve been asked this question over and over. I’m often tempted to say Little Women or Anne of Green Gables, but I know that I’m expected to respond with a book about a character that shares my race or sexual orientation.
A Brief History of Male Impersonation
Today we no longer use the term “male impersonator” to describe a woman who performs onstage as a man; today we’d use the term “drag king.” But male impersonation was once a popular and mainstream entertainment, and some male impersonators were famous enough to tour nationally.
Racism and the Chinese American Experience
A major part of the background research for Last Night at the Telegraph Club involved learning how Lily’s Chinese American identity would have been experienced by her and how it would have been perceived by others—not only her family and community, but by whites and other non-Chinese.
A Guide to Lily's San Francisco
In the following maps, I've marked significant locations in Last Night at the Telegraph Club with numbers, and below the maps you'll see additional information about each site. If you're in San Francisco now or sometime in the future, you can visit most of these locations, or see where my fictional landmarks are set.
The Making of Miss Chinatown
Last Night at the Telegraph Club opens on July 4, 1950, at the Chinese American Citizens Alliance Independence Day Picnic, which featured a Miss Chinatown beauty pageant. The scene in the novel was inspired by the real-life beauty pageant that took place on that date in Los Altos, a suburban community south of San Francisco.
On "Success"
There’s a thing going around twitter where New York Times bestselling authors talk about how their success was not overnight. It’s true, success is not overnight! But here’s a variation for you.
Chinese Food in 1950s America
I’ve always believed that food is an integral part of world-building. It’s the fifth of my “Five Foundations of World-Building,” and I also included it in my post on world-building in realistic fiction. Food can be a useful shorthand for culture, and it can also be layered over the course of an entire novel to tell a more complicated story about power and identity.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club is out today!
Diving into the ideas and inspirations behind my latest novel.