Greetings Eve! My paperback copy (it is my favorite format) of your book will be here tomorrow and I look forward to reading it. I love fiction that is based on family history. The women in yours were certainly brave and courageous. Thank you for sharing!
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Oops I realize I missed this question! So I actually started to query before the book was ready because I really didnât know much about publishing. When the messy first draft was done, I began querying agents, most of whom did not reply. I never studied creative writing or had connections to the industry so I just cold emailed people. Some agents responded with feedback, which was very much appreciated! After a few rejections, I ended up doing a big overhaul of the manuscript, and continued querying. It took me about four months to get offers, but luckily the actual sale was quick. Finding an agent was probably the most stressful part of my publishing journey because it felt like I was just sending emails into a void!
I would love for you to host a book group discussion! I already had a deal in place when I began writing The Young Will Remember, but it was a very challenging book because the research was far more complicated. I already knew a lot about the Chinese Civil War because my family lived through it. For the Korean War, I really didnât know much at all. There were many moments which shocked me. This was also a very turbulent time for Korea; I donât think one can write about the Korean without researching the impact of WWII on Korea, which in turn requires an understanding of the Japanese occupation. I did have prior knowledge in several of these areas, but still had to learn so much. I originally wanted my main character to be a pilot, and quickly realized this wasnât possible because no women were allowed to fly in Korea (on the American side). I then made her a flight nurse, so I studied a lot on medical evacuation technology and what life was like for flight nurses, but that didnât quite fit. I kept reading that aside from nurses there were no women on the frontlines in Korea, but then I came across Maggie Higginsâ 1953 book on the Korean War, and realized that there was a female war correspondentâand so, Ellie became a war correspondent, which felt much more natural for me because much of my own work overlaps with journalism.
The actual writing was similarâeasier because I had the confidence of knowing that I was capable of writing a book, but harder because this was a very complex war, and one that I think has even less attention than the Chinese Civil War so many readers might not have any background on this war when they begin my book. It also was for me, emotionally more difficult to write because I think it goes deeper into the horror of warfare. There was a greater mental burden, which is why I am taking a longer break before delving into another historical fiction novel after this one!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it and thank you for reading!
How involved did you get with the audiobook versions of your books?
So whatâs next for you? Are you planning to go on tour for The Young Will Remember? Any screenplays in the works?
It sounds like youâre taking a bit of a break from writing. Is that correct? I selfishly hope the break wonât be too long if so.
It looks like our conversation is winding down. Is there anything youâd like your readers to know that we havenât covered? Anything you want to talk about that we missed?
I am not that involved with the audiobooksâthey did send me some samples of narrators and asked for my input, and I assume this time around it will be similar. For DAUGHTERS OF SHANDONG I appreciated that the team picked someone who was able to pronounce the Chinese words, and hopefully for THE YOUNG WILL REMEMBER it will be similar, though this time we would need someone who can pronounce both Chinese and Korean words!
Haha, no screenplays yet but hopefully some day I will be able to see TV/movie adaptations for my books. In terms of whatâs next, I do have another historical fiction that Iâm plotting out, though am taking a break to work on other, lighter projects before diving back into it. So in this sense, I am not taking a break from writing, am taking a break from writing about war, since the material is so heavy and at times emotionally draining. I have two side projects now, one which is a meant to be a contemporary, inter-generational book about burn out, and another which started as a fun story about vampires in Chinatown but is also generally about immigration and family. I hope to be able to share more about them soon!
It was so nice talking with you, and thank you for your thoughtful questions and kind words about my work! Iâm linking here my newsletter (substack) for anyone who wants to stay in touch. I hope to share a sneak peek of THE YOUNG WILL REMEMBER this winter. Eveâs Substack | Eve J. Chung | Substack
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Thanks for being here, Eve, itâs been a real pleasure chatting with you. I really appreciate all the time and thought you gave to your answers. Best of luck to you, and I canât wait to read what you come up with next!
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