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FEATURES
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AN INTERVIEW WITH KAREN TEI YAMASHITA


For the last two months or so, Karen Tei Yamashita will not get out of my life. And I say that with a goofy-grinned "wahhh" of delighted surprise. While Ive been an ardent admirer of Yamashitas books for some 20 years (yup, I have all her titles: Through the Arc of the Rain Forest, Brazil-Maru, Tropic of Orange, Circle K Cycles, and I Hotel just out in May), only in the last two months have our paths continued to criss-cross over and over again, literally and in livetime.

Let me count the ways. During one of my busiest weeks this spring, Yamashitas latest, I Hotel, arrived on my doorstep from my Library Journal editor with about six days to file a review. At 640 pages, I gasped at what lay ahead of me, but had to smile at the irony that I would be meeting Yamashita that very weekend -- she was headed to Washington, DC, for a literary double-header.

I had to remain impartial to be able to review her book -- I alerted my editor as to the imminent meeting and she was fine -- and the six days dropped to four. For all its density, I Hotel was a stunning read. Comprised of 10 novellas that took 10 years to craft, I Hotel is Yamashitas magnum opus. Each novella marks the most tumultuous years of Asian Pacific American history, from 1968, when ethnic studies was painfully birthed in San Francisco, to 1977, when San Franciscos International Hotel -- long a pivotal symbol of APA activism -- fell to demolition crews.

I filed my starred review, and gleefully went to meet Yamashita with a clear (and giddy) conscience. That weekend in March, I got my first-ever Yamashita livetime dose, initially as part of the lucky audience during a symposium featuring eight notable Asian Pacific American writers in celebration of the literary debut of The Asian American Literary Review (AALR). Then on Sunday, I joined the limelight (albeit from a distance) as I moderated a panel of seven of the eight writers (one ran off to continue his book tour) during the inaugural Amnesty International Human Rights Art Festival.

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So since that fateful weekend, I seem to be constantly revisiting Yamashitas book. Ive also had lots of excuses to be in regular touch with Yamashita. During our last conversation, she was getting ready to head over the hill on Highway 17 to join the Asian American Curriculum Projects APA Heritage Month celebration. Yes, the AACP and its founder Florence Hongo, in case you had any doubt, appear in I Hotel. If I had a brick for every time I said to myself, oh, thats in Karens book, Id have built an APA museum on the National Mall by now! But thats another story

Okay, so lets back up and talk about how you started writing.

I always wrote, but perhaps I first felt some confirmation of my possibilities with the acceptance of my first story, The Bath, published in the Amerasia Journal, a long time ago while I was doing research in Brazil.

I have to dissect that sentence. Brazil?

I arrived in Brazil in 1975 with a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. I had first thought I would go to Japan, where I had already been and had some language skills. But after writing a research proposal, I realized I didnt want to return [to Japan], at least not immediately. But I kept thinking how I might still use this language skill. Someone told me there are Japanese populations in other parts of the world. Japanese in Canada? No, I couldnt go into more snow. But Japanese in South America?

At the time, very little was written about Japanese in South America. What I first found were books by a Hiroshi Saitō written in Portuguese -- and a few articles by American scholars from Cornell or maybe somewhere in Texas. I got in touch with these scholars and thats how I got started. I knew had to go to So Paulo where Japanese immigration had begun. Takashi Maeyama was an anthropologist who began the study of Japanese in Brazil, so I contacted him. I rewrote the proposal for the Watson fellowship to study the Brazilian Japanese community and compare them to the Japanese American community.

When I got to So Paulo, I met Maeyama -- Saitō had already died, I think. I never met Saitō. Maeyama was based at the Center for the Japanese Brazilians Studies in a section of the city called Liberdade, which was something like Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. They had the cultural center, were starting a museum, offered Japanese language classes, had Japanese restaurants there. So thats how I got hooked into the Japanese community.

One of the things I did when I first got there, was just sit around because it was so hot. For the first month, off and on, I wrote this story, The Bath.

And how do you define that "long time ago"?

I think it was 1975 when I mailed out the story from Brazil on a whim. Amerasia Journal was just starting out at the time, and the head editor at the time threw my story into a slush pile that was going to be part of their first short story contest. Somehow, the story won.

Was The Bath your first-ever submission? No walls plastered with rejections like most writers?

Yes, I guess so, my first. I had submissions in college journals, but this was really the first thing I sent out.

Talk about lucky first shot

I was lucky, I think, because I didnt even know the story had been submitted for a contest, and the award actually came with money, enough money for some traveling! And it was definitely an early confirmation of my work. But I had no idea until I came back to the U.S. just how lucky -- people told me who else had submitted to that contest, like Wakako Yamauchi and Hisaye Yamamoto, so I was quite embarrassed to have won after that. Maybe the Journal just wanted something different.

Where do you find your inspiration?

The initial ideas for two of my books, Through the Arc of the Rain Forest and Tropic of Orange, have come from stories invented by my Brazilian husband, Ronaldo Lopes de Oliveira. The other projects that have required research, sometimes long years of research, have been inspired by the lives and stories of the many people with whom Ive had long conversations.

So how come the hubby doesnt get cover billing?

Well, the stories are dedicated to him

Ah, well, hell have to settle for that honor. And how do his stories become your books?

My first book, Arc of the Rain Forest, began as a project we were doing together and, eventually, I took it over. He would make up a story, I would ask him what he thought happened next and wed go back and forth like that. But all his characters were Brazilian, so I began to change some of them. I asked him first if I might change one to being Japanese because that was the whole point of my being in Brazil originally, to research the Japanese Brazilians. All of Ronaldos versions are oral stories, told over dinner usually. I wanted to collect these stories, but I also wanted to change them enough to make them mine.

And is hubby a writer, too?

No, he was an architect, but retired now. Hes still telling stories. Hes moved on to reinventing the bicycle. Hes also always been an artist -- he paints, he sculpts. We cant seem to get him to market any of his pieces, but they are all over our house. Hes probably very marketable, but he refuses to be commercial. Hes an idealist. Hes in Brazil now, where he takes care of his mother, or maybe she takes care of him! But he goes back and forth throughout the year.

Lets look at your oeuvre, so to speak. Your first two novels were set in Brazil, where you arrived for that Watson Fellowship and stayed for a decade, married and started a family, before you all returned to settle in the U.S. together. Your first book debuted in 1990, well after your return from Brazil. So what made you base your first two books there?

Growing up, I vaguely knew about the evangelical Christian churches that were involved with the Japanese Brazilian community because people from my fathers church in LA would meet ships coming from Japan at the San Pedro docks [home of the Port of Los Angeles], and deliver donated clothes to Japanese people headed to Peru or Brazil. These Japanese were part of the post-World War II migration of Japanese to South America. My father had friends who were hooked into these Japanese communities, who had a history of migration from the early 1900s.

Japanese immigration to Brazil began in earnest in 1908 in response to the 1907 Gentlemens Agreement that stopped the immigration of Japanese laborers into the U.S. In preparation, Japanese contract companies looked for different places to establish emigrant communities. Brazil became a big destination. At the same time, Brazil was in the midst of a coffee boom. The country couldnt get enough workers to harvest the beans so they immediately glommed onto the idea of bringing over Japanese workers. In the beginning, laborers could make quite a bit of money, but that didnt last long. Up and downs in the economy, a long drought, made for hard years. Lots of Japanese arrived convinced they could make a fortune in Brazil.

The majority of the people who came to Brazil during this period came as contract workers, but there were also always pockets of people who came for more idealistic reasons. In Japan, a socialist community movement was happening, and as people began traveling the world, they could look at Japanese civilization in a modern light. Some of these communities came to the U.S. to start new lives, but soon California became an impossible place to buy land. So they headed to Brazil where Japanese Christian groups could buy huge tracts of land -- which were actually untouched forests -- to create Japanese colonies. They sold the land to both new arrivals and those laborers coming out of their work contracts. Forests became farms as people shared equipment, created cooperatives, even setting up a Japanese system to educate their kids. In Brazil, at least seven of these communities were founded by different entities, some Christian, some governmental -- and thats where I started to look for my first novels.

Then you went "home" to LA in Tropic of Orange, your third book, which is where you were bor and raised. How did your Brazilian adventures lead you back to LA?

Actually, I was born in Oakland, but moved to LA at age one and raised there.

When we arrived from Brazil to LA, it was 1984 -- that funny year. Everything was supposed to go Orwellian, but we had Reagan instead. The LA Olympics were beginning so everyone from LA sort of left. We thought it would be a madhouse, but everyone just left that summer.

We arrived with the idea that we would try out LA, the U.S., the kids would go to school, and Id be the one to find a job. My husband would get to do his art. Wed switch for awhile. But it didnt turn out that way we needed two incomes to live in LA. So we muddled our way through.

LA was a different place from the LA I had grown up in. It wasnt a black/white city with a pocket of Japanese Americans anymore. It was very much now a Latin American city -- I think they were the majority by then. It was mixed, cosmopolitan, with a new Korean influx. All of these communities were in flux. It was a fascinating place; I found it very interesting to be there.

But I had to work. My sister had a job in the legal department of KCET/PBS, so she got me a job there, too. I worked for 13 years as a secretary in the engineering department. This was not the writing/production end -- what I did involved satellite dishes, cameras, sound, working with technicians. I could answer the phone and tell you how to get the antenna to work so you could get UHF reception. No one even knows this anymore now that we have cable!

I was a writer for the engineers -- they would tell me what to say, and I could make it sound good. While I learned their spreadsheets and budgets, I wrote. All that is in the book [Tropic of Orange] in funny ways -- the satellite dishes, how TV stations can expand coverage, how PBS thought it was very important to get coverage in outlying areas so people in the Mojave Desert could get reception, how satellite trucks can film something at a specific site and send live material back to the station for general transmission. All that got internalized throughout the book.

Then how did you end up on your Japanese adventures, which eventually became Circle K Cycles?

I was about to get a teaching job at UC Santa Cruz -- I had just quit KCET -- when I was given a Japan Foundation Fellowship with quite a bit of money. A friend of mine in Japan urged me to come and live in Japan for awhile. He knew that I wouldnt do it without my family. With the Japan Foundation grant, together with some inheritance money from an aunt, we realized the whole family could go for six months. We set the kids up in long-distance education programs so they could finish their school year from Japan, and we took off. My friend found us a little house in Seto, near Nagoya, and we had enough money to live and travel around. Thats when I did all the work for Circle K Cycles.

Youve been successful with both fiction -- from the magic realism of your earlier titles to the more experimental Circle K Cycles, to your latest historical I Hotel (which has a few screenplays thrown into the mix) -- and youve done some theater/performance pieces, as well. Any preference?

No preference. Just decisions made about what form may best represent the stories.

And how do you decide that?

For example, Circle K Cycles -- I thought when we got to Japan, I might eventually write a work of historical fiction after doing research, travelling, and collecting material. But I couldnt find anything that constituted a novel for me. Japan was in the midst of a violent period while we were there, both domestically, and in other international communities where Japanese were living, too.

The Japanese Embassy in Lima, Peru, was being held hostage by a radical guerilla group. When we got to Japan, that situation was still going on. Meanwhile in Kobe, Japan, a series of children were brutally beheaded; their heads were left in front of the school. Within the Japanese Brazilian community, people were having mental breakdowns -- a situation serious enough that the Brazilian consulate was conducting an investigative study. Crimes of passion were happening. A Japanese couple was murdered, and the crime scene totally cleaned up, although not well enough that the crime went undetected. A worker living in factory housing went crazy, and threw the bodies of his family into the huge factory oven.

This is what was going on, all in the news, all so shocking. I had to figure out how to somehow process that. I couldnt find a single narrative thread that constituted a novel  but I knew I had lots of stories to be told.

So finally your I Hotel  how did such a magnificent tome come about? How did you possibly start such a project?

It started from a satirical article that I wrote for Amy Ling, then Professor of English and Asian American Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I thought the project might be about the Asian American movement in Los Angeles, but I got interested in the San Francisco Bay Area and extended my research north. This was logical because of the Third World strikes at San Francisco State College and UC Berkeley, events that started the movement for ethnic studies. When my research came up with the International Hotel, I knew where the center of the larger story must be.

How did you decide the balance between the historical and the fictional?

The balance is maybe that the events had to be historical but the people must be fictional.

Oh, but I beg to differ -- so many of those folks have real-life counterparts, whether actual like the UCSF acting president S.I. Hayakawa, or composites like Mo Akagi who very much resemble real-life activists Richard Aoki and Mo Nishida. And, of course, the APA matriarch/patriarch dynamic duo of Maxine Hong Kingston and Frank Chin... the list definitely goes on. So where and how did you draw that line between fact and fiction?

Some of those people are too famous, so you cant really do anything but have them just be. Some of them have extremely public lives. Of course, I have to be careful, too. But its not like Don DeLillo hasnt done that with other historical characters. I would say, yes, it might be this or that person, a "version" of him or her you could say that all the books characters are composites.

So has Maxine Hong Kingston said anything?

I saw her just before the book came out and told her about it. Although I didnt tell her how the cartoons of her and Frank Chin are situated. A friend said that Maxine has a good sense of humor. I hope thats true. I just said to Maxine, "please dont get mad at me."

I had a long conversation with [Coffee House Press publisher] Allan Korblum about this, and while we worried about the questions, I thought that to not put them [Hong Kingston and Chin] in would be a like erasure because they are both such an important part of the literary scene. I also think their presence says something about the trajectory of Asian American literature. [Novelist] Shawn Wong (Homebase, American Knees) just comes out and says that those two writers have built their careers out of their [fake-vs.-real] argument. And I agree the argument is important to that period: women came forward as writers; questions of masculinity surfaced; the idea of marketability was addressed and who really reads books.

Im too old -- even if they got older -- to worry too much. These are two people for whose work I have great admiration. If they dont like me now, thats okay.

Why choose that ongoing fake-vs.-real debate as a theme for I Hotel?

Oh, do you think its a theme? I think its a preoccupation of the fiction writer.

I do play a lot with metaphors throughout book. I play with the question of fiction. Heres a work in which I study activists who lived during that period, but I myself didnt "live San Francisco" like these characters. But then I was told stories who can say what is fact, what is fiction? Some told me versions that were exaggerations, but they were great stories. Some left large gaps, so I had to imagine whathappened.

I dont know its a big fake book, but fiction can be more truthful in many ways.

How did writing I Hotel change your own life?

I got 10 years older while doing it. For me, a book project is a kind of schooling, something akin to lifelong and continuing education. I learned and expanded my understanding of a period of time, of a place and people. The book is a kind of record of what I learned.

Do you think your APA readers will read I Hotel differently from non-APA readers? Did you have an APA audience in mind when you wrote it?

Yes, that reading difference seems already evident, especially among those APA folks who lived this era; they own it a way I had not entirely expected. I feel my own responsibility to their stories but, at the same time, my relinquishing of those stories. A gift received and returned.

Youve had an incredibly mobile past, from your LA upbringing to your South American and Japanese adventures, not to mention your familys immigrant past, and now your hapa family life in Santa Cruz how do you meld all your various "selves," both geographically and artistically?

Ive been really blessed by my opportunities to live in Brazil and Japan, to acquire language and cultural experience that have broadened my perspectives. I think at the beginning of my travels as a student in Japan, I was quite traumatized by my sense of dislocation and strangeness. Triangulating this experience with a very different sense of reception in Brazil gave me a feeling of strength and self-confidence. I guess over time I learned to travel and finally to feel comfortable in my traveling body.

Wheres home for you?

I like living in Santa Cruz in California. Home is where theres a hot shower.

Do you think you might take off again and try finding "home" somewhere else?

I dont know I might take a year someplace else, but this will be my base for awhile. If Im invited somewhere for period of time to teach or write, I would be fine with that. My mother lives with me here now. If she would come with me, that would be fine. Never in all the years of my life have I lived in a beautiful place as I do here. Ive always lived in huge urban centers. Santa Cruz is sweet for me. I know all the complaints about being here, but writers live with themselves, so it doesnt really matter where we are

And what do you do when youre stuck?

I take a nap, clean house, or cook. My daughter once said that the best times are when her mother is writing because the house is clean and the food is great.

And the inevitable what can we expect from you next?

My next project involves an archive of wartime correspondence among the seven siblings of my fathers family as they were dispersed to internment camps and then to locations and cities outside of the West Coast.

Terry Hong writes a Smithsonian book blog at bookdragon.si.edu.

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Penulis Novel Malaysia, Sara Aisha
September 25, 2017  Qbal Ramlan
Bahan bacaan seperti novel, dapat kita lihat semakin banyak dalam pasaran Malaysia. Menunjukkan sudah ramai penulis baru muncul. Penerbitan buku juga sudah mula mengorak langkah dengan lebih besar untuk mempromosikan keluaran mereka. Industri penulisan tanah air kini sudah mula menjadi sebuah industri yang agak merumitkan. Tentunya bagi seorang penulis novel, sama ada sudah lama bertapak atau baru mula menapak masuk. Bagi penulis Sara Aisha, beliau yang sudah menghasilkan beberapa buah novel di bawah terbitan Penerbitan Karyaseni mungkin merasai perkara yang sama. Nak kenal dengan penulis novel popular Malaysia yang karyanya sudah diadaptasi ke drama televisyen? Ikuti Segmen Soal dan Jawab kami bersama Sara Aisha.

1.    Boleh Sara perkenalkan diri?

Nama sebenar saya ialah Siti Sarah Aishah Binti Mohd Azkah. Saya menggunakan nama pena Sara Aisha, iaitu nama singkatan kepada nama sebenar saya. Berasal dari Kelantan, dan kini berumur tiga puluh tahun.

2.         Selain bakat menulis, apa lagi talent yang Sara ada?

Hmm, itu soalan yang agak susah. Saya rasa menulis ialah satu-satunya talent yang saya ada. Itu memang minat saya dari kecil, walaupun saya sebenarnya ialah pelajar bidang sains.

3.         Bila Sara alami writer block, apa yang akan Sara lakukan ya?

Berhenti menulis buat sementara waktu. Ambil masa untuk kosongkan otak dan tenangkan diri. Bila mengalami writer’s block, saya tak boleh paksa diri untuk menulis. Kalau tak, lagi teruk jadinya. Jadi, saya akan berhenti dalam masa beberapa hari. Langsung tak sentuh manuskrip. Bila dah rasa elok sikit, barulah saya akan buka semula manuskrip dan baca balik dari awal. Biasanya dengan buat begitu, saya kembali boleh menulis.

4.         Siapa inspirasi Sara dalam menulis sesebuah cerita itu?

JK Rowling. Saya mendapat inspirasi daripada kisah beliau sebelum Harry Potter berjaya dinovelkan. Beliau hidup susah, ditolak oleh banyak syarikat penerbitan dan macam-macam lagi. Tetapi beliau tidak berputus asa, dan tetap yakin dengan hasil tulisan beliau. Hasilnya, Harry Potter menjadi kegilaan dunia.


5.         Tiga perkataan yang describe tentang diri Sara?

Comel, sebab orang cakap begitu. Mungkin sebab saya memang bertubuh kecil dan gemar senyum/ketawa.

Positif. Saya seorang yang selalu tenang dalam apa jua keadaan, dan sangat susah untuk marah. Tetapi, itu juga satu benda bahaya sebenarnya. Sebab orang yang susah marah, sekali dia marah, dahsyat jadinya.

Tegas. Saya seorang yang bila sudah buat apa-apa keputusan, susah untuk berganjak daripada keputusan itu. My YES means YES. My NO means NO.

6.         Sneakers? Heel? Wedges?

Wedges. Untuk orang yang rendah macam saya, memang perlukan bantuan untuk jadi lebih tinggi. Heels cuma dipakai dalam sesetengah occasion sahaja, seperti waktu kerja di pejabat dahulu atau menghadiri mesyuarat.

7.         Mengarang sesebuah ceritasangat sukar, apa yang membangkitkan semangat Sara untuk terus menulis?

Keinginan untuk menyampaikan apa yang ada dalam fikiran saya. Untuk orang yang mengikuti karya saya, mereka akan perasan bahawa hasil tulisan saya lain daripada orang lain. Biasanya isu yang diketengahkan ialah isu yang berat. Isu yang mungkin jarang diperkatakan, tetapi sebenarnya menarik. Jadi saya gunakan hasil tulisan saya sebagai medium untuk menyampaikan pendapat atau pandangan saya terhadap satu-satu isu.

8.         Selain genre cinta, Action dan Psiko, genre apa lagi yang Sara teringin nak tulis?

Time-travel, tetapi akan dimasukkan juga unsur-unsur aksi. Saya teringin untuk cabar diri sendiri dalam menggambarkan timeframe zaman dahulu, sama ada dalam zaman perang, atau zaman penjajahan.

9.         Sara peminat kucing?

Saya neutral dengan kucing. Tidak terlalu minat, tetapi tidak takut dengan kucing.
10.       Perasaan Sara sewaktu pertama kali novel Sara diterbitkan?

Teruja. Saya tidak pernah menduga karya saya akan diterbitkan, sebenarnya. Saya cuma mencuba hantar karya ke laman web penulisan2u. Tidak disangka-sangka, kisah Jodoh itu Milik Kita dilamar oleh syarikat penerbitan.

11.       Perasaan Sara sewaktu melihat kisah ciptaan Sara tersiar di kaca TV?

Teruja bercampur gementar. Teruja sebab saya dapat melihat apa yang saya hasilkan dalam bentuk tulisan, jadi hidup dalam bentuk manusia yang punya kehidupan. Tetapi pada masa sama, saya gementar dan bimbang kalau-kalau adaptasi drama akan menghancurkan jalan cerita yang digambarkan dalam novel.

12.       Tiga perkara kecil yang boleh buat Sara gembira?

Buku. Kopi. Hujan.

13.       Antara kesemua novel Sara,  mana satu yang mengambil masa paling lama untuk disiapkan?

AKU LELAKIMU. Saya mengambil masa selama setahun setengah untuk siapkan Aku Lelakimu, di mana setahun digunakan untuk kajian
14.       Gaya pemakaian yang macam mana Sara suka?

Casual but proper. Kasual bagi saya bukanlah jeans dan t-shirt. Biasanya saya mengenakan blaus dan palazo, dipadankan dengan wedges atau sandal bertumit tinggi.

Apa-apa pun, yang penting, gaya pemakaian harus bersesuaian dengan occasion. Gaya pemakaian saya sewaktu keluar membeli-belah, menghadiri mesyuarat, melancong atau memanjat gunung, semuanya berbeza.

15.       Macam mana Sara dapat idea untuk menulis cerita yang gempak macam Salju Kyoto dan Aku lelakimu?

Kalau Salju Kyoto, melalui pengalaman saya melancong ke Jepun. Saya suka mengabadikan kenangan saya di luar negara dalam hasil tulisan saya, jadi saya akan memikirkan jalan cerita yang boleh mengetengahkan negara itu.

Untuk Aku Lelakimu pula, saya memang teringin untuk tulis kisah psiko. Jadi saya cuba membaca sebanyak mungkin tentang psikopat dan pembunuh bersiri. Semakin saya baca, semakin saya dapat fikirkan jalan cerita.

Pendek kata, idea itu bukan datang sendiri. Tetapi dengan cara mencari. Alhamdulillah, saya berjaya mencarinya.

16.       Tiga perkara yang Sara tak suka.

Rokok.

Lelaki yang fikir perempuan berada di bawah mereka, dan boleh dipandang rendah.

Pacat/cacing/lintah/ulat. Binatang spesis gitu
17.       Bakat tersembunyi yang Sara ada?

Baca peta. Boleh tak itu dikira sebagai bakat tersembunyi? Biasanya bila saya ke luar negara, saya yang akan bertanggungjawab baca peta tempat, atau peta jaringan kereta api. Keluarga dan rakan-rakan saya, hampir kesemunya tidak reti dan mereka bergantung kepada saya.

18.       Sara mesti kelihatan cantik, boleh Sara bagi tips kecantikan yang selalu Sara amalkan?

Skin care. Itu yang paling penting. Jangan abaikan penjagaan kulit. Lagi satu, selalu berfikiran positif, senyum dan ketawa selalu. Bila kita gembira, orang akan nampak kita cantik.

19.       Korean Drama atau English Movie?

Korean drama. Saya memang tidak meminati Englis movie. Koren drama lebih bervariasi dari segi jalan cerita, dan genre.

20.       Peristiwa paling bermakna dalam hidup Sara?

Jodoh itu Milik Kita dilamar untuk dijadikan novel. Itu ialah titik tolak kemunculan Sara Aisha dalam dunia penulisan tanah air. Dan juga detik yang mengubah seluruh jalan hidup saya. Kerana saya sudah jadi seorang novelis, saya berhenti kerja di syarikat lama dan kini membuat apa yang saya suka. Jika saya tidak jadi penulis, saya mungkin masih lagi bekerja di tempat sama, membuat perkara sama setiap hari. Itu agak membosankan.
21.       Projek terbaharu Sara selepas Aku Lelakimu?

Masih dalam rahsia. Yang saya boleh katakan, genrenya ialah cinta aksi seperti Salju Kyoto.

22.       Apa pandangan Sara tentang fenomena adaptasi novel yang berlaku di Malaysia?

Elok dari segi menambahkan hasil jualan novel yang terbabit. Tetapi jalan cerita novel yang diadaptasi, hampir kesemuanya sama. Secara tidak langsung, penonton TV menganggap bahawa semua novel Melayu mempunyai jalan cerita seperti itu dan novelis akhirnya dikecam. Padahal hakikatnya, banyak novel Melayu yang lain daripada lain dan ada ramai novelis yang cuba menghasilkan kelainan dalam karya mereka.

23.       Mungkin ramai yang bercita-cita untuk jadi macam Sara. Tips yang Sara boleh berikan kepada mereka yang ingin menceburi bidang penulisan?

Pertama, banyakkan membaca. Tidak kira novel, artikel surat khabar, memoirs atau bahan bacaan yang lain. Saya percaya semakin banyak kita membaca, semakin banyak idea yang mungkin diperoleh. Kedua, kuatkan jiwa. Dunia penulisan mungkin nampak glamour. Tetapi hakikatnya dunia ini ialah dunia mencabar. Dari segi untuk menyiapkan karya, menghadap karenah penulis lain, menerima kritikan pembaca dan macam-macam lagi. Jadi, hati kena kuat. Ketiga, jangan bersikap diva. Saya perasan ramai penulis muda yang baru berjinak-jinak dalam dunia penulisan punya sikap agak diva. Demand macam-macam daripada penerbit dan sombong dengan pembaca. Itu ialah sikap yang boleh membunuh penulis itu sendiri. Jika penerbit itu baik, bagilah kerjasama elok-elok. Untuk pembaca pula, mereka ialah orang yang akan membeli naskah dan menyokong penulis, jadi janganlah pandang mereka sebelah mata atau meremehkan mereka. Tanpa pembaca, tiadalah penulis

seribulan

https://www.onlinecollege.org/2010/03/28/50-famous-author-interviews-that-shouldnt-be-missed/50 Famous Author Interviews That Shouldn’t Be Missed

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If you're interested in what makes authors tick, you'll love reading what they have to say in interviews. You can learn about how they got started writing, what they enjoy about books, and more. Of course, one excellent way of learning the skills you need to launch a writing career is by earning a degree in writing, but here you’ll find 50 interviews with famous authors that you just can’t miss.

Bestsellers

Get a look into authors with celebrity status in these interviews. These interviews may also be of interest to budding journalists.

• Dan Brown: This interview with Dan Brown focuses on The Da Vinci Code.
• JK Rowling: In this interview, JK Rowling sits down with Katie Couric to discuss saying goodbye to the Harry Potter saga.
• John Grisham: You'll find 10 questions for John Grisham in this interview.
• Stephen King: This Stephen King interview takes a look at Lisey's Story.
• Mitch Albom: In this interview, Mitch Albom discusses his uncle Edward Beitchman.
  

Non Fiction

Cookbooks, social commentary, and more are discussed in these interviews.

• Julie Powell: Check out this interview from Julie Powell, author of Julie and Julia.
• Raj Patel: Raj Patel's interview discusses accurately viewing the world.
• Eric Schlosser: Eric Schlosser is interviewed about the fast food industry here.
• Lauren Weisberger: Lauren Weisberger covers her experience writing The Devil Wears Prada.
• Anthony Bourdain: See what it's like to travel around the world for food in Anthony Bourdain's interview about A Cook's Tour.
• Annie Leibovitz at Work: Annie Leibovitz takes you behind her work in this interview.
  

Novelists

These interviews cover romance, mystery, and beyond.

• Kevin Sampsell: Kevin Sampsell's interview is about a big fish in a small-press pond.
• James Frey: This interview rings in James Frey's return to the spotlight.
• Fern Michaels: Fern Michaels claims she's a scribbler in this journal.
• John Irving: John Irving's lecture looks into the author's list of recommended books.
• Laurie Notaro: Check out Laurie Notaro's interview about her rise from humor columnist to novelist.
• Orson Scott Card: Orson Scott Card's interview discusses Lost Boys and beyond.
• Clive Barker: This interview discusses Clive Barker's return to writing with Galilee.
• Nora Roberts: Nora Roberts covers her start as a romance novelist in this interview.
• Jodi Picoult: Learn about the household name Jodi Picoult in this interview.
• Jackie Collins: You'll learn about Jackie Collins' examination of sex, drugs, and Hollywood in this interview.
• Amy Tan: Amy Tan's interview focuses on the spirit within.
• Philippa Gregory: Philippa Gregory's interview crowns her the queen of historical fiction.
• Hallie Ephron: Hallie Ephron's interview discusses finally giving in to becoming a famous writer.
• Audrey Niffenegger: Audrey Niffenegger's interview discusses art, writing, and more.
• Eoin Colfer: Sci-Fi author Eoin Colfer discusses Artemis Fowl, Hitchhiker's Guide, and more.
• Neil Gaiman: Graphic novelist and writer Neil Gaiman discusses his diverse repertoire.
• Janet Evanovich: Janet Evanovich opens up about Stephanie Plum and more in this interview.
• Sue Grafton: Sue Grafton's interview covers a long career of successful mysteries.
• Chelsea Cain: Learn about Chelsea Cain's infectious laugh and more in this interview.
• Chuck Palahniuk: This author interview with Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, explains how he never pulls punches.
• Eric Klinenberg: This interview with author Eric Klinenberg takes you into July of 1995 in the city of Chicago.
• Malcolm Gladwell: Find a few thin slices of Malcolm Gladwell in this interview.
• Mary Higgins Clark: Mary Higgins Clark discusses her Irish heritage's influence on her writing.
• Isabel Allende: You'll learn about Chilean author Isabel Allende in this interview.
• Jung Chang: Check out this interview about Jung Chang, the Chinese author.
  

Children's Books

Get a look into children's authors through these interviews. These interviews may also be of interest to K-12 teachers, those pursuing education degrees, librarians, and those pursuing degrees in library science.

• Laurie Halse-Anderson: Check out this lecture from the author of Chains, Fight For Life, and more.
• Joanna Cole: Joanna Cole's interview shares a look into the creator of Ms. Frizzle and the Magic School Bus.
• John J. Muth: John J. Muth opens up about Stone Soup, Zen Shorts, and more.
• Katherine Paterson: Watch this interview to learn about Newbery Medal award winning author Katherine Paterson.
• Judy Blume: In this video interview, you'll learn about the classic children's book author, Judy Blume.
• Tomie de Paola: This interview from Tomie de Paola covers a reflection on his career and encouragement of young readers.
• Eric Carle: This interview shows you how Eric Carle goes beyond The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
• Kate DiCamillo: Check out this interview from super-successful children's book author Kate DiCamillo.
• Norman Bridwell: This interview offers a look into Norman Bridwell, author of Clifford the Big Red Dog.
• Jon Scieszka: John Scieszka's interview is about his weird style and concern about boys and reading.
• Beverly Cleary: In this interview, Beverly Cleary talks about teddy bears, the pleasures of writing, and beyond.
• R.L. Stine: This interview covers young adult horror author RL Stine's life and career.
• Chris Van Allsburg: Watch Chris Van Allsburg for insight into the author of The Polar Express and Jumanji.