Episode 204 with Kara H.L. Chen, Standout YA Writer of Love and Resistance and Crafter of Believable and Relatable and Empathy-Inducing Characters

Notes and Links to Kara H.L. Chen’s Work

 

   For Episode 204, Pete welcomes Kara H.L. Chen, and the two discuss, among other topics, her early reading and constant desire to write, the ways in which law has affected her writing, YA and its pull for her, seeds for Love and Resistance, and salient themes and related real-world issues from the book like racism and anti-Asian hate, cliques and social media and high school culture, and keeping a book fresh in the world of rapidly-advancing technology.   

 

 

   Kara H.L. Chen grew up near Cleveland, Ohio, where she once had to shovel snow off her car with a plastic trashcan. She now lives on the West Coast with her husband and daughters, and is learning how to use an Instapot. She has undergraduate degrees in English and economics, a J.D., and a MFA in fiction. She has used her economics degree exactly once, when she tried to make a joke about marginal costs and marginal returns. It did not go well.

 

Kara's Website

 

Buy Love and Resistance

 

Nerd Daily Interview

At about 2:25, Kara discusses languages and reading and writing in her early days 

 

At about 4:00, Kara relates the ways, subtle and not, that Taiwanese spoken in her family makes its way into her writing

 

At about 5:00, Pete and Kara geek out about their kids reading the new generation of The Babysitters’ Club and Kara discusses books and writers that influenced her-including more recent ones by Anthony Doerr, RF Kuang, Shawna Yang Ryan, and Ann Liang

 

At about 8:15, Kara responds to Pete’s asking about how her path in law and other life experiences dovetailed with writing for a profession 

 

At about 9:30, Pete wonders about using different parts of the brain in writing for law and writing YA

 

At about 11:00, Kara speaks to the times in which she felt pulled/pushed into writing a novel/writing in general

 

At about 11:45, Kara shares her experience with representation and mentorship and care from Jen Ung

 

At about 14:15, Kara traces her interest in writing YA

 

At about 17:10, Kara talks about the years of work and querying that led to the book’s publication and the affirming feedback she’s received 

 

At about 18:45, Kara gives a little summary of the book and discusses seeds for the book

 

At about 20:10, Pete cites important lines from the book’s beginning and Kara talks to protagonist Livvy’s ideas of school as a type of combat

 

At about 21:40, The two discuss Mitzi’s “in crowd” and microaggressions that come from the group, including an inciting incident when peers make racist comments

 

At about 23:00, Kara responds to Pete’s laying out some early and formative experiences in Livvy’s family

 

At about 25:10, The two discuss the light touch and lack of patronizing that makes Livvy’s mother a loving one, and Kara emphasizes the importance of the mother as a mentor figure and one who bridges generational/cultural gaps

 

At about 29:45, The Nerd Net and Livvy’s budding relationships are traced

 

At about 31:15, Peter, a pivotal character is discussed, in his purity, and Pete wonders if we or Kara should feel sorry for Mitzi due to some misfortunes 

 

At about 34:30, Kara talks about the “Ocean’s Eleven” crew and the connections between Griff and Livvy and how the crew balances each other out and how Livvy is herself challenged in her assumptions about others

 

At about 37:18-39:43, Kara speaks about the racism in the micro-the book-and talks about how its subject matter has evolved over time and unfortunately been in line with a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes

 

At about 40:00, Kara and Pete discuss the universality of the book and how to chart the quick changes in technology

 

At about 41:12, Kara talks about the spoken word venue in the book and its connection to ideas of self-expression 

 

At about 44:05, The two discuss feelings of “something else” and its connection to the adolescent years and racism in Livvy’s case

 

At about 48:30, Kara shares news on Asking for a Friend, her exciting new book set to be published in 2024

 

At about 50:00, Kara recommends Books, Inc., Keppler’s and others as places that have signed copies of her book and shares contact information/social media info

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   Please tune in for Episode 205 with Josh Riedel. He was Instagram Employee #1, and he is the author of the novel Please Report Your Bug Here; his essays and short stories have appeared in Esquire, Slate, LitHub, One Story, Joyland, and elsewhere.

   The episode will air on September 26.