Hello, API Romance Authors!

This month, we have picked "From the Withered Tree" by MiniMoxx for Book of the Month, which was one of our AAPIHM Contest Favorites! If you'd like to read this story, we encourage you to check it out in our Shattered Memories reading list.

❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

Logline:

After Ana's boyfriend, Henry was killed, she ran back home to New Zealand to deal with her grief. There, she found a friend in widower Jack, and they helped each other grieve while their love stayed dormant for each other.

A year after Henry's death, Ana is still trying to pick up the pieces, but will Henry's spirit help her realise that letting go is not always a bad thing and can help her love again?

Excerpt:

"Iti noa ana he pito mata." I whisper the words into the sea air, silently watching them be whipped up, dancing around until they reach the waves that lap onto the white sand. "From the withered tree, a flower blooms." I just hope today is the day the flower finally blooms.

Henry would've loved nothing more than to have been here to see this. He's not, not in body, anyway. I can feel him, though, in the sand, in the warm laps of the ocean as it hits my feet.

His spirit lives on, I believe it. He may have died back in England, victim of a stabbing and stolen from me before we made it here, back to my homeland, but the spirit travels. It's everywhere. My Māori ancestors – including my koroua – believe the spirit continues to exist after death, and they all go back to the marae; the meeting place in a Māori community.

Though I may not live in a community like that, I take comfort. Henry's spirit may be English, but I feel him in the surrounding nature. He was a beach lover; when we sorted things out to move back to Tauranga, he was adamant we needed to live within walking distance of the beach.

He got his wish, he just never lived long enough to experience this with me, though, now he is a part of the beach, and as the jade stone of my bracelet hits the sand, his ashes set in the stone will feel it too.

Maybe I'm more Māori than I ever thought I'd be. I just needed to experience something so soul-crushing to realise my beliefs. Koroua would be proud. 

About the Author:

Alex is a British writer and is of New Zealand descent! She writes contemporary romance, but mixes it up with other genres, and started writing when she was 8 years old. She is a traditionally published author, and also writes on Wattpad, where she was shortlisted for the 2022 Watty awards, as well as being a Wattpad Creator and Paid author in 2022/2023. When not writing, Alex likes to binge watch TV, play ridiculous amounts of video games and is a mother, wife and drinks ridiculous amounts of tea.

Interview:

1. What influenced your story? What inspired you to write it?

For this short story, I was inspired by the prompt 9 in the celebration, which is that the spirit of a dead loved one is in nature, and I combined that with the idea of the Maori belief dead loved ones go back to nature as well. I had the vision of my character finding love again with someone who helped her heal. Once I did a bit of research my background and the Maori belief to solidify that, I started writing and didn't look back!

2. What is your writing process?

My writing process includes putting my earphones in and listening to music as well as sitting on my own - I can't be distracted (unless it's by my cats lol). 

3. What were some challenges you faced while writing your story?

For me, it was putting so little words into my story! I am such an overwriter, and I challenged myself to making it as short as possible within the celebration but also for myself! The plot was already blooming in my mind as I wrote, so for me to keep the short story under 5000 words was a good ending!

4. What message do you hope to convey with your story?

With this story, I'm hoping to convey my Maori background and raise awareness - it's something I don't see a lot of in publishing or writing, and I really love the culture of both New Zealand and Maori. I'm also hoping to get the message of healing and hope through the short story and both the characters who have different ways of grieving and at different stages of their grief.

5. Do you have any advice for other authors who are interested in writing Asian & Pacific Islander Fiction?

It's so doable! The main thing for me is bringing the little things through our characters/personalities! For example, I'm a descendant from New Zealand, and little things in my childhood have become my "normal" but isn't for a lot of people in the UK who aren't API - like a pavlova is a New Zealand dish that a lot of the UK don't "get", but it's big in NZ so it's normal for me. Or little sayings in Maori are normal for me but not for everyone else. Little things like that just take research and asking people, and can really make it authentic! When writing a romance, bring in both cultures you're using and blend them together! For example, my parents are one from the UK, one from New Zealand, and when England and NZ played football or rugby, my house became very competitive! Things like that can be really dynamic and interesting for writing cultures together!

6. If you could write another story to be featured on the profile, which of our reading lists would you write it for?

I would absolutely LOVE to write API historical romance. I'll never get out of romance, but historical fiction really interests me. It's something I've yet to successfully write, but would love to. I think historical API, especially with my Maori roots interests me to no end, and would love to write it. Maybe one day I'll get there!

7. If you are an author of Asian or Pacific Islander descent, what's one remarkable fact about your culture you can share with us?

Maori's believe that once someone dies, though their body dies, their soul stays around and sometimes goes into nature. It's such a beautiful belief, I tend to channel it into my writing a little bit. Another cool fact is that there are actually more sheep in New Zealand than people! 

8. How do you identify within the Asian American and Pacific Islander community and how has your heritage shaped the person you are today?

I'm half New Zealand-ish as well as being from the UK, and also have a NZ citizenship (so I'm a dual citizen). My mum is from New Zealand, as was my grandfather. I've been to NZ twice in my lifetime and would LOVE to go back. I've visited the Maori villages in NZ and absolutely LOVE the rich history of my culture. I feel like it's an important part of my background to bring diversity to my family, and would love to hand the culture and love for it down to my son.

9. Does your family have any traditions that are important to you? Feel free to share at least one experience here!

My family doesn't have any traditions, per se, but in the summer we always have a pavlova, which is a popular meringue dessert in New Zealand. We're also all big rugby fans and all support the All Blacks - even if they're playing against England! 

10. If you could introduce something from your culture to someone else, what would it be and why? It can be a tradition/custom, food, music, or anything else that comes to mind!

I think I would introduce the lifestyle; the laid back way of life to someone else. New Zealanders are very laid back, especially compared to the very stressful way of life in the UK where it's busy all the time, everything must get done NOW. 

11. What does AAPI Heritage Month mean to you?

AAPI heritage month means a lot to me - I hadn't heard about it until very recently, but I love the way it brings people like myself from other cultures out to celebrate the diversity and knowledge of those cultures. 

12. How do your experiences as an AAPI author shape your stories? Do you take inspiration from your culture to tell your story? You may talk about 1-2 stories here.

I take a lot of inspiration from my NZ culture, the beliefs I put through in my stories (like how people's spirits don't die, they become part of nature and the village) come from my culture and the way my characters do things and view love. There are a few stories I'm writing offline/off Wattpad at the moment where the characters live a very laid back life, believe in a lot of the NZ ways of life, and view things like death and love that are very inspired by my background.

❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

Thank you MiniMoxx for giving us the opportunity to interview you and chat more about your book!

We'll see you all in the next Book of the Month.