My middle grade memoir-in-verse called A Two-Placed Heart, will be available on September 24th, and I am so excited. If anyone loved reading A Brown Girl Dreaming or Inside Out and Back Again, they are going to love reading this story. This story is a love letter to sisterhood and the places we leave behind. It’s my story growing up in Vietnam, and how I struggled to adapt as I moved to America, and the worry of losing my identity as my Vietnamese memories and language started to slip away. How do you find your identity as a girl whose heart is split in two places?
Everyone has always told me that my life story is interesting. Not everyone has a spy for a father (my dad worked for intelligence during the Vietnam War), and the story of how we came to America is interesting to others (my dad was a prisoner of war for 7 years in a communist camp, and staying in Vietnam was becoming too dangerous for him. We also were stuck in Thailand at an immigration facility for a month while we were between countries). As someone who has always written her emotions as snippets of poetry, the verse format seemed the most fitting to write down my memoirs.
Although A Two-Placed Heart is a fictionalized memoir, and my debut novel, Mèo and Bé, was loosely based on my adopted aunt’s early life, most of the story ideas I have are completely fictional. I have so many partially started novels and ideas in various stages of development. Sometimes my book ideas come from dreams I’ve had (I have very vivid dreams), or when I am curious about something. For example, the novel I am working on right now takes place in Ancient Vietnam. I’ve always loved historical settings, and because I love watching Chinese and Korean dramas, writing a story that take place in the country of my birth makes me feel closer to the country and culture my family had to leave behind.
I have wanted to be a writer since I was a little girl and learned English, but there have been lots of roadblocks along the way. In particular, my very traditional Asian parents never wanted me to be a writer. They wanted to be a doctor, engineer, a pharmacist, all the traditional jobs that were considered secure to them. But I wanted to be a writer, so as a teenager, I would hide away and write short stories and poems that I’d publish on AOL back in the day. As a college student, I wasn’t allowed to major in English (or else face being disowned), so I ended up doing journalism because that was the closest to writing as I could get. Later, my first job was in publishing as an editorial assistant for a huge publisher, but my imprint was dissolved in 2008 during the Great Recession (as the internet calls it). I joined the SCBWI the same year and started to go to conferences to learn about writing, craft, and all that wonderful stuff. Nine years later, when I still hadn’t sold anything (although I had an agent), I decided I would go to grad school, so I attended the Vermont College of Fine Arts, where I received a MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults. The manuscripts that I worked on during my MFA program are my two published novels.
I think perseverance is the key to success in the publishing industry. You have to keep writing and never give up. If one manuscript doesn’t sell, you write another one. And if that doesn’t find its people, you have to put it aside and write another novel, and on and on it goes. Eventually, I think you will find one that works for the market. As you write more novels, I think you become stronger as a writer and you will find your cheerleaders. You just have to keep trying!
Never give up. Even when you think its futile and you’ll never get published, keep writing and don’t ever give up.
I love going to conferences and meeting other authors and following their career trajectory. I know so many published authors because I met them when they were “pre-published” at various SCBWI conferences throughout the years. I love rooting for all writers and authors.
Also, locally in St. Louis, I have a group of kidlit author friends who I meet and have coffee dates with. Sometimes, we write together in different coffee shops around town, and other times, we chat, but it’s nice to have that feeling of connection and friendship with others who are struggling with the same things you might be.
I’m a mom of littles, so my writing time is often very limited. I also run my photography business, which keeps me so busy.
Because I work so much and mom life takes up a lot of my time right now since my kids are young, I often don’t have a ton of time for writing. For me, writing takes a lot of mental energy, so I write best in the morning hours. I’ve tried to write at night, but my mind isn’t as sharp because I’m so tired from my day. I try to carve out at least 15-30 minutes of writing every day, and during the months when I have more free time, I love to go to coffee shops, and write for a few hours in the morning. By the time lunch time rolls around, I get too sleepy after eating, so the morning is best for me.
I will always keep trying to write books and hopefully publish more in the future.
Doan Phuong Nguyen was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the United States in elementary school. She loves anything pink and cute and dressing up like a princess. She received her MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Find her at doanphuong.com.
Title: A Two-Placed Heart
Publisher: Tu Books, an imprint of Lee and Low
Release Date: September 24, 2024
My Author Website: www.doanphuong.com
Purchase Location: Any Bookstore or Online Retailer. In the St. Louis area, you can find copies of the book at Main Street Books and the Novel Neighbor