Author Nicki Chen joins me today to chat about her mainstream women’s fiction, When in Vanuatu.
Bio:
Nicki Chen, an author from Edmonds, WA, is a graduate of Seattle University and the MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She and her Chinese-born husband spent twenty-two years abroad living in the Philippines and later in Vanuatu. Their three daughters spent most of their pre-college years studying at the Manila International School.
Ms. Chen’s second novel, When in Vanuatu, was informed by her experiences while living abroad.
Welcome, Nicki. Please tell us about your current release.
When in Vanuatu takes the reader to Manila with Diana and her husband Jay. Diana, reluctant to leave her family and her job behind in Seattle, hoped that she and Jay would be able to start a family abroad. Four years later she’s still not pregnant. Her fertility doctor advises her to relax despite all the stresses of living in one of the noisiest, most crowded cities in the world.
She tries yoga and meditation. She buys goldfish. Then one day, while Jay is away on business, a violent coup d’etat erupts. The rebels bomb the presidential palace and occupy parts of the city.
Clearly, Diana decides, something needs to change. So, when Abby, her best friend, moves to Vanuatu, “the most relaxing place on earth,” Diana determines to find a way for her and Jay to join Abby’s family there.
It isn’t long after arriving in Vanuatu, however, before she realizes that the island’s tropical beauty hides dangers and disappointments that will test her courage, her marriage, and her ability to open herself up to new possibilities.
What inspired you to write this book?
Vanuatu was my inspiration. The country is fantastically beautiful. Its 80 islands are surrounded by a warm blue ocean and cooled by a sea breeze. I was fascinated by its friendly people (who just happen to have a history of cannibalism), by the mix of quirky foreigners who have chosen to settle there, and by the dynamic landscape, with its overactive volcanoes, earthquakes, and cyclones (typhoons).
How could I not write a novel partially set in Vanuatu?
Excerpt from When in Vanuatu:
Diana caught Jay’s eye and pointed off to their right where the land dropped down to a small shallow bay, resplendent in cream and lavender and turquoise.
A minute later they were entering Port Vila, past the Rossi Hotel, Fung Kuei’s, Goodies, Proud’s Duty Free. From the look of it—the simple mostly one- or two-story buildings with glimpses of ocean between them, the sidewalk café with its white tables and red-and-white awning, the casually dressed people, and slow- moving pedestrians—it was a charming little town.
“What do you think?” Jay whispered over Clarita’s head. Diana opened her mouth to answer. Was she ready to say?
A jeep pulled out in front of them and then slowed in mid-turn so the driver could wave at a lanky young man ambling down the sidewalk with a boom box on his shoulder. What did she think? They rolled past a bank and a travel bureau. Was there anything she could conclude from a glimpse of downtown Port Vila, anything that would tell her whether this place would provide the peace and quiet she needed so she could relax enough to conceive a child?
“It’s charming,” she whispered back. Cute and charming. And, at the same time, well, chilling. When you get exactly what you asked for, who’s left to guarantee that it will actually make you happy?
What exciting story are you working on next?
I’m working on a collection of short stories from the South Pacific, most of them taking place in Vanuatu. I recently finished one story about a man who is surprised to learn that his gardener has been running prostitutes out of the shack behind his house. Currently I’m working on a story about a young woman whose older husband is overly cautious.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I lived in the no-man’s land of uncertainty for a long time. I wrote and was dedicated to writing, but I didn’t feel entitled to claim the title of “writer”. When I published my first novel, then finally I started saying I was a writer.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I write at least a few hours every day. During the pandemic, I’ve been taking walks in my spare time, Zooming with friends and my three daughters, and conducting Zoom meetings with my writing group. When the pandemic is over, I hope to see them all in person and take some trips.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I write everything by hand with a Pentel EnerGel pen and then type it up later in the day.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was a child, I was very serious about becoming an artist. I drew marvelous camellias and made paper dolls for my classmates after finishing my arithmetic. Then on library day, I checked out a book about a commercial artist who trudged around NYC with her portfolio, trying in vain to sell her work. It seemed such a dreary existence that I dropped the idea.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I must have been dead serious about becoming a writer when I signed up for the MFA in Creative Writing program in Montpelier, VT. We were still living in Vanuatu then, and Vermont is 8,489 miles from Port Vila, Vanuatu. I would need to travel there and back five times if I wanted to graduate, and I did.
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