Liwen’s bio:
Liwen Y. Ho works as a chauffeur and referee by day (AKA being a stay at home mom) and an author by night. She writes sweet and inspirational contemporary romance infused with heart, humor, and a taste of home (her Asian roots).
In her pre-author life, she received a Master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Western Seminary, and she loves makeovers of all kinds, especially those of the heart and mind. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her techie husband and their two children (AKA munchkins).
Liwen will be on my blog three times! Twice for a two-part interview (Part 2 is here), and then I’ll post an excerpt of her book, One Vow for September, which is one of the stories in Save the Date.
And here, he’s me and Liwen!
When did you first discover that you were a writer?
I’ve always loved words more than numbers. I guess a good sign that I had the potential to be a writer was when I didn’t mind writing essays in school. But the first time that I actually felt like a writer was when I had to fill out a form at the dentist. The form asked me for my occupation and I finally felt comfortable with putting down “Author” after several years of writing and publishing books.
What's your greatest writing weakness and how do you overcome it?
Descriptions! I’m not a big descriptions reader or writer, so I really have to make a conscious effort to add it into my writing. Thankfully, I have a critique partner who is awesome at writing the most beautiful and detailed descriptions. I learn a lot from her.
Haha, I’m the same way with descriptions! :P
What's your best writing strength?
Dialogue! I have the most fun with that. Even though I’m actually pretty introverted and listen a lot more than talk, I enjoy making my characters talk.
I love writing dialogue! Although most of the time, I like making my characters say stuff I would never say. :)
What a great question. What really helps give me confidence as a writer is first and foremost knowing that God has blessed me with the gift of words (written, not spoken—that’s my hubby’s strength, haha!). I believe He gifts every person with unique strengths and writing just happens to be mine. It also helps to read positive reviews from readers and seeing how my books have impacted them.
I suffered from several bad bouts of writer’s block several years ago. How do you handle writer's block? Do you ever get writer's block?
I usually get writer’s block after I’ve finished a book. Or maybe it’s more of a writer’s drain, physically and emotionally because writing is hard work! What helps me get inspired to write again is reading romance books or watching romantic movies or shows. My favorite form of inspiration these days is Chinese dramas!
Oooh I love Chinese dramas! I absolutely loved Bromance!
Describe your writing space as it is now, and your fantasy writing space.
The left reclining seat of our family room couch has been my writing space for a while now. I share it with our doggy Madeline who loves to “help” me write. My fantasy writing space? Anywhere with a view of the ocean!
That would be heavenly for me, too! The sound of the waves is sooo soothing!
Haha! Tell you what, I will name a heroine Camy one day soon! ☺ You and your books inspired me to start writing Asian characters, so I would be honored to name one after you! In terms of choosing character names, I usually choose ones that I think will fit the character’s personality. For my Spark Brothers series, I ended up going with names that started with the first five letters of the alphabet—Aiden, Brandon, Colin, Darren, Evan—to make them easier for me to remember. I also did the same for the heroines in that series. And sometimes I’ll name characters after people I know, just for fun.
Haha! If you do name a heroine Camy, let me know and we’ll roast the poor heroine on my blog! LOL
Do your kids influence your writing at all? How? How about hubby?
My two kids (AKA munchkins) and my hubby do influence my writing. I’ve based characters’ personalities off of them, especially my hubby’s. He and I are literally polar opposites (he’s an ENTP; I’m an ISFJ), so I model a lot of my alpha males after him.
Camy here: My hubby’s pretty much the opposite of me, too!
I’ll be back next week with the second part of Liwen’s interview. She’ll be talking more about her book, One Vow for September, which is one of the books in our Christian Contemporary Romance anthology, Save the Date, which releases September 15! Preorder now to get 12 novellas for only 99 cents!
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