Issue II: Writing Romance with Author Lisa Lin
On finding writing partners, creating a community, and what makes Romancelandia great
Welcome to The Village! I’m Kate – an essayist and mother fascinated by the ways we create community in our lives, inspired by those who do it well, and convinced that thriving communities are what makes for a joyful world.
One of the most difficult things to adjust to as a writer is how solitary the work can often be – days hunched over your desk, staring out the window or into the empty glare of a blank page on your laptop screen. Just you and your thoughts, sometimes for days on end. The advice is often to join a writing group – to find your community – but for those just getting started, that can often seem daunting. Trusting others with your work (let alone your hopes and dreams and career goals) is a big deal, yet finding your people can be a huge part of success and happiness in writing.
Romancelandia is one place where I’ve found mine. The nickname for the romance novel writing and reading community, Romancelandia is filled with people working to make writing and life full of happily ever afters, by creating organizations to make publishing more inclusive, fundraising to support democracy, and putting onto the page one of the most profound experiences in life – falling in love.
Lisa Lin, author of The Year of Cecily, is one of those people who makes Romancelandia great. Welcoming and wise, funny and friendly – all these qualities come through in both her work and her life, and readers will get to see this firsthand in her novel!
The Year of Cecily follows attorney Cecily Chang as she heads home to New York to celebrate the New Year with her family – only to find herself re-entangled with the man who broke her heart ten years before. It’s a story of forgiveness, difficult families, and making peace with who you are and who you want to become.
To celebrate both her launch week and the upcoming New Year (Happy Year of the Rabbit!), Lisa kindly answered a few questions about her wonderful novel as well as what it means to represent her heritage in publishing, what to look for in a writing partner, and the people in Romancelandia who constantly inspire her. Enjoy!
Your debut novel, The Year of Cecily, takes place during Lunar New Year - was it important to you to set the novel around this holiday and see it represented on the page?
It was important to me that Cecily was very obviously a rom-com with two Asian leads and would feature Asian culture front and center. I made it clear to my publisher that the cover for this book had to be red to symbolize Lunar New Year. Not only red, LNY red. I sent them links of LNY decorations so they knew exactly what I meant. It was my name on the line and I wanted the details to be as accurate as possible. As you can see, my publisher delivered and then some! I am so happy with how it turned out.
The opportunity to write characters who look like me, with similar (not exact! I need plausible deniability) experiences as me was truly meaningful. There are not nearly enough Asian romance authors out there and I am proud to be adding my voice to the mix. Representation matters and hopefully this will make it easier for other Asian authors to start sharing their stories too and help Romancelandia live up to its pledge of HEAs for all. Growing up, it was so rare to find books by Asian authors or books featuring Asian characters on the shelves. It wasn't until around middle school when I discovered Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club that that started to change. I am beyond proud to be part of the effort to make the romance genre more diverse and representative and it's a responsibility I don't take lightly.
Does your family have specific traditions to celebrate Lunar New Year? Did any of your traditions inspire those in the novel?
I come from a restaurant family. So for years, after the restaurant closed for the night, my parents would throw together a huge meal for our family and the restaurant employees. It was something I looked forward to every year because my parents would go all out with the menu. And, of course, the red envelopes. I still remember the one year I made two hundred dollars in like fifteen minutes. Hey, those $20 red envelopes start to add up! lol. But because the dinner happened after closing it would often last well past midnight so sometimes my sister and I got to stay home from school the next day. Which I did not complain about at all. The red envelopes and the huge meals are traditions that I made sure to include in Cecily. My family also believed in a fresh start for the New Year so my parents definitely paid attention to the traditions that would ensure prosperity and luck for the coming year.
In a lot of ways, the novel is about making peace with family as much as it is about falling in love. What are some ways you stay close to your own family?
Technology can be a really wonderful thing. Text, phone calls, emails, and video chats are all ways to help bridge the gap if family doesn't live nearby, as is the case for me. Whenever my sister visits me or I stay with her we make a point of videochatting with my mom together. My sister and I started a tradition of spending Thanksgiving together. I'd take the bus or train down to the D.C. area where she lives (during the pandemic we drove) and get Taiwanese takeout. Shoutout to Taiwan Cafe in Manassas! There is a comfort in the consistency of those traditions and I am already looking forward to next year's trip to Taiwan Cafe.
My sister has also been very sweet in her efforts to help me as my release day comes closer. She will text me or DM me articles or things that she thinks may be helpful. Her showing an interest truly means a lot.
I am someone who considers found family as legitimate as family by blood. I have been known to just text or message a friend just to check in and see how they’re doing. It's important to me that they know I'm thinking of them.
Romancelandia has long been known for its fiercely supportive community of writers and readers. What makes it special to you? What sustains this genre-wide community?
Romancelandia is so special to me because it was the first place where I truly felt accepted and that I belonged. I had finally found my people. I've tended to feel like the odd person out who didn't fit in anywhere, and I discovered a whole group of people who felt the same way and let me know I wasn't alone. That was worth more than gold. Not only that, Romancelandia helped get me through some of the toughest times of my life. One that immediately comes to mind was when my dad got sick and passed away in 2014-2015. I couldn't have gotten through accompanying him to treatment, helping take care of him while he recovered, and his passing without reading romance and the love and support of my Romancelandia friends.
I think social media helps sustain this community. Twitter, Facebook (though for me it's mostly Twitter) is where we hear about a fellow author who's fallen on rough times and needs help via a GoFundMe, when someone has a new release we can help boost and celebrate, where we can tweet about having a horrible writing day and receive support, encouragement, and commiseration. It can help you find fellow authors in the querying trenches, or find a beta reader or CP. Social media helps us form those necessary connections to weather the roller coaster of this business.
I can speak from experience - you are such a generous and thoughtful writing partner. What are some things that make for a great critique partner and a great writing group?
First of all, thank you for those kind words. I appreciate that and right back at you. You have been so kind, thoughtful and generous to me too! Finding a great critique partner and/or a writing group almost has a lot in common with dating. You have to put yourself out there, and see who you click with. It can take time to find the right people. You have to find out if your feedback styles are compatible (does one of you like brutally blunt and direct feedback, and another prefers a compliment sandwich?), if your communication styles are compatible, and if your personalities work together. A good CP relationship requires a lot of trust because of the vulnerability involved. You have to have faith that the person or people you're sending your work to will show it the respect and consideration it deserves, and that any constructive advice they give will be done with kindness and only meant to help, not tear you down. And a good writing group will celebrate you when you have a win, talk you off the ledge and let you vent in a safe space if you need it, and administer tough love if you need that too. Again it goes back to trust and the time it takes to develop and deepen those relationships in order to know which of the above any given situation requires.
For me, I didn't really find those people until I entered Avon's FanLit competition in 2015. That was where I met you, Liana de la Rosa, and Susannah Erwin, and I am still grateful that you all accepted my lunch invitation when we were all in NYC for conference that summer and that we all stayed friends. I value you all so much for all the encouragement, support, and advice you've given me throughout the years.
Writing can often be so solitary. What are some of the most memorable ways people have supported you throughout your career?
Oh my gosh the list of people who have helped me would be at least ten miles long. I have been on the receiving end of so much support and help. I know I have a lot of paying forward to do, that's for sure!
Liana de la Rosa sent me a bunch of amazing graphics for me to use for marketing and promo in the leadup to Cecily's release. I so appreciated that because my skills in that department are sadly lacking.
I met Maya Rodale in 2008 and she was one of the first romance authors I met and became friends with. When I attended my first RWA conference in 2012, she sat with me at one of the keynote lunches and at a workshop. It meant so much to me to have a friendly face in the crowd and I will always be grateful to Maya for making sure I didn't feel alone during RWA, which can be intimidating to say the least!
Julie James kindly offered advice and her expertise while I struggled to write my first novel. (That book has since been scrapped and will NEVER see the light of day!) The heroine in that first book was also a lawyer and Julie patiently and generously answered my questions about life in Big Law.
Who inspires you in Romancelandia? Who are the authors you look up to and make it such a supporting, uplifting community?
I like to call Tessa Dare and Courtney Milan my Romancelandia big sisters. I met Tessa at the RWA Lit Signing in 2011 and CM at the RWA 2012 conference in Anaheim, after I joined RWA and started pursuing publishing seriously. From the beginning, Tessa and CM have been so wonderfully encouraging, generous, supportive, and cheered me on and believed in me even when I didn't believe in myself. They have offered me encouragement, advice, steered me in the right direction, introduced me to so many other authors, and so much else – I can never thank them enough. The two of them were among the first people I told when I got my offer from Tule. I was so lucky to meet the two of them and have them take me under their wing. I can only hope to pay forward a fraction of what they have given me.
La Nora of course – Nora Roberts. We call her our Queen for a reason! So prolific, it's awe-inspiring. I have huge respect for her professionalism, dedication, and work ethic. Even years, decades, after reaching the level of success she attained, Nora still attended the RWA conference, supported the Literacy Signing, and continued to give back to the community. I find that so admirable.
Thank you, Lisa and huge congratulations on your debut! Order The Year of Cecily – out now! – here. If you’re looking for a romance writing community of your own, check out The Inclusive Romance Project, which strives to uplift authors from marginalized identities and ensure HEA’s for everyone through writing groups, chat communities, and mentorship programs. It’s a great group!