Today we have Andrew Xia Fukuda! Andrew was born in the U.S., grew up in Hong Kong, came back here - and wrote a YA book called Crossing, one I'm rather looking forward to getting my hands on. Author Many Ly said "[There's] only one word to describe this stunning debut novel: Wow."
What is Crossing about, you ask?
A loner in his all-white high school, Xing has only one friend: Naomi Lee. Also originally from China, she is a brilliant, beautiful classmate. For years she has been Xing’s best friend, but now he longs for more.
His staid existence is intruded upon by a series of bizarre incidents. Students at his school are disappearing. No one can explain it; classmates simply vanish into thin air, victims of a serial abductor. The blue collar community is completely flummoxed by the unfolding events.
Only Xing, alone on the sidelines of life, is privy to some peculiar sightings around town. Yet his quest to uncover the truth is delayed by the most unlikely turn of events. A miraculous discovery of a singing talent thrusts Xing into the limelight as the lead of the school musical. By a single stroke, he can now achieve two elusive dreams: acceptance from classmates and affection from Naomi.
But the disappearances continue. And as Xing draws closer to unveiling the identity of the abductor, he senses a noose of suspicion tightening around his own neck.
Now without further ado: Mr. Andrew Xia Fukuda!
Welcome to WORD, Andrew! You've gotten so many great reviews for Crossing. What was running through your head when you read them?
It was a dizzying experience for me. In a wonderful way. As a writer, you dream of the day when your readership extends past your immediate family. To have total strangers across the globe reading and responding to my decade-long labor of love in a very positive way was immensely gratifying. There were a few really outstanding reviews, not in the sense that they merely gave a glowing review, but more in the way they just got it. The nuances, the subtleties of the novel. So rewarding to read those reviews.
Speaking of rewards... it's pie time! What's your favorite dessert?
Hot Fudge Sundae gets me every time. It is my kryptonite in self-control, I am powerless against it.
You grew up in Hong Kong. What is your most vivid memory?
Sitting on a beach with my family, the most incredible sunset blazing above and around us. Then the gradual descent of the sun into the sea, the slow darkening of the dusk sky. I don't know why I remember that moment so vividly. But James Cameron with all the CG effects at his disposal would have had nothing on that sunset.
Oh, James Cameron would have ruined the moment by sticking a giant blue cat-like creature into the sunset. Now, perhaps this question was inspired by a commercial I saw earlier, but what would you do if you saw a giant pink elephant in the street?
This is the Rorschach trick question that betrays the fact that I'm a raving lunatic, right? Ah, you found me out. No, in all seriousness, if I saw a giant pink elephant in the street, I would leap on its back and ride it for hours holding aloft a copy of Crossing up high for all to see. The marketing opportunity of something like that is ridunkulous.
What is your favorite thing to watch? TV, movie, nature?
I am a self-righteous prig in that I look down on anyone who watches prime time TV which I believe is responsible for the dumbing down of America. I am also a total hypocrite because nothing excites me more than sitting down to watch Survivor and The Amazing Race - I can't get enough of those reality shows!
What do you think of Crossing's cover? Does it suit the book?
I really like the cover - once you've read the book, you'll see that there are a number of things going on in the cover. Suffice it to say that it really exudes an ominous overtone. The deliberate obscurity of the figure walking through the snow - who most presume to be Xing - is a wonderful touch suggestive of so many different things.
What are you up to now? Writing anything new?
At the moment, I have the opposite of writer’s block: two stories have tumbled into my head and heart, and both, apparently, are jostling to be written before the other. They are completely different genres involving drastically different writing styles: one is literary romance (this caught me by surprise) and the other is a YA novel with a neat spin on the dystopian genre. It’s a bizarre experience; if I spend too much time on the one, I feel unfaithful to the other. Both are flowing so well that I dare not put either aside out of fear that that might somehow dry up the creative stream.
Thanks for stopping by, Andrew! Don't forget to order Crossing online - at either Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, or the website of your choice - or to pick it up at your local bookstore. And remember, the Final Friday interview with Barbara Dee is coming up this week!