Sep 12, 2018
On a brand new episode of Southern Fried Asian, children's lit author Christina Soontornvat is Keith's special guest.
Christina tells Keith about reading fantasy stories as a child in her parents' Thai restaurant in West Texas (2:00) where her parents had opened a Chinese and Thai restaurant in the early '80s (5:00). Of course, they have to go over Texas' qualifications for being considered a "Southern" state (6:15). Then, Christina shares about her STEM background and reconciling her love of science and love of fantasy (11:30), how she decided to write children's literature (14:30), and authors challenging the Euro-centrism of the fantasy genre (21:00). She then dives into the nature of shapeshifting in her debut novel The Changelings and how its themes resonate in her own life (23:00) before revealing what compelled her to tell the story of the Thai Cave rescue (34:00). Finally, Christina shares her favorite Thai dish from her family's restaurant in Texas (44:00).
Subscribe to the Southern Fried Asian podcast on iTunes, Google Play, NPR One, and TuneIn Premium! Support Hard NOC Media on Patreon.
Our official theme music is the song "Top Down" by Chops, Timothy Flu, and Mic Barz.
Southern Fried Asian is produced by Keith Chow and Jes Vu.