Introductions All Around by Jennifer J. Chow

Hi, I’m Jennifer J. Chow, and I’m excited to join the Writers Who Kill blog. I’ll be regularly blogging on the second Saturday of each month.

 

I grew up on a steady diet of Nancy Drew and Encyclopedia Brown. Even as a kid, I was interested in writing stories. I remember borrowing my dad’s old typewriter and banging away on the keys (and using a lot of correction tape) to create my rough drafts. I even wrote a mystery short story in the sixth grade. I think it was called, “The Case of the Missing Jewel,” and I got an “A+” on the assignment.

 

As I grew older, I put my desire to write on the back burner. My parents often told me that writing wouldn’t pay the bills. Plus, I knew of exactly one Asian American writer who’d “made it”—Amy Tan, and I knew I was no Amy Tan.

 

Interestingly enough, I did try my hand at a contemporary novel with multiple perspectives. The book was inspired by a tragic event, kept secret for decades in Taiwan history; my first published novel, The 228 Legacy, found a home at a small press. Although that novel did have secrets lurking within its pages, I wouldn’t write a full-fledged mystery until later.

 

I had toyed around with writing a full-length mystery for a while, but I wasn’t certain I could pull off the tricky plotting. However, my mom and I had often read Agatha Christie’s works together, and when my mom was unexpectedly diagnosed with stage four cancer, I decided to take the writing leap. Due to the time pressure and other factors, I ended up self-publishing Seniors Sleuth, the first in my Winston Wong cozy series. (My mom wasn’t able to read the finished product, but she did see a draft of the manuscript before she passed away.)

 

I’m currently writing a new series for Berkley/Penguin Random House. The Sassy Cat mysteries feature a Los Angeles pet groomer, Mimi Lee. The first book in the series, Mimi Lee Gets A Clue, released in March 2020, and the second one, Mimi Lee Reads Between the Lines, comes out in November 2020.  

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/YTY/a-sassy-cat-mystery/

 

Please connect with me online:

www.jenniferjchow.com

https://twitter.com/JenJChow

https://www.instagram.com/jenjchow/

https://www.facebook.com/JenJChow

 

Thanks for reading my introduction! I’d love it if you introduced yourself in the comments and told me a little bit about yourself.