Selina Li Bi is the author of the new young adult novel Sunlight Playing over a Mountain. Her other books include the poetry chapbook Displaced. She lives in North Dakota.
Q: What inspired you to write Sunlight Playing over a Mountain, and how did you create your character Jasmine?
A: Sunlight Playing over a Mountain was inspired by my own experiences growing up. My parents are immigrants from the Philippines and we lived in a small Midwestern town where there were not a lot of people that looked like me or my family. I felt like I was straddling two different worlds, two different cultures, and there was a longing and search for a sense of belonging.
I drew from these childhood experiences and created Jasmine, a 15-year-old girl seeking identity and belonging. I asked—what if she was caught between the real world and myth? I’ve always been fascinated with myth and folklore and I used these stories to develop her character and portray her deepest fears and inner struggles.
Q: How would you describe the dynamic between Jasmine and her mother?
A: The dynamic between Jasmine and her mother is complex. Jasmine takes on a caregiver role with her free-spirited and erratic mother. Tension builds as Jasmine seeks the truth of their past despite her mother’s reluctance to share the truth.
In the novel, Jasmine says, “To my mother, we were two inseparable entities. A circle of opposing energies. Yin and yang. Darkness and Light. Phoenix and Dragon. Sunlight playing over a mountain and valley. Something she had read on Taoism.”
Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: The novel’s title changed many times. The phrase, “sunlight playing over a mountain and valley,” is based on the Chinese principle of yin and yang, where opposing forces exist and interconnect with each other and one can’t survive without the other. As the sun moves across the mountain side, dark becomes light and light becomes dark in a continuous cycle of change.
Sunlight Playing over a Mountain signifies Jasmine and her mother’s relationship and encompasses the heart of the novel. It also represents the duality of their lives.
Q: The Kirkus Review of the book says that your “young adult debut presents original depictions of mental illness that are suffused with Chinese myth and Filipino folklore. Both Jasmine and her mother walk a fine line between fantasy and reality.” What do you think of that description?
A: I’m very grateful for the review. The description reflects the essence of the book and echoes the dichotomy of worlds in which Jasmine and her mother live in. Folktales and myths are a way in which they both escape the harsh reality of their lives, as they walk the blurred line between reality and fantasy.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m working on a story that weaves in the supernatural. I find inspiration in the mystical and magical. As I write, I’m often haunted by and always striving for “the vivid and continuous dream”—as John Gardner states in The Art of Fiction.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I enjoy connecting with readers, writers, and creatives. You can find me on Instagram: @selina.libi and Website: https://www.selinalibi.com
Thank you so much, Deborah!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
No comments:
Post a Comment