Tales of the Monkey King is a retelling of classic Chinese tales of the famous Monkey King. What drew you to this folklore and inspired you to write a book?

I am of Chinese origin. We came to the US as refugees in 1950 when the Nationalist government fell. My mother told these tales to my brother and I and over the years I told them to the children of all our friends and they all loved the tales-especially the boys.

I decided it was time to write up these stories (in my mother’s words) for children and now my grandsons to enjoy. There are plenty of academically precise translations in several languages – but like all scholarly works, they aren’t much fun.

The illustrations were beautiful. What was the art collaboration process like with illustrator Gennel Marie Sollano?

I sent in the very amateurish and rough sketches I did years ago for the first edition and she took what she wanted for the illustrations. There was no direct contact, it was all done with Xlibris but I wanted to make sure the artist was recognized and so her name is clearly listed as the book illustrator.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

My introduction explained it all. This is a really well loved and well known set of stories in Asia. You tube has both the 1986 TV series (Journey to the West) and the 2000 (Journey to the West sequel). I belileve the Japanese did a very good cartoon rendition and there are endless movies and Chinese operas based on the themes.

What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?

I haven’t gotten started yet but am thinking of extracting interesting anecdotes from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (several TV series on 3 kingdoms which is also very well known in Asia). It’s sort of a practical rendition of how to apply Sun Tzu’s Art of war to win.

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