Make the Dark Night Shine follows a gay Japanese ambassador who has a relationship with another man and a woman he meets in Constantinople, creating a chosen family. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

One of the blessings of writing this novel is that every day it gave me a reason to reflect on my Aunt Nina Friedberg Uchida, who died in 2016. Nina was with me from the moment I was born and there was not a world without her love, her smile, her restless energy, and her optimism that we shall overcome some day. She engaged with everyone wherever they were and sought out those that were alone, needed help, or wanted to change this world. With all our current uncertainty, I feel strengthened by her guidance, commitment to the movement and struggle and her ever ready activism.

Nina never knew her Japanese father, but during a visit when she was 91-years-old, she told me that her children had discovered that in the 1930s her father had traveled from Japan to NY where she had been living with her mother. With a gleam in her eyes, she said, “I know he was looking for me.” Instantly, I had a vision of his story and why despite this journey, he did not find his daughter. I told Nina that I wanted to write this story and she unsurprisingly replied, “Alan, men are always appropriating women’s stories. I have tried to write my own story for many years. But it’s too late now, and I know I will never do it. You are a good writer, and so please do it.”

Little did she or I know the journey this story would take me on. And unfortunately, she died later that year before I had a chance to begin writing. Inspired by the little I or other family members knew about Nina’s parents’ life, I threw myself into research and the history of the times in such disparate places as Constantinople, Paris, Japan, New York, and London (Clapham) between the two world wars.

​Kenzo undergoes many changes in the novel, both in his career and in what he values. Was there anything from your own life that you put into the characters in your novel?

I think all characters in my novels reflect my experience in some way; certainly, my values are reflected throughout. In terms of Kenzo, I had a career working overseas for the US government, and although I did not become a Zen priest, I have been a Zen student for over a decade now. We often want to believe that spiritual leaders, like Kenzo, live impossibly perfect lives and are other than human. I wanted to show a spiritual character is continually searching, continually confronting the issues that arise for them, and is very human in their suffering, reactions, and trauma. My understanding from my Zen practice is that we all are enlightened but generally are not aware of that. For me, that means the problems of life do not stop, but my response and ability to see clearly through them brings me a peace that I did not have earlier.

The settings of the novel are places that I have visited, including Eiheiji Monastery where I participated in a meditation retreat and got a glimpse of a monk´s life.

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

The heart of Make the Dark Night Shine is a search for family and connectedness. In my book tour, many people, straight and queer, tell me stories of their families of choice—the people with special bonds that they can count on, with whom they celebrate and grieve. I learned this from Nina, who created her own inter-connected family when she had virtually no blood relatives.

Another important theme is how do we face the ever-present existence of wars and violence in our lives. Despite their persistence, I wanted to explore what each of us can do to bring peace and love into the world. Right now in Ukraine, a Zen priest is planting trees each day, then going back to Odesa, he tends to the direct consequences of the war. He does not know if the trees will live and what the country will be like in the future, only that trees will heal the earth and give comfort to other beings.

A final important theme is queer life that is not encumbered by shame. I want to visualize a world where queer people can live out their lives without questioning their queerness.

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

My next book will be about a gay Ukrainian bootmaker from the last century, with the boots themselves giving voice to their own version of the story.

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