Last October jpopexpress.com had the privilege of interviewing author Wendy Nelson Tokunaga about her newest book, MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT. If you haven’t read it already, be sure to check out my review of her book as well on our reviews page!

jpopexpress.com: What inspired you to write MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT?

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga: The novel is about a young Japanese woman who has always felt like a stranger in a strange land in Japan, the country where she was born and raised. My husband, also from Japan, feels too like he never fit in there. He came to the United States when he was eighteen and never returned home. I wanted to explore this theme and what happens to people when they have to trade in their native culture for a new one.

jpopexpress.com: How did you come up with the title and is there any specific meaning behind it?

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga: There are many images of the moon throughout the book, as well as a character who is an amateur astronomer. It’s also a reference to the series of moon woodblock prints by the Japanese artist Yoshitoshi. However, when I was working on an early draft of the book I was calling it The Misadventures of Midori Saito.

jpopexpress.com: Midori is quite an inspirational character to those who wish to live there dream/s no matter how complicated they may be. How would you feel if you were told she helped a reader pursue there own dream/s?

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga: I’d feel really good about that. I think that many people can be inspired by Midori, no matter what their dreams might be.

jpopexpress.com: Midori had a passion for baking. Which dessert, be it her own creation or one she enjoyed at a pastry shop do you think she would recommend that your readers try?

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga: Midori is a modest, but proud baker, who puts her all (in Japanese: isshokenmei) into her creations so I think she’d be quite happy recommending anything she makes.

jpopexpress.com: Unlucky with love but eventually lucking out, Midori befriends and soon raptures over Shinji whom is quite a heart throb and easy to fall in love with. How did you come up with his character?

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga: Shinji is a little part of my husband and little bits of other Japanese expatriates I’ve met, but he’s mostly fictional. It’s fun to make these people up!

jpopexpress.com: Midori becomes fond of the soap opera Farrington Falls and watches it daily. Is there any part of the story or are any of the characters based on an actual soap opera?

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga: I have never been a big fan of soaps, but both my grandmother and mother followed them when I was growing up. My mother currently watches As the World Turns, which is one of the longest running soaps on TV, so I’m sure I’ve been influenced by that.

jpopexpress.com: Is there anything about Midori that is a reflection of your self?

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga: I think all of us can relate to a person who has a dream, whether it’s being a pastry chef or being a writer.

jpopexpress.com: Are there plans for a sequel to MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT in the future?

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga: I don’t have any plans for a Midori sequel, but the book I’m currently working on is kind a mirror image of Midori, about an American woman who finds herself unexpectedly in Japan looking for a long, lost relative.

jpopexpress.com: When did you start writing fiction?

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga: In the early 1990s I was working at an information company in Silicon Valley writing summaries of computer articles for searchable databases. They liked to tell us that we weren’t writers, but “abstractors.” But many of my coworkers were aspiring fiction writers and I was inspired to take a nighttime creative writing course at a local community college. I ended up taking three semesters of the course and as a result produced some short stories that I ended up getting published in several Japan-related literary journals.

jpopexpress.com: Are all of your writings focused on the Japanese culture or do you write about other subjects as well? If not do you ever plan to explore other subjects and if yes what might they be?

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga: I self-published a novel called No Kidding in 2000 and it was about a young woman who was determined to have a “child-free” lifestyle and the conflicts that entailed with her grandchildren-crazy mother and her earth-mother sister. However, there were a few minor Japanese characters in that. And another book I’m working on is about a Japanese teen idol. So at this point I am heavy into Japanese themes, but that could change someday, though I’m not sure what other subjects I would explore.

jpopexpress.com: What is your advice for aspiring novelists?

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga: I would say that you have to keep learning your craft, and discipline yourself to finish that novel so it will be in the best possible shape before you pitch it to literary agents. Get good feedback from readers you trust and admire, then revise. You may also want to find a reputable manuscript consultant who can read your entire book and give you constructive advice. Learn about the business of agents and publishing and research how to write an effective query letter. Don’t give up if you get rejected—it’s all part of the process. Keep going. And keep in mind that sometimes you won’t hit with your first book. Even though MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT is my debut novel, it is actually the fifth novel I have written.

jpopexpress.com: Originally you aspired to be a musician. How did that dream come about and did any particular musicians inspire you?

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga: I was always inspired by all-girl rock bands from the Runaways to the Bangles to Bananarama and female vocalists. I’ve run the gamut of musical styles and by now like to sing Japanese music (j-pop and enka) as well as jazz and bossa nova.

jpopexpress.com: How did you first become interested in the Japanese language and culture?

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga: I’ve always been attracted to Japanese art and design sensibility since as long as I can remember. When I was at San Francisco State University I took a course called Japanese American Personality and we were required to read a book called Zen and Japanese Culture by D.T. Suzuki. That book really inspired me and I began taking every Japanese language and culture class I could find.

jpopexpress.com: Have you ever lived in Japan? How did you meet your Japanese husband?

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga: I went to live in Tokyo a few years after I won a prize in a songwriting contest sponsored by JVC Victor planning to pursue music. The music didn’t pan out but I fell in love with Tokyo and Japan and have returned there countless times. I also began singing in Japanese and placed in a number of competitions in both San Francisco and Japan including NHK’s Nodo Jiman television program. Through music is how I met my husband, Manabu Tokunaga. I placed an ad in the San Francisco Bay Guardian for someone to help with translating Japanese song lyrics. Manabu answered the ad and we found we had a lot in common and he was happy to find a girlfriend who could communicate with his parents in Osaka who do not speak one word of English. We ended up playing music together and writing and arranging songs and now perform as a duo called Star Jazzmin, which will perform at some of the book events for MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT. We’ll be playing cool pop, bossa nova, and jazz standards as well as some Japanese songs that you’d encounter in a Japanese karaoke lounge much like the one where Midori ends up working in San Francisco’s Japantown.

jpopexpress.com: While you were living in Japan was there any particular area or areas that you enjoyed visiting?

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga: I absolutely adore Tokyo, especially places like Shibuya, Harajuku, Shimokitazawa, Jiyugaoka, etc. I love the energy and how you can be in the middle of a crowd, but then by usually only walking a few blocks you can find yourself in a peaceful oasis at a neighborhood temple. Because my husband is originally from Osaka, I have also spent a lot of time there, as well as in Kyoto and Kobe, and these are also wonderful places to explore. Osaka is a food-lover’s paradise so I especially enjoy my time there.

jpopexpress.com: Thank you for taking part in this interview. Is there anything you would like to say to your fans or to those in general who will read this?

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga: I’ve been a big fan of Japanese culture (both traditional and pop culture) for a long time. Through my books I hope that readers who are familiar with Japan will find both enjoyment and resonance. And for those who are new to the world of Japan, I hope my novels can turn them on to finding out more about the culture and perhaps even falling in love with it like I have.

Interested in reading MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT? Click here to purchase your copy!