Wondra Chang studied journalism at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1970 and currently lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband, Bernard Rauch. I met her several years ago at a writing conference in San Antonio, and we’ve kept in touch since. She spoiled my son by bringing him homemade fried rice every time she came to my house in pre-Covid days.

SS: Wondra, tell me a little about yourself and your debut book, Sonju, that will be launched on July 17, 2021.

WC: I immigrated to America from South Korea in 1970. It took forty years for me to feel comfortable writing in my second language, English. Sonju is a story about one woman’s life set in post-WWII Korea. In order to be her own person, she violates the social norm of Confucian order, and as a consequence, suffers losses, betrayals, and public shame. In spite of repeated tragedies, she achieves maturity and freedom.

SS: Where and when is your book set? How did you decide on the setting? The time frame?

WC: The protagonist, Sonju, comes of age in Japanese-occupied Korea. Korea has a turbulent history—division of the nation into a USSR backed communist North and US backed South, the Korean War, a revolution, and then a military junta—all combined, a good source of storytelling. I love the Korean people’s passion, their energy, and their resilience.

SS: Describe your book in 3 words.

WC: Conviction, losses, resilience

SS: Do you discover a story or create a story?

WC: An idea comes to me about an ordinary person in an extraordinary situation. I think about the story for a long time until I have a pretty good idea how the story starts, unfolds and ends. I have the novel’s title before I sit down in front of my computer.

SS: Do you write the kind of book you’d want to read?

WC: I try. If I don’t like it, why should others like it?

SS: How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

WC: It didn’t change my process of writing. It freed me to experiment, to write a more challenging novel.

SS: How do you create and construct distinctly individual supporting characters?

WC: I am a psychotherapist so I understand that one’s present reflects one’s past. I start with a character’s biography. That helps me write the character’s attitude, thoughts, gestures, and speech.

SS: What was the first book you fell in love with?

WC: The Count of Monte Cristo. I was enthralled by the story. I was eleven years old. I don’t want to read it again because I may lose that magic I felt as a child.

SS: What advice would you give aspiring writers?

WC: Read a lot. Read well-written books. Learn to listen to those who criticize your writing. Well-intentioned criticism is more valuable than cheap praises.  

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Sonju is available through:

Amazon     |     B&N     |     GoogleBooks     |     Target     |     Booktopia     |     Madville Publishing     |     Books-A-Million

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An excerpt from Sonju:

There was only one other place she could be. In the corner of her room, First Sister was stacking neatly folded clothes. She was startled to see Sonju walking in. Sonju sat, and not wanting to alarm First Sister, spoke in a steady voice, “First Sister, on the way to the Big House, I came across your chaperone talking to another village woman. From the way they acted, I was sure they were gossiping about you. Do you know why they might do that?”

With fear in her widened eyes, First Sister regarded Sonju briefly and gave her a small nod before she said in a trembling voice that she met a man at the market and they made plans to elope. Her face contorted, she began to cry, rocking, and tried to stop her torrential sobs with the back of her hand. After she gained her composure, she looked up at Sonju. “I, I have to take this chance. It’s a chance to leave, you see?” She covered her face in her hands and sobbed again. Then she gazed down and said in a resigned voice, “I must have been evil … in my previous life … to deserve this miserable life. Yes, I must have. I was living only because I didn’t die.”

First Sister’s last words pierced Sonju’s bosom with immeasurable sadness. She covered her face and quietly cried along with First Sister. She must help First Sister make this desperate escape, she decided, and wiped her face on her sleeve. “Where is your man and where would you settle?”

“Umm, if I can still elope …” First Sister rocked again. “He is staying at a lodging near the market. We planned to settle in a small fishing village in Jeolla Province.”

“I’ll try to help you,” Sonju said, leaving First Sister who started crying again, and went directly to Father-in-Law.

When Sonju told him about First Sister, he stared at Sonju speechless. She said, “Father-in-Law, this man may show up to take her, and things may get messy if you try to stop him. It will taint the family’s reputation. The chaperone has already started gossiping. Please let her go before she elopes.”

Father-in-Law looked away. Neither son was home. He thanked her for telling him, then said, “Keep her in her room until her departure tonight.”

As Sonju left the men’s quarters, she heard Father-in-Law calling for the old servant. She returned to First Sister’s room and told her to be ready to leave that night and remain in her room until someone came to get her. First Sister covered her mouth, and through her liquid eyes, smiled gratefully at Sonju. Returning her gaze, Sonju said, “Have a good life to make up for the lost years.”

When Sonju entered the kitchen, Second Sister asked, “I saw you go to First Sister’s room and then to the men’s quarters. What’s that all about?”

When Sonju told her, Second Sister gasped in shock. “She found a man to elope with? It’s so … I don’t know what I’m trying to say.” Looking at the bowl she was holding, she mumbled, “… so out of character for her.”

“First Sister will remain in her room until she leaves,” Sonju said. “No one other than Jinwon will be allowed in that room. We’ll have a maid take First Sister’s dinner to her room.”

After a minute or so, Second Sister put the bowl down on the counter and said, “I don’t know what to expect, you know, with First Sister gone. What will Mother-in-Law do?”

Sonju didn’t respond to Second Sister. Things were moving fast. First Sister was leaving. Nothing must go wrong.

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You can follow Wondra on social media here:

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