The story was formulated from wondering about my grandfather’s life as a religious leader in China. I always wondered what life was like in China for my parents and grandparents and how our family ended up in America.
Robin T.W. Yuan – 25 January 2022
The Back Flap
All his Confucian father wanted was for him to avoid common vices of petty gambling and cigarette smoking plaguing idle teenagers and to learn English to ensure a respectable position in Western-dominated, imperial China. The result of this son’s conversion to Christianity while attending a mission school is the extraordinary life of Robin Chen, the last Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Church in China, colorfully told in the sweeping historical novel, Red Bishop. The intricate and intimate story weaves through key historical events in cinematic description from the end of the Qing dynasty, through the Cultural Revolution, and up to the present aftermath. Red Bishop immerses readers into 20th century China and recreates the context for its current place in the geopolitical world order while giving life to the personal challenges of the bishop, his family, and the Christian church in China.
About the book
What is the book about?
Red Bishop is an epic fictionalization of the life of Robin Chen, my maternal grandfather and the last presiding bishop of the Anglican Church in China, through whose convoluted journey the complex history of 20th century China and its experiment with Christianity is told.
When did you start writing the book?
In some ways, I began writing the book in my head decades ago as I learned bits and pieces about my grandfather. I remember writing a seminal scene of him as a schoolboy learning the Beatitudes in a mission school. That was perhaps 25 years ago. About 6 or 7 years ago, I set about writing a screenplay after conducting quite a bit of research. That was completed in 2016 and after showing the screenplay to people in Hollywood, I was encouraged to write a book based on the rather sprawling screenplay.
How long did it take you to write it?
From the time I began to adapt the screenplay until the finished manuscript, it took about 3-4 years.
Where did you get the idea from?
The story was formulated from wondering about my grandfather’s life as a religious leader in China. I always wondered what life was like in China for my parents and grandparents and how our family ended up in America. After doing a significant amount of research, both of my family and of China, I felt the storyline would make a grand, epic movie on the order of Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
It was not so much a struggle, but a persistent plodding forward. I was constantly researching as one subject led to another and new characters came to light. It became a challenge, like solving a puzzle, of piecing all the elements, themes, and characters so they fit the historical timeline. I had to interweave all the facts had to make sense both from a narrative, but also a historical, point of view. I tried to keep true to the historical facts and information gleaned from primary source materials.
What came easily?
Writing the prose itself was the easiest part once I understood the facts, the nature of the personalities, and the timeline. But, in general, the writing was like a task or chore that I willingly accepted. I just kept at it until it was completed.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
Nearly every character is an historical figure, relative, real world person, or a construct of known participants in my grandfather’s life. But they are all fictionalized to a certain extent. It is not a biography in a strictly academic manner.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
Not particularly. I write the way I feel and think, or want to read. Having said that, recently read books such as Red Notice by Bill Browder and The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore made me aware of keeping a work of historical fiction moving so as not to get too bogged down in dry facts. This was especially important with the theme of religion in a family saga set in last century’s China. I was aware that this combination might make reading a bore to readers who were not Chinese nor Christian. I kept the chapters short, the sentences or phrases interesting and descriptive, and tried to end chapters with a cliffhanger-like feeling so that it would read more like a thriller.
Do you have a target reader?
The book was written mainly for the Western audience to educate them about China and, more specifically, the history of Christianity, even though it is not a religious book. I think it would appeal most to educated people interested in China and its history as it may relate to current day geopolitics but who want to read a novel instead of a textbook. Of course, I would like nearly everyone to read the book in order to be more informed about, and appreciative of, China.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I don’t have a very rigid one. I usually think a lot about a subject or scene or an idea and let it percolate in my mind for a while. Once the actions or general sense of what I want to convey have formed themselves in my mind, I sit and usually write quite freely. It just comes out, although I might ponder and debate specific words or phrases. It is almost like how I approach surgery. There is a lot of planning and mental gymnastics before the actual surgery, but once I start cutting, it’s quite clear what I need to do to accomplish the task. But there also has to be some adjusting and freeform thinking as the operation proceeds.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I did not outline for this book. Much of the organization of the writing was governed by the temporal event. Some chapters were determined by what information I had and what events I felt were important, interesting, or seminal to the telling of the story. I actually titled each chapter after the entire book was written to give a sense or feeling about the chapter. I did not outline the book chapter but I did take notes on the temporal relations of events to form the backbone of the storyline.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
Since the book was a adaptation of the screenplay, I wrote the entire book first, then went back and edited it from beginning to end 40 or 50 times, combing it over, adding and subtracting until I felt it was as smooth as I could make it. The challenge was to organize the chapters so that the story spanning a century in three continents with multiple characters and themes read without too much confusion. I was also mindful of the length of the book because of its epic nature. My screenplay was originally 170 pages, or close to a three-hour film. I edited it down to 120 pages or about two hours. My original book manuscript was well over 500 pages and I edited it down to about 400 pages.
Did you hire a professional editor?
I hired a development editor to help organize the book and also a copy editor. An interior designer also helped with proofreading.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
I am a classical violinist by training and enjoy light jazz. But no, I prefer absolute silence to let my brain think more clearly. The same is true in surgery until the end of the procedure. As I am closing, I would play classical music or jazz.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
Yes, I submitted it to 6 or so agents.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I submitted the manuscript to 8-10 small publishers although I was thinking of self-publishing from the beginning. When I didn’t find much interest, I decided quite quickly to self-publish. I had published with a traditional publisher and also self-published before and knew some of the advantages and disadvantages. Since my primary goal was to make a movie, I wanted more control of the story.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
I worked with a professional cover designer although I had sketched out a rough idea of what I thought I wanted in the design.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
I have a very rudimentary marketing plan, starting with a book-signing launch event. I have some groups of people or organizations I am targeting, and have approached some book clubs and print outlets for reviews. I also am scheduling some Zoom presentations for interested groups.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Just to write what interests you. Be true to yourself and your thoughts and ideas. And don’t doubt yourself; everyone has a story in them.
About You
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in the Boston area.
Where do you live now?
I live in Beverly Hills, California.
What would you like readers to know about you?
That I’d like my books to stand by themselves. My bio in the book is enough to know about me.
What are you working on now?
Although I have ideas for other books, I am mainly focused on getting Red Bishop in front of people who can bring a cinematic adaptation, either as a movie or more probably as a Netflix-type mini-series, to fruition.
End of Interview:
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