Some of the stories are big, some are small and some may not be what you expect at all. Everybody does have a story that can be winkled out of them even if they don’t realise it themselves or think they’re ‘too boring’. Accomplished author as she is, she used one word to say what it takes me a whole sentence to describe! It’s the minutiae of day-to-day life that so often gets overlooked which I find so interesting. She used this word – quotidian – to describe her writing. “Everybody does have a story that can be winkled out of them even if they don’t realise it…” MA: Well, how strange because just before this interview, I was listening to Elizabeth Strout being asked about her work on Olive Kittredge and My Name is Lucy Barton. That, “everybody is worth noticing, everybody has a story. …” Can you expand on this? It makes us mindful to give a thought to the life led by the random person standing next to you. In other words, people waiting to be served in a Chinese Take Away or waiting in a queue at the supermarket. That the book is about, “the people you see, but don’t necessarily notice”. We love it! We heard a touching sum-up of Happy Families the other day.
I’m so pleased you like it.ĪUTHORLINK: Of course. MA: Of course you can call me Julie! Thanks for having me and for your kind comments about Happy Families. We just want to read ten others like this keep them coming! It’s a ‘take anywhere’ kind of book, gentle and interesting and laugh out loud funny. We love the main character, Amy and her warm sense of humour.
Congratulations for being the winner of the Richard and Judy ‘Search for a Bestseller ‘ award…What a coup! It’s so funny and eloquent. Published in February 2021, Happy Families is the winner of the Richard & Judy Search for a Bestseller 2020, by debut author, JULIE MA.ĪUTHORLINK: Ms Ma, or can we call you Julie? ? Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us here at Authorlink about your debut novel, ‘Happy Families’. Happy Families (Welbeck, 18 February 2021 )įeed into the rich tapestry of British Chinese history! A charming and uplifting story revolving around three generations of a Chinese family in a Welsh city and the resentments, secrets, and grudges that have come to define them. An EXCLUSIVE AUTHORLINK interview with Julie Ma