TRANG THANH TRAN is the bestselling author of She Is a Haunting. Her latest novel, They Bloom At Night, is a story about the monsters that swim beneath us and live within us. Read on for a Q&A.
What inspired They Bloom at Night?
My childhood growing up in Louisiana in a trailer across from the Mississippi! My dad was a shrimper, so we went out on his boat a few times and I remember the smell of the ocean so clearly, that mix of salt and shrimp. The ocean is terrifying and when you’re in the middle of a hurricane, it’s even worse. They Bloom at Night was also heavily inspired by the idea that even when the world’s close to ending, you can find your truest self.
Why did you choose to set your story in Mercy, Louisiana?
Mercy is inspired by a real coastal town. There’s a history of Vietnamese immigrants settling in the South near bodies of water that they’re used to working. I wanted to explore that kind of family, in a setting that is very insular and not many people know about.
Did you draw from any known mythology or folklore to write this novel?
I drew upon the concept of thần, which can be translated roughly to spirits or gods. In Vietnamese folklore, which differs regionally, there’s this idea of deities protecting natural spaces. In They Bloom at Night, Noon’s family believes that a deity from the water has protected them over the decades – because they have always lived on or near water, and made a living from it.
In what ways did you draw from your own culture to shape the characters and their relationships in this book?
It comes naturally in my books because I grew up with it. Since family relationships often play a huge role in my characters’ lives, I kind of have to map out the history of when their family emigrated and where they settled.
Noon and her mother are dealing with the trauma of losing loved ones. What did you want to convey about grief and the different ways it manifests?
Grief has different shapes. For some, it’s whittled down to a sliver that they feel when they don’t expect to. For others, it expands and just seems to keep expanding. Particularly through Noon, I also wanted to show that grief is not all sadness; there is anger, disappointment, and resentment. The feelings we have about the living carry on when they are gone.
What’s something readers might be surprised to learn about you as a writer or a person?
Despite living so close to water, I do not know how to swim!
When you hit a creative block, what helps you push through?
Sometimes the best thing to do during a creative block is to take a break and let the creative well fill up again, like watching movies, reading stories, and living life. If the block has to do with self-doubt, it helps me a lot to listen to how artists approach their creative process. In particular, I love how BTS talks about making music!
Who are some authors you admire?
Emily X R Pan, Courtney Summers, Shirley Jackson, N K Jemisin, Julia Armfield
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Trang Thanh Tran is a Vietnamese American writer telling all stories scary, otherworldly, and emotional. Trang grew up in a big family in Philadelphia but now calls the South home. When not writing, they’re busy trying new food and watching too many zombie movies. Their debut She Is a Haunting was an instant New York Times and Indie bestseller.
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