Award-winning author, YIN was exposed to her Chinese roots growing up in New York City.  Her parents made sure of it by enrolling her in kung-fu school on Saturdays and having ‘dim sum’ for lunch on Sundays after Chinese school.  That experience was the inspiration behind her 1st book COOLIES.  Yin graduated from college with a finance degree. She got a job writing financial reports on Wall Street.  But her career took a turn when she decided to manage husband, award-winning illustrator, Chris Soentpiet’s growing illustrating career. She also saw an opportunity to turn an important story about her ancestors into a children’s book.
COOLIES, won the Parents’ Choice Foundation’s Gold Award for Best Picture Book in 2001 and was named an ALA Notable Book and an IRA Book Award winner in 2002. Her follow-up, BROTHERS has been selected as an IRA Teachers' Choice in 2007. DEAR SANTA, PLEASE COME TO THE 19TH FLOOR is Yin’s other collaboration with Chris. This delightful, engaging book, about two young boys living in a building who have a memorable encounter with Santa, is based on Yin’s growing up on the 19th floor of a New York City apartment.

Q&A with author, YIN

Where do you get your ideas?
Ideas are inspired by my experience.  It could be walking to the post office and observing the mailman sort the mail. A trip to the park is a smorgasbord for ideas. I listen and watch people around me for ideas. I read a lot.  I subscribe to the New York Times for ideas and cut out the interesting articles.  Also I get ideas when I seem to be doing absolutely nothing.

Once I have my ideas, I'd write it down in a notebook that way I don’t forget.  Writing my ideas helps me practice my writing skills. My notebook is free flowing of ideas-while nobody will judge me if the idea is unintelligent. The key is to find a way to describe the moment when the ideas came to you.  The more you write your thoughts out on paper you will become better able to brainstorm your ideas with as few words as necessary. The challenging part is finding out if I can take my ideas and turn it into an interesting story with a satisfying ending.

Where are you from? I was born in Brooklyn, New York. Bensonhurst, to be exact-lived there until I was three years old.  Then moved to the Lower East Side of Manhattan and grew up in the housing projects. You can actually see the neighborhood where I grew up by reading Dear Santa, Please Come to the 19th Floor. My mom was a seamstress in a sewing factory and my dad worked long hours in a Chinese restaurant. My neighborhood was rough.  My brother and I learned to be street smart that way we avoided the drugs and gang-life. We knew that an education was the only way out of that neighborhood.

When and why did you decide to become an author?
I graduated from college with a bachelor in finance and worked as a financial writer at Brown Brothers Harriman.  I didn't like my job too much and wasn't good at crunching numbers all day and being confined to a windowless cubicle. So I wanted to switch careers and become a registered nurse because I love helping people.  In the meantime, I was also helping my husband Chris Soentpiet with his school visitations and art endeavors.  It was at the schools I had the opportunity to work with kids and found that I loved reading to them. Then I started getting ideas for writing stories of my own.

Did you always love books?
I didn't always love reading when I was in elementary school because I struggled with English. My English improved as I practiced writing in my diary everyday.  I remember one of the first stories I wrote about my friend Vicki and how she picked up a dead rat by the tail.  She chased me around the school playground swinging that icky rat around as if she was going to lasso me down with it. Vicki caught up with 'slow poke' me, and you can imagine how mortified I was. Ewww! Yuck!

As I became confident in English, I learned to love reading and embrace books!  Today, if I knew I was going to take a bus somewhere I would prepare myself by bringing a book.  When I’m in a restaurant, I would read everything in sight; the ketchup bottle, the sugar packet, I would even study the menu. 

Why did you write Coolies?  As I worked with Chris in children’s publishing, I found there weren't too many kid’s books on the Asian-American contribution to America.  The Chinese railroad worker’s struggle was a personal story because my ancestors worked on the transcontinental railroad a very long time ago. The first wave of Chinese immigrants that came to America was from my ancestral village of Toi Shan-China.

Did you like school when you were a kid?
I liked school because it was the only place where I can have a hot dog or pizza. School also introduced me to French fries!  So I loved school.  At home we ate Chinese food, so I craved for something American.  When I was in elementary school, I couldn't understand English since my parents only spoke Chinese at home.  My mom and dad were new immigrants from Hong Kong and didn't know the language when they arrived to America.  Oddly I was a girl from Brooklyn who felt like a foreigner and not speaking English only compounded the isolation.  The kids at school were either Black or Puerto Rican, so I couldn't communicate with them.  I felt very lonely. Luckily I had a few cool friends and nice teachers that was patient with me as I learned English. 

Did you get good grades?
I wasn't one of those kids that didn't need to study to get an “A”.  I HAD to study.  I was more of a self-learner and extremely motivated by the challenges that surrounded my daily life. 

How do you develop your writing?
I have a college degree in finance and have no formal training in creative writing. I learned by reading lots of books and by following the writing styles of my favorite authors like Eve Bunting, Maya Angelou, Denis Hamil, Avi, Jane Yolen, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Haemi Balgassi, Sharon Dennis Wyeth, Marie Bradby, Cynthia Rylant….(there are many).  I have to include all the writers for the New York Times Magazine for their writing styles and interesting issues. 

How hard has it been to get your works published?
I knew a couple of editors in the publishing field since I worked with Chris on his publications.  So I focused on one publishing house, Philomel Books since they publish compelling books of human interest.

What do you look for in a good book?
I must sympathize with the characters. I have short attention span, and I need the story to grab me quick! I like to see more books with social, as well as entertainment value.

Do you have kids, pets, or hobbies?
In December of 2007, I had a baby boy. He has been the center of my attention and I can't commit to any pets as of yet. I like to hike, bike ride, go to the gym, dance, cook, travel, eat, and of course read!

Can you speak Chinese now?
Growing up I resented that I was an immigrant’s daughter.  I had to translate financial letters, housing documents and doctor’s notes for my parents.  It was a lot of pressure for a kid since my family’s livelihood depended on it. Now I’m grateful that I can put my Chinese language skills to good use as a volunteer at the hospital where I used to work during my nursing days.

Can I write to you?
Absolutely! Simply click on my guest book below:

Luncheon with publishers and friends.

Accepting the International Reading Association Book of the Year(IRA) award for COOLIES.

Book signing with Chris Soentpiet.