The spotlight is on Tania Tay, whom I met around 28 to 30 years ago when we worked in Singapore. She was a friend of my BFF, Karen Ho. There was such a buzz in the 1990s. Everyone, who was anyone or someone we knew, was in design or publishing. We had such an exciting time living and working abroad when we were young and flat-sharing. Never a quiet weekend. If you didn’t have a job, you’d have one by Monday, but only if on the Friday before you popped down to any of the bars on River Valley Road in those converted hipster warehouses and talked to some medium to big cheese in design or publishing. Chatting to real people in real places was the old “Linked In”.
I had never met an Essex girl who was Chinese or any Essex girl before. Tania and I became friends. We lost touch after we left Singapore because there was no social media. We reconnected recently when our paths crossed as I saw that Tania was also an author in London, writing in the same genre as I was: psychological thrillers. I was honoured to be invited to be on a panel with Tania at the second-ever ESEA Lit Fest 2024 in September.
The community is still new, but it is long overdue. Through Tania, I joined the ESEA community in London. I did not feel so alone anymore, writing in a niche, as an ethnic minority and a Malaysian Chinese female author in London. There is always good food and friends when you join an Asian community. That is mandatory. Since I caught up with Tania, I have attended events, drinks, book signings, readings, group dinners and lunches, enjoying the diverse and multi-talented company of other East and Southeast Asian writers and readers. So, I have come full circle as that was how I connected with other like-minded professionals in the 1990s.
IN: As a Malaysian Chinese woman living in London, how have your personal experiences influenced the themes and characters in The Other Woman?
TT: While the story is completely made up, the characters and some of the experiences are extrapolated from my life, so the story does feel very personal. Both the mothers in the book are based on aspects of my Malaysian Chinese mother. The main character and her friend are both British Chinese, second-generation immigrants, like myself. I was a stay-at-home mum for a while, and I went to university in Edinburgh.
IN: Your novel fits into the psychological thriller genre. How much research did you undertake to understand the genre’s conventions, and how did you put your unique spin on it?
TT: I’ve always loved reading psychological thrillers. I grew up reading Daphne Du Maurier and watching Hitchcock films on TV, and have always loved watching the film noir genre. My research is reading – I read a lot. After Gone Girl came out, suddenly lots of domestic thrillers came onto the market and I read and analysed as many as I could.
I grew up reading Daphne Du Maurier and watching Hitchcock films on TV, and have always loved watching the film noir genre.
IN: London and Edinburgh serve as a dynamic backdrops in The Other Woman. What role do these cities play in shaping the atmosphere and tension in the novel?
TT: I wanted to make the main character feel trapped as a stay-at-home mum. So she’s in lots of enclosed, indoor areas where she’s never comfortable in her skin. Her house in the suburbs of London feels like a prison. In central London, the claustrophobic bars and restaurants are no escape. Some past timeline scenes are set in Edinburgh and the Highlands of Scotland from the friend’s point of view. She also feels uncomfortable as she’s thrown into a very different world. The discomfort and feelings of being trapped add to the tension.
IN: As an ESEA (East and Southeast Asian) female author, do you feel your identity has shaped the way you approach storytelling? If so, how?
TT: I was born in East London/ Essex to Malaysian Chinese parents. As a child in the 70s I experienced a lot of racism and never felt like I belonged here. But when we went back to family in Malaysia, I didn’t belong there either. I guess feeling like an outsider often turns people into writers. I often catch myself watching people and trying to work out why they behave how they do.
As a child in the 70s I experienced a lot of racism and never felt like I belonged here. But when we went back to family in Malaysia, I didn’t belong there either.
IN: What was your writing process like for The Other Woman? How long did it take to complete, and do you follow a specific writing routine?
TT: I wrote a very messy draft zero, then I worked on it with the help of a writing mentor, and had a couple of sessions with an editor to talk about the plot and genre. I worked on it on and off for 4 years over about 5 drafts before I won a competition and got a publishing deal. Once I got the deal, it had about another 4 rounds of edits. Part of my writing routine is to write a messy draft and then re-write it for a few drafts while I work out the plot. It’s very slow and I wish I could speed it up. I write by hand in notebooks and then type up. I find my thoughts flow better when I write by hand. I write best at night when everyone’s gone to bed.
About Tania:
Tania’s writing explores female friendship, mothers and daughters. She often adds a supernatural twist. She’s writing a young fiction series, Spellcasters, with Storymix Studio and Hachette Children’s. Tania won the Modern Stories Future Bookshelf Headline Open Submissions Initiative. Her debut domestic suspense novel The Other Woman is published by Headline Accent. She’s also a screenwriter and was part of BBC Writersroom London Voices.Tania studied History of Art at the University of Edinburgh. She’s an award-winning advertising copywriter ( J. Walter Thompson, Publicis). She’s second generation, British Malaysian Chinese and lives in East London.
Website: taniatay.com
IG/Threads/Twitter @Tania Tay
Book available here: brnw.ch/21wOovc
The Kindle ebook is on a 99p Apple Best Deal until 30 November 2024
Spellcasters series https://www.
