Today, Feathered Quill reviewer Shrubaboti Bose is talking with Sharon Curcio, author of Asayi: An Autistic Teen's Journey to Topple a Shogun in Medieval Japan.

FQ: What inspired you to write this story? Is the protagonist based on someone you know or have met in real life?

CURCIO: My inspiration to write Asayi stems from an experience I had while taking classes in sumi brush work when I lived in New York City in my late twenties. I learned to paint and painted Japanese and Chinese language characters but of course could not decipher the meaning of the characters. This influenced the development of Asayi – a copyist who can brush the characters on paper but doesn’t know the meaning of the characters (or language) she is working in.

FQ: Why did you choose Japan as your story’s setting? Have you visited the country or do you share a special interest for its culture and history?

CURCIO: For years I’ve been fascinated by Japanese culture, from the very spiritual tea ceremonies to samurai traditions. This past year I did visit Japan and find their values engaging. People are polite and efficient; their cities are impeccably clean, and they care for their land and space. All quite refreshing.

FQ: Is this your first published work? Would you like to share about your publishing journey and the challenges you faced as an author?

CURCIO: Asayi is my first published novel, a historical fiction, and grew from a screenplay I wrote in 2018. The screenplay had the historical time period, 1439-1441, embedded within it and provided plot structure, but the novella required additional research. Fortunately, several good non-fiction resources came my way and expanded the detail and dimension I could add to Asayi. As for the challenges of a first novel, in my case it was technical hurdles: formatting, the need for a submission editor, cover design, audiobook production, and finding the right narrator. A friend recommended the cover illustrator, Craig Gundry, and auditions revealed great strengths of Jennifer Aquino, the Japanese voiceover for the Asayi audiobook. All of these steps in creating a first novel were daunting, time-consuming, and expensive, but were best tackled sequentially in the flow of the work.

FQ: Writers tend to follow different styles; some prefer to stick to a routine while others like to work when they feel motivated. What about you? Do you like to plan out the plot structure before you start writing or do you prefer to go with the flow and keep it spontaneous?

CURCIO: When asking a writer “how does he or she create” clearly responses will vary, but the process remains highly individualized. My screenplay provided the plot structure to ground the Asayi novel. For my second novel in the Asayi series, currently in progress, plot structure evolves as I examine the theft of the Imperial Regalia from the Northern kingdom by the Southern Kingdom. Of course, Asayi has a fictional role in the recovery of the Imperial Sword (the “owner’ of this weapon has the mandate to rule) so it is a highly coveted weapon. Volume two contains the real historical “actors” and the chain of events for the theft of the sword and its recovery. I don’t outline but follow the historical sequence of events and narrate what people on both sides of the conflict do, then add in my fictional characters to augment the drama. So Asayi volume two retains accuracy but is also highly “unscripted!”

FQ: Given that the story unfolds in medieval-age Japan, to keep it authentic and faithful to the established time-period, you have made use of several Japanese words and phrases. Can you elaborate on the research process involved in writing such a novel, especially one that features an autistic teen as the main character?

CURCIO: Jennifer Aquino told me I had used ninety-eight Japanese words in my first novel, but those emerged from my research and were appropriately used when necessary. The second novel also contains a bevy of Japanese words which are explained in context so as not to confuse the reader.

FQ: Tell us a little about your reading and writing habits. What kind of books do you like to read--any favorite genres? Which authors would you consider as your greatest source of inspiration?

CURCIO: Writers who have influenced me include John Milton, Ambrose Bierce, Amy Tan, Lisa See, Kazao Ishiguro, George R.R. Martin and Ken Follett. These writers create worlds, and immerse a reader in another place and time that feels very real and alive. Plus, I was an English-History major and believe that to know what any writer is saying one must know the historical context that shaped the writer. One cannot separate writing from time or a time period. Thus to correctly interpret what a writer is saying one must know the events and issues of his or her day.

FQ: Do you have a new story in mind? Will there be a sequel to Asayi? Would you like to share with us your upcoming projects, if any?

CURCIO: In the second novel, Asayi achieves some literacy as the Buddhist nuns who she lives with train her to connect the characters she can paint or draw with the meanings of those characters. So Asayi develops some ability to converse in writing with others by inking a few characters.

FQ: How was the overall reception of Asayi? Are you satisfied with your work?

CURCIO: Although surprised and not surprised at the same time, I feel Asayi as a novel has fared well given the multiple five star ratings the novel has received. My readers mirror the impression Asayi leaves them with and if they find Asayi’s saga memorable and instructive, this is the best I can hope for.

FQ: In what ways did your past experiences, both professional and personal, shape you as a writer? Is there anything you wish you knew before becoming a published author?

CURCIO: I retired from almost three decades of teaching high school English in 2018, and my experience with autistic students was rather peripheral. I observed students with mild autism in school settings and knew teachers with autistic children. But autism has a wide spectrum – from barely noticeable to severe. Children in the latter category are not mainstreamed into public schools but taught in more specialized settings or in private schools. My challenge with Asayi in the first novel was having an autistic lead character/protagonist who does not speak, so I used italics to reveal her thoughts and feelings throughout the novel so readers could track her inner dialogue. Most readers have commented that the italics were effective and gave Asayi a voice that they could understand.

FQ: Please share some tips for other emerging writers who wish to publish their works.

CURCIO: My guidance for emerging writers is to get feedback, and not just from friends and family but by those the writer may not know very well. These readers are more aligned to the future audience your novel will face, so get to know those you don’t currently know and take their input seriously. Collect these insights, seriously weigh them, and adjust where opinion centers.

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