Check Out Jeannie Lin, The Award Winning Author Of Historical Romance

If you've been a D2R reader for the last few years you might recall a blog I wrote up on how Asian men even get shafted in literature due to the dearth of authors who portray them as the romantic lead or better yet, don't even get included in the storyline at all. It even stirred up quite a ruckus on YOMYOMF. Look, I know what you're thinking,

"But MaSir, what about The Joy Luck Club? Obviously, there's irrefutably no better book out there at describing what a wonderful experience it is to date an Asian male besides that one." 

You are absolutely right! Amy Tan did her best to make Asian men look incredibly awesome, romantic and financially generous. After its release, Asian Americans from all over the world hail and swear by that novel as the most accurate depiction of AA men.

However, I still wasn't satisfied and thought to myself, "There has to be a female author who knows how to write a different kind of Asian love story." You know...where the Asian guy actually gets the girl...like how it is in the real-world. Searching high and low I was fortunate enough to find Jeannie Lin, a writer of historical romance novels set in ancient China. (And no, her stories do not parallel The Last Samurai if you know what I mean.) American entertainment, literature included, retells the same propagandizing love story. Jeannie, however, is different in that her stories center around the Asian male as an actual love interest, unlike what I call the BLS*. 

*Bruce Lee Syndrome (BLS) - Asian male protagonist kicks the shit out of a thousand men, but never gets the girl or is deemed as an asexual creature. 

Thus, I decided to sit down with Lin for a one-on-one interview and learn more about her and her work. You can check out Jeannie Lin's website here.

MaSir: Tell us about yourself. Let's start off with a "Jeannie Lin" boilerplate introduction.

Jeannie:  I'm Jeannie. I write historical romances set in Tang Dynasty China. Surprisingly, my background is actually in cognitive science and education. I'm a techie by day and writer by night.

MaSir:  By any chance, are you related to Jeremy Lin?

Jeannie:  Heheh...no relation. I do occasionally refer to him as cousin Jeremy as a joke online. No relation to Justin Lin either....

MaSir:  Damn it. Okay. Interview's over...

Just kidding. So when did you start writing? And when did you officially become "Jeannie Lin" the author?

Jeannie:  I started writing around 2005. I was still teaching and looking for something to do as a hobby to balance things out. I took a class on romance writing and at first it was just something non-teaching to do on weekends, but the more I invested in the story, the more I realized I had always wanted to publish a story, so I committed to going for it. It took about four years of writing before I got noticed and received my first writing contract.

MaSir:  Do your parents know that you're a romance novel writer?

Jeannie:  Ha, they do! 

MaSir:  What are their opinions of it? I know Asian parents are so particular about their children pursuing STEM related careers but it looks like you already have that so maybe they don't mind so much?

Jeannie:  My mother is quite proud and actually sent my first book to a major Vietnamese paper because she knew the editor. (She publishes poetry under a pseudonym). My father requested a copy of my books -- just to have as a souvenir I'm sure -- so I may be the only romance author who has shipped their books to a Buddhist monastery. He's not a monk, he was just rooming at a monastery. 

Writing is my side job. My parents are very practical people and I'm no different. I'd starve if I tried to feed myself on writing money alone. I have a day job that pays the bills. [Just a side note] A lot of the shame that comes with writing romance or genre-fiction comes from how you feel yourself. I've never been ashamed and everyone I know, family and friends, have always been positive.

MaSir:  I actually stumbled upon your website after a blog that I had written up about the lack of AA female authors writing stories with Asian males as love interests and romantic leads. I was pleasantly surprised that there was someone representing for the Asian male race. What prompted you to stay within your ethnicity and not go off following the typical WM/AF love story that is so mainstream and overdone?

Asian-American men get shafted even in literature

I've been participating in a heated debate over the performative contradictions in Asian-American female activism on BigWoWo. One of the commenters went on a search to find literature where the protagonist and love interest of the story is an Asian-American male. His findings are appalling, yet not all that surprising to say the least. Here, take a look!

From the Meet Asian American Authors book list from Amazon

The Piano Teacher: A Novel by Janice Y. K. Lee
Based in: WWII Hong Kong
Male protagonist: British White Male
Love interest: White female/Euroasian female

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel by Lisa See
Based in: Olden days China
Male protagonist: None (Though there are abusive Chinese Husbands)
Female protagonist: Chinese females
Soon to be made to a film directed by Wayne Wang (Joy Luck Club 2)

Pearl of China: A Novel by Anchee Min
Based in: Cultural Revolution China
Two female protagonists
Antagonists are Chinese males

Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah
No male protagonist/love interests?
Mainly about a rough childhood.

,b>Dragon Bones: A Red Princess Mystery (Red Princess Mysteries) by Lisa See
Based in: Modern China
Male Protagonist/love interest: White American Male
Female Protagonist: Chinese Female

Petals From The Sky by Mingmei Ye
Based in: China/US
Male Protagonist/love interest: White American Male
Female Protagonist: Chinese Female

Good Things by Mia King
Male Protagonist/love interest: White American Male
Female Protagonist: White American Female

Only Uni (The Sushi Series, Book 2) by Camy Tang
Based in: US
Male Protagonist/love interest: White American Male?
Antagonist: Creepy Asian American Male (but attractive?)
Female Protagonist: Asian American Female

My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki
Based in: Japan/US
Male Protagonist/love interest: Older White American Male
Antagonist: Japanese Male
Female Protagonist: Asian American Female, Asian Female

The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan
Amy Tan: No need for explanation here.

Sweet Life by Mia King
Male Protagonist/love interest: White American Male
Female Protagonist: White American Female

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Amy Tan Classic - The quintessential example of how to throw all Asian-American men under the bus.

Kira-Kira (Newbery Medal Book) by Cynthia Kadohata
Based in: US
Children’s book, sounds quite beautiful though. No Asian guy bashing!!!! (I think)

Wild Ginger: A Novel by Anchee Min
Based in: Cultural Revolution China
Male Protagonist/love interest: Chinese Male who turns Antagonist
Female Protagonist: Euroasian Female

The Last Empress: A Novel by Anchee Min
Based in: Ancient China
Male Protagonist/love interest:: None, but a lot of pathetic Chinese Males
Female Protagonist: Chinese Female (To be fair, Tzu Hsi is probably judged a lot harder by Ancient Chinese historians because she was a woman ruler, the men during those times have probably done a lot worse).

Unaccustomed Earth: Stories (Vintage Contemporaries) by Jhumpa Lahiri
Short stories that deals with a range of issues.
NO white saviors from what I have read.

The Space Between Us: A Novel ( Deckle Edge ) (P.S.) by Thrity Umrigar
Based in India. Indian female/Indian male?

The Namesake (movie tie-in edition) by Jhumpa Lahiri
Male protagonist: Indian American male

One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Various characters, but no Asian Male?

Itsuka by Joy Kogawa
Fight for compensation for Japanese-Canadian internments.

Fuck You Amy Tan's of the World

To the beloved Amy Tan's of the World,

Two simple words.  Fuck you.  Let me put it in bold as well for even more emphasis. Fuck you.  If you are wondering why I have so much animosity for this despicable, poor excuse for an Asian American, please proceed. 

This so-called "author", known for her anecdotal diatribes on Asian American men in The Joy Fuck - excuse me - Luck Club, is at best an abomination to the entire Asian community and I say "Asian community" since these notions can extend beyond the borders of North America.  It was just recently that I had ran across her book and movie again which triggered my recollections of one of the story's main themes - burlesquing, criticizing and betraying the integrity of Asian American men. Talk about throwing your own men under the bus!!  Tan's literature has been subliminally planting seeds of ethnic chagrin and cultural self-degradation in the hearts and minds of many Americans since her book became mainstream.  She is the quintessential SELL OUT of the Asian American community while undermining her fellow brothers in the process.


By no means am I claiming that we, Asian American men, are completely excused from the dating mishaps and stereotypes which the rest of America is all too familiar with.  Though I have witnessed this within my social circle, it has been the exception not the rule.  I do relate and concur with Tan that for 2nd generation Asian Americans or recent immigrants, there is a cultural and generational gap between between parents and children that may serve as a plausible explanation to some of the issues addressed in JLC. However, was it really necessary to taint the image of Asian men in almost every way, shape or form imaginable?  JLC essentially gives any non-Asian person the ammunition to shoot down our character and aspirations of being a normal, sought after, or God forbid to the Amy Tans of the world, American lover.


Luckily we have real Asian American women who see through the deplorable pretenses and laughable stereotypes in JLC,

My angst with JLC is that it plays upon all of the Asian stereotypes that were described in my opening paragraph. Asian women are depicted as lonely miserable characters whose ultimate salvation comes when united in marriage with a white male. Furthermore, the author mercilessly smears all of the Asian male characters, confining them to the role of the wife-abuser, or the nit-picking egomaniac.

I support Julia Oh in her campaign to replace or supplement Amy Tan's garbage with literature that is a more accurate portrayal of Asian Americans.  The AA community will not turn a blind eye to the racist rhetoric that either Tan or anyone else in her sphere of influence continues to beckon. Enough is enough.

Sometimes I wonder, did Tan ever acknowledge the fact that Chinese mothers - yes, women - are partially responsible for all of the wretched behaviors and attitudes found in the very men she ridicules? These men had to have learned their mannerisms from someone in the family!  If not, perhaps they were the few bad apples of the group. What about the rest?  For some inexplicable reason, she wasn't able to find a single example of a decent Chinese guy as an exceptional husband.  Was Tan the perfect woman to all of her AM counterparts?  I highly doubt it.  Look Amy, if reincarnation does exist then you must have been one helluva bitch to all Chinese men in your previous life to have encountered so many assholes.  


Go fuck yourself.