<Begin Segment 23>

TI: Now, Megan, did you want to ask some questions about the, the novel itself, some themes or anything?

MA: Well, actually she touched on the, the character of the brother. I just noticed from hearing you speak, a lot of the things that you mentioned come out in the brother's, kind of story. Just little images, details, the turtles and the horses and the themes of children being left behind. He has that friend that writes to him, and concern for his mother. I just thought that was really interesting.

JO: Yeah, I, I think I really strongly identify with him as a character.

MA: I think a lot of people do.

JO: He just broke my, I don't know, I just really wanted to take good care of him. I felt like the girl was sort of feisty and strong and she'd be okay, but eight is just a really vulnerable age, and I think that psychologically at some level I'm stuck at eight, like that's a very vivid age for me. It resonates with me even now, at the age of eight, it just seems very real. And I think I just, I really, as a writer I just wanted to take good care of him and I could also sort of, his sense of wonder might have been of just being in the desert. Just, just as a kid, just being in a new physical environment and there are different bugs and insects and animals. I think kids are very interested in animals; I know I was. And so there's also this sense of wonder even though it's a terrible thing that's happening, and yet he does have his childhood there.

MA: It makes me think of the scene when they're on the train and they see the horses running in the night. It's one of my favorite images.

JO: Oh, when he looks out and sees those horses? Yeah, that's also like another, it's like a flash of color. It's not, it's bad, but it's not all bad, and you can still, yeah, I think that sense of wonder is something that I just wanted to keep alive for him.

TI: I'm curious, when I finished the book, I found myself wanting the story to continue. I mean, I really, it's almost like okay, I wanted to keep reading. And I'm curious, are you planning to do anything more with, with this in terms of more writing? Perhaps a follow-up novel to this?

JO: No, actually what I'm writing now is more of a prequel. Not literally, it's not the same family characters, but no, and I don't know what I'll do for the book after that, and I can't think beyond where I am now, but I haven't thought about doing a follow-up to the first book.

TI: 'Cause just something to think about, it's that resettlement period that is the story that's really not told in terms of, of the Japanese American community.

JO: That's really true. And that, that was the hard time, I think. That's when things really got hard, is when they came back and had to put their lives back together. It's true, it has not, I think people are, no, it has not been told, it's true. That's true.

TI: I was just curious and I was really... and again, it's meant as a compliment, because I really just said, "Oh, it stopped." I just wanted it to keep going. Like, "What happened?" [Laughs]

JO: "What happened?" I think we all went, "What happened?"

TI: Well, good. That's, thank you so much for your time.

JO: Oh, thank you.

TI: This was really interesting.

<End Segment 23> - Copyright © 2005 Densho. All Rights Reserved.