Taipei, Feb. 2 (CNA) Taiwanese-American bestselling author Livia Blackburne published a new picture book in January that tells the story of a young girl who moves to the United States and has to leave behind her beloved grandmother.
In a recent interview with CNA, Blackburne said the story was inspired by her own childhood experiences. She, like the protagonist in the book, moved to the U.S. at the age of five and had to learn how to keep in touch with her grandmother while separated by the Pacific Ocean.
"When I was growing up, it was very difficult being in a different country from her. And after a while, I started to lose my Chinese and had a harder time communicating with her," Blackburne told CNA.
"After she passed away, I would dream about her," Blackburne recalled. "In my dreams, I would always be talking to her in English, which was something we would never have been able to do while she was alive."
These dreams were what spurred her to write the book, titled "I Dream of Popo" after the name she used for her grandmother, she said.
Both the illustrator and editor of the book are also Taiwanese-American, according to Blackburne.
"I Dream of Popo" is Blackburne's first foray into children's literature. Her past works, including her first novel "Midnight Thief," are fantasy novels in the young adult genre.
Her career as a writer began somewhat accidentally; Blackburne said she wrote "Midnight Thief" while pursuing a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a way of keeping her sanity.
The book, which went on to become a New York Times Bestseller, is better written than her doctoral thesis, she said.
Some might see Blackburne's two passions -- science and fiction -- as polar opposites, but the author sees similarities in them that have influenced her writing.
Science is a creative endeavor, as researchers need to be creative in order to make breakthroughs, and while there is a lot of imagination in fiction, there is truth at its core, she said.
"So this book is a fictional story, but there is a lot of truth about family and love."
