Joanna Ho didn't grow up thinking she'd become a writer. In fact, she struggled with writing in school. But years later, unable to find the inclusivity she wanted in her child's picture books, she started creating the stories missing from the shelves.

A former high school English teacher, Ho is now the bestselling author of Eyes That Kiss in the Corners, a picture book that celebrates Asian features and family heritage. Her newest book, Becoming Boba, takes something many Asian Americans know well, a sweet, chewy cup of bubble tea, and turns it into a story about identity and belonging. Like her other work, it's simple enough for young readers, but layered with meaning for anyone who's ever felt like they were figuring out where they belong.

We spoke with Ho about how she found her voice as a writer, what drives her stories, and why she writes from the heart, not trends.

How did you get started writing children's books? Was it something you had always thought about doing?

I started writing for children after my first child was born. As a high school English teacher and anti-racist educator, I made sure my students had a curriculum that reflected no only their experiences and identities, but a diverse range or perspectives as well. When I became a mom, I began looking for inclusive books for my son and realized the lack of representation that continued to persist in children's literature. One night, as I was researching books for him, I had a sudden inspiration to try writing my own. Until that moment, I had never considered writing, did not think of myself as a writer. In fact, I really struggled with writing in high school and college. After this moment of inspiration, I threw myself into learning the craft. I attended conferences, read books on writing, pored over hundreds of picture books and novels. This has been a wild, surprising, and beautiful journey!

Your first book was Eyes That Kiss in the Corners, New York Times Best Seller. Were you surprised at all by the reception it received?

Surprised doesn't even begin to describe how I felt at this reception! It took over a year and a half to sell Eyes that Kiss in the Corners. I received so many rejections that I was just grateful it would be published at all. In the months leading up to publication, I just prayed that someone who might need the book would find it on a shelf. I had no idea so many people resonated with the story and themes, and I am so grateful. This book has changed my life in so many ways.

Becoming Boba, your latest book, touches on Asian-American identity, the immigrant experience and being "Asian enough". What inspired you to explore these themes and how do they relate to your personal experiences?

When I first began writing Becoming Boba, I just wanted to create a fluffy book with pages of cute boba characters. But, as I researched the history of boba and its evolving significance in Asian American culture, the heart of the story became increasingly clear to me. Pearl milk tea, or boba, originated in Taiwan, which is also where my mother's homeland. Its history is one of constant evolution and influence from other cultures (and colonizers). As it has become a global phenomenon, it continues this path of evolution and change. This really spoke to me as a child of the Asian diaspora. Growing up, I was told in many ways that I wasn't "Asian enough." I didn't fit some mold others had for being truly Asian. Similarly to Mindy, the main milk tea character in Becoming Boba, learning the history of Asians in America, and the history of milk tea showed me that we are a constantly evolving people and culture. There isn't one way to be a "real Asian," I can define and redefine what it means to be Asian for myself and I'm so proud of my heritage.

Does your background in psychology and education inform your approach to writing children's literature?

I will always be an educator at heart, so every story I write is filled with many nuances and layers. For example, Becoming Boba can be read as a simple story of belonging. But embedded in its pages are layers of a complex history that have shaped our present reality. It asks deeper questions about identity and what it means to be enough.

What is the writing process like for you?

I love the ideating, brainstorming part of exploring a new story in my mind. I hate trying to get these ideas on the page as a first draft! This part is a painful slog for me. But once I have a garbage first draft - and they really are all garbage at that stage! - my favorite part of the process is revising and refining. Once I have the pieces on the page, I love playing around with the story, cutting and moving and deleting and rewriting until it takes a completely new form.

Is there a piece of advice that you are glad you didn't follow?

Sometimes, people talk about following the market trends. It can make sense to see what is selling and to write to the market. This doesn't work for me at all! I simply cannot force my brain to generate ideas that don't come from my heart, whether they're lyrical, social justice themed works, or silly life snapshots. Sometimes this means a story hits in a way that is unexpected, like Eyes that Kiss in the Corners. Sometimes this means a story I'm incredibly proud of releases when the trend has shifted in a different direction. No matter how a book sells, I want to create meaningful work that I hope makes a difference in the world. I want to feel like every book I write carries part of me in its pages.

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Photo by: Katie Heiner Photography Images provided by Scholastic