Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Loan Le

Loan Le is a Pushcart Prize-nominated writer whose short stories have appeared in CRAFT Literary, Mud Season Review, and Angel City Review. She is also an editor at Simon & Schuster’s adult imprint Atria Books. A Pho Love Story is her young adult debut novel that follows two Vietnamese-American teens as they experience first love, navigate their feuding families, and explore creative passions. Be sure to read my review of A Pho Love Story for more on this wonderful novel!

Pop Culturalist had a chance to speak with Loan about A Pho Love Story, the importance of telling stories centered on families, and her writing process.

PC: Hi! Welcome to Pop Culturalist, Loan! To start, please tell our readers about your debut novel, A Pho Love Story.
Loan: Thank you for having me! A Pho Love Story is a heartwarming novel about first love, food, and family. Two characters—an artist and a budding writer—have always been told to stay away from each other because their families own neighboring pho restaurants. But then, one night, Bao helps out Linh in a time of need, and they gradually see neither of them are bad people, and that their parents, being dramatic, might have exaggerated many things!

This is a story about growing up in many ways. Linh and Bao grow together, but they also grow up separately too—in how they see themselves, their parents, and the world.

PC: What aspects of your own life helped inspire this book?
Loan: A lot! My family background inspired Linh and Bao’s family history. I’m from a family of boat refugees who fled Vietnam and immigrants who later came over to America. And while I did not grow up in the restaurant business, the hard work that the characters’ parents put into their businesses was directly inspired by all that my family had sacrificed.

Linh and Bao’s pursuit of the creative arts was somewhat inspired by my love of writing and reading, but my path was fortunately much more straightforward. I didn’t have to fight with my parents to pursue writing, though they still fret over the instability of it.

Linh’s best friend, Allison/Ali, mirrors the supportive spirit of my own best friend named Ali (not Allison). They are not the same people! I swear it…but Ali’s definitely my hype person.

Smaller scenes—the characters making egg rolls with the family, attending weddings and birthday parties—also came from different periods of my life.

What I wish was inspired by my life? The romance! But I missed out on romance growing up.

PC: A central theme in your book is the role parents and families play in the development of identity in young adults. Why did you want to write about this?
Loan: I guess I felt the family’s presence was missing in the young adult literature I read. I’d see kids going on long trips with friends and partying with friends, and I’m like: what!? Your parents let you do that?

The families in this novel were definitely inspired by how I grew up. Coming from a large Vietnamese family, everything you did, or do, reflects back on the family—which is a bit dicey, to be honest…but that’s how we were raised, and I can’t change that. That’s why Linh and Bao were always aware of what their parents said and did.

But they realize their parents are human. And incredibly flawed. And explanations for their actions are hidden and not talked about. I definitely see this in my own family.

Ultimately, I wanted to write about the tie between parents and children in a positive light. Now that I’m a bit older, I see myself as an extension of my mom, my dad, my whole family, my ancestors. I’m only able to do what I love because of the hard work and sacrifices they made. All that I am—the good, the bad, the questionable—I am who I am because of my parents and my family.

PC: A Pho Love Story revolves around Vietnamese food and included many mouthwatering descriptions. Which dish is your favorite?
Loan: Thank you! I can’t name a favorite, but I’ll tell you what I’m craving today (it changes ALL the time): chả giò, or crispy egg rolls.

PC: What did you enjoy most about writing A Pho Love Story?
Loan: Putting in details that reflected my culture. I missed out on that growing up. So, I had so much fun planting details like phrases my parents would use, foods that I’d turn to, experiences that felt so Vietnamese American (family-oriented scenes).

I’ve had a couple of readers message me to say they “felt seen.” Isn’t that the best feeling?

PC: How has working as an editor in the publishing industry influenced your writing process?
Loan: Being an editor initially interfered with my writing process. I was stopping more often and editing work-in-progress chapters, and that was not good at all! So, I tried my best to write emotionally while also trusting the writing skills I picked up over the years. After I finished the draft and walked away from it a bit, I pretended to evaluate my work as if I were receiving a fresh submission. Then I was able to review the manuscript as a whole and edit from there.

PC: Can you share with us what you are working on next?
Loan: A companion story to A Pho Love Story, which I’m hoping to submit to my publisher soon. Fingers crossed! I’m also outlining an adult rom-com and an adult family mystery. I initially wrote adult short stories, so I’m happy to return to that.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Writing session must-have? (ex: music, food, drink, etc)
Loan: Coffee, lo-fi or chill step in the background, headphones or AirPods.

PC: Plotter or pantser?
Loan: Plotter who isn’t so tied down to the outline or beat sheet. Never a pantser!

PC: Audiobooks, physical books, or e-books?
Loan: Physical books all the way. E-book second. But audiobooks are slowly growing on me.

PC: Genre(s) other than contemporary you would like to write?
Loan: I love realistic fiction that occasionally slips into the unreal. So: horror, magical, ghosts. I really love ghosts.

PC: Currently watching or reading?
Loan: I’m watching the second season of A Discovery of Witches. I’m reading/skipping around Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses.

PC: Go to self-care activity?
Loan: Writing! Surprising, right?!

Follow Loan Le on Twitter, Instagram, and online.

A Pho Love Story is on sale now.