Q&A with Trinity Nguyen, author of "A Banh Mi for Two"

Hello from a girl on the way to the Ren Faire 🍗

Dreams do come true. Thanks to my friend Hannah, I am embarking on an adventure today to make one of my dreams come true: I’m going to the Ren Faire!!! The only downside is that the dress I bought for the occasion was stolen off my porch and so I have to wear a different one. Pain!!!

This week has been rocky. I wake up every Monday with the brightest of hopes that I’ll get good news during the week, and by Friday said hope has faltered, and I’m barely making it through the day. It sucks! But I know that tomorrow I’ll wake up with my hope alive again, and something about that — the inescapable virality of my hope — helps me keep going.

Welcome to the interview 🗣️

For the first time in two months, we’re doing it: an author Q&A in the newsletter. This week, I’m delighted to share a Q&A with author Trinity Nguyen, the debut author of the instant national bestseller A Banh Mi for Two1. I had the pleasure of reading an ARC of this book earlier this year and was utterly delighted by it. The descriptions of Sai Gon and its food swept me away, and I loved the sweet sapphic romance!

A bit about Trinity: TRINITY NGUYEN IS A VIETNAMESE AMERICAN AUTHOR AND THE INDIE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF A BANH MI FOR TWO. SHE’S A GRADUATE OF FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE AND WRITES MESSY DIASPORA KIDS AND QUEER GIRLS WITH BIG SMILES AND BIG HEARTS. TRINITY CURRENTLY LIVES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WITH HER CATS AND THE SUCCULENTS FROM HER MOM’S GARDEN.

Karis Rogerson: What got you into writing to begin with?

Trinity Nguyen: Before I was a writer, I was a reader. When I immigrated from Viet Nam when I was young, I learned English by reading a lot of Middle Grade and Young Adult novels. Gradually, as I read and consumed myself in these fantastical worlds, I then started writing fanfictions.

I guess I just really wanted to express my own creativity through an already established world with set characters. It wasn’t until the height of lockdown in 2020 that I really toyed with fiction creative writing, and that was also when A Banh Mi for Two was born.

KR: What drives you to keep writing and telling stories?

TN: The multitude of different Asian diaspora and more so Vietnamese diaspora experience! I wanted to highlight an identity group not greatly represented in the broader YA genre (yet!) while showcasing that my stories are just few of the ways to be Vietnamese diaspora. I also think that my writing and storytelling changes as I grow as both a person and an artist, so my writing captures all the things I’ve learned and loved. 

KR: What was a formative YA novel for you, and do you think you’d still love it if you read it today?

TN: I loved A Series of Unfortunate Events novels and was obsessed with the author-narrator Lemony Snicket. I think these novels developed my love for strange, haunting storytelling (though ironic, given that A Banh Mi for Two is a romcom) but it also helped me dive into character study and understanding worldbuilding! I haven’t re-read the series in so long but I would definitely love to. 

KR: Why did you want to write A Banh Mi for Two?

TN: I wanted to write a story with all the recipes of a young adult romance set in Sai Gon — my childhood home. It’s a setting outside of the U.S and a place that’s very, very attractive as a tourist destination. I wanted an exploration of the local life and tying that with my memories and time in Sai Gon.

I also wanted to connect my lived experience as a first-gen immigrant. Unlike Vivi, I wasn’t born in the U.S. but like Vivi, I was raised here and grew up struggling with a lot of diasporic grief being away from the “motherland” and seeing the inherited generational trauma that haunts my parents.

I think it’s also a common thread amongst immigrant households and a theme that kids outside of the Vietnamese community can relate to — and I want to bring that theme to the forefront of young adult storytelling. 

KR: What was the research process like for this book?

TN: I talked to a lot of Vietnamese people I know! The book spurred me to talk to my parents more, which is kinda ironic because I was kinda on the same journey as Vivi. It was funny, I’d call them and ask questions about Sai Gon and their childhood and they’d always raise an eyebrow but I refused to tell them about the book until I had actually sold it. I also read A LOT of diaspora Vietnamese literature, The Sympathizer, The Fortunes of Jaded Women, The Mountains Sing, The Best We Could Do, A Pho Love Story, She Is a Haunting, A Clash of Steel, and The Magic Fish.

KR: The book does such a great job of bringing Sai Gon — its sights, foods, bustlingness, etc — to life; what craft tips do you have for other writers when it comes to writing setting?

TN: What a great question! I think the setting relies so much on sensory details other than just what the character sees. How is your character experiencing the climate and what does it remind them of? What do they hear and is it a new sound or something they’re used to? I also love playing with motifs and symbolisms! For example, Lan often refers to the Sai Gon smog and humidity throughout the book.

KR: What has been the best part of publishing this book?

TN: Honestly, readers finding me somehow. I really wrote and dedicated this little story to Vietnamese diaspora readers in hopes of someone like me picking it up… and they are! It is so, so special. 

KR: Is there anything you think might surprise readers about the book?

TN: I LOVE it when people tell me they did not expect the “heavy” themes! I wouldn’t necessarily say I dove as deep on these subjects as I had hoped because it is still inherently a YA novel, but be prepared for conversations surrounding grief and intergenerational trauma alongside romantic motorbike rides. 

KR: Can you share 1-3 books you’ve read & loved recently?

TN: YES! I recently read Chlorine by Jade Song, Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi, and Severance by Ling ma and they were delicious. So strange and so, so good! 

Thank you, Trinity, for answering my questions! Again, I loved A BANH MI FOR TWO and highly recommend it to everyone who loves YA, romcoms, sapphic love, and settings that truly leap off the page.

From the shelf 📚

I finished Aaron H. Aceves’ debut this week, This is Why They Hate Us2. I really loved it! It’s such a heartfelt look into a teen boy’s summer. Quique Luna is bisexual, Mexican American, mentally ill, and trying to get over his longtime crush on his best friend Saleem. He takes “the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else” extremely literally, and spends the summer exploring his attraction to guys.

The book is a frank, sex-positive look at a teen’s life, and there’s so many laugh-out-loud moments paired with moments of absolute cringe that I found delightful.

My favorite aspect of it was honestly the mental health representation. There were so many moments where I saw myself — both as a 17-year-old and as a 31-year-old — in Quique’s messy emotions. I cried! I felt for him, and I felt for me, and I think this book will help teens going through similar things feel seen.

Alla prossima 👋

It’s Sept. 22, 2024, and Israel is still committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. This week, things grew more international with a series of horrific exploding pager attacks in Lebanon. I don’t care how you spin it — those were an act of terror. Israel is committing genocide and terrorist attacks, funded and encouraged by the US. This is so unconscionable, I almost don’t have the words for it.

We have to keep doing what we can. Raising awareness, protesting, calling our electeds and trying-to-be-electeds, donating eSims and to evacuation funds. The world is terrifying and my heart breaks for all those who have been victims of imperialist oppression and colonialism. I’m enraged by how we in the US sit in our comfy chairs and declare some people terrorists and others freedom fighters and don’t seem to realize the hypocrisy of what we’re doing.

And, in a more pressing US note, as of Saturday, Marcellus Williams, an innocent Black man, is set to be executed on Tuesday in Missouri. Check out the Innocence Project’s page on ways to activate to try to stop this.

The world is heavy. My heart is heavy. What are ways you are finding pockets of joy and hope, the motivation to keep fighting? Share in the comments <3

That’s all for this week!

— Karis xoxo