Ask the Author: David Kudler
Answered Questions (7)
David Kudler
People have always remarked that I look a lot like my father. But if you've seen the pictures, I look even more like his father.
Unfortunately, I never met him.
On my grandmother's birthday in 1934, my grandfather gave her flowers, went off to work whistling the Irving Berlin tune "Blue Skies," and was never seen again.
His disappearance devastated his wife and son -- my dad, who was 2 at the time -- and has had a profound ripple effect on me and even on my children.
There are many theories as to what happened. The most persistent is that either my grandfather or his business partner had borrowed from Meyer Lansky's Murder, Inc. to keep the business afloat, and that the mob called in the debt and -- whichever of the partners actually borrowed the money -- my grandfather paid the price.
But we'll never really know, and that mystery -- and the blank space that his disappearance left -- continues to inform all of our lives.
Unfortunately, I never met him.
On my grandmother's birthday in 1934, my grandfather gave her flowers, went off to work whistling the Irving Berlin tune "Blue Skies," and was never seen again.
His disappearance devastated his wife and son -- my dad, who was 2 at the time -- and has had a profound ripple effect on me and even on my children.
There are many theories as to what happened. The most persistent is that either my grandfather or his business partner had borrowed from Meyer Lansky's Murder, Inc. to keep the business afloat, and that the mob called in the debt and -- whichever of the partners actually borrowed the money -- my grandfather paid the price.
But we'll never really know, and that mystery -- and the blank space that his disappearance left -- continues to inform all of our lives.
David Kudler
Hey, Steve! What a great question! Kee Sun is one of my favorite characters.
So I knew I wanted to have at least one non-Japanese character in the book — Japan wasn't as cut off from the rest of the world during this period as it would become in the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries. Japan and Korea had regularly tried to invade each other throughout much of their history, and so the idea that the late Lord Mochizuki brought back a Korean cook from a campaign there appealed to me.
Once I'd decided that Kee Sun was Korean, I had to figure out how a Korean would sound to Japanese people. I reached out to a friend of a friend, S. Jae-Jones, a wonderful author who happens to be Korean-American. She kindly talked to me about the dynamics of the Korean accent, and we discussed what it might sound like to the Japanese characters. Japanese speakers tend to speak in a fairly narrow band of tones. Sarah felt that Korean would sound much earthier and energetic to a Japanese ear. When we searched for an equivalent accent to the American ear, the two that we came up with were Italian and Scottish.
Now, I didn't want Kee Sun sounding like Mario from the Nintendo games. But I thought that basing his accent on a kind of toned down "dog Scottish" (in the same sense that JK Rowling calls the Latin in her books "dog Latin") would give me what I was looking for. (Which is to say, Sarah is in no way responsible for Kee Sun or how he sounds — but I thank her from the bottom of my heart for her insight.)
As I wrote and rewrote the book, I found a distinctive voice for the cook that wasn't particularly Scottish — but that I felt worked for him and for the novel. If you listen to the audiobook, the narrator (my daughter Julia) uses a Scottish accent for Kee Sun.
So I knew I wanted to have at least one non-Japanese character in the book — Japan wasn't as cut off from the rest of the world during this period as it would become in the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries. Japan and Korea had regularly tried to invade each other throughout much of their history, and so the idea that the late Lord Mochizuki brought back a Korean cook from a campaign there appealed to me.
Once I'd decided that Kee Sun was Korean, I had to figure out how a Korean would sound to Japanese people. I reached out to a friend of a friend, S. Jae-Jones, a wonderful author who happens to be Korean-American. She kindly talked to me about the dynamics of the Korean accent, and we discussed what it might sound like to the Japanese characters. Japanese speakers tend to speak in a fairly narrow band of tones. Sarah felt that Korean would sound much earthier and energetic to a Japanese ear. When we searched for an equivalent accent to the American ear, the two that we came up with were Italian and Scottish.
Now, I didn't want Kee Sun sounding like Mario from the Nintendo games. But I thought that basing his accent on a kind of toned down "dog Scottish" (in the same sense that JK Rowling calls the Latin in her books "dog Latin") would give me what I was looking for. (Which is to say, Sarah is in no way responsible for Kee Sun or how he sounds — but I thank her from the bottom of my heart for her insight.)
As I wrote and rewrote the book, I found a distinctive voice for the cook that wasn't particularly Scottish — but that I felt worked for him and for the novel. If you listen to the audiobook, the narrator (my daughter Julia) uses a Scottish accent for Kee Sun.
David Kudler
Anty, thanks so much!
I absolutely agree with what you're saying — I'd answer that Risuko isn't so much disgusted by the animals (though she hasn't killed them before), but stinky is stinky — having myself dressed fish and animals, I can tell you that offal smells awful. :-)
I absolutely agree with what you're saying — I'd answer that Risuko isn't so much disgusted by the animals (though she hasn't killed them before), but stinky is stinky — having myself dressed fish and animals, I can tell you that offal smells awful. :-)
David Kudler
Hey, Judy! I was hoping to have Bright Eyes out by this spring, but other things have intervened — I am currently shooting for this fall. Thanks for your patience!
David Kudler
Thanks, Anita!
The beautiful cover design is by the wonderful James Egan of Bookfly Design. I couldn't be happier!
The beautiful cover design is by the wonderful James Egan of Bookfly Design. I couldn't be happier!
David Kudler
Yasamin, I apologize that I didn't see your question sooner! I'm glad that you enjoyed Risuko — and sorry to make you wait for the next book.
I'm currently working on Bright-Eyes, the second volume in the Seasons of the Sword series. My hope is to have it finished in time for release in 2017. If you'd like to be among the first to read it by serving as a beta reader, you can sign up at risuko.net/risuko-beta-team
I'm currently working on Bright-Eyes, the second volume in the Seasons of the Sword series. My hope is to have it finished in time for release in 2017. If you'd like to be among the first to read it by serving as a beta reader, you can sign up at risuko.net/risuko-beta-team
David Kudler
The idea for Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale came from a few different sources.
One was my house growing up, which was full of memorabilia from my parents' three years living in northern Japan before I was born — including books, figurines (including The Seven Gods of Luck), and my father's abiding love of samurai movies.
More specifically, I read an article a few years ago in New Moon Magazine, which my daughters subscribed to, called "Deadly Accessories." It told the story of a historical figure named Chiyome Mochizuki who started a school at her estate during the Japanese Civil War era (the sixteenth century). Supposedly, she was training miko — shrine maidens, as anyone familiar with Shinto (or Inuyasha) knows. In fact, Lady Chiyome was training an army of kunoichi: female spies, bodyguards, and assassins. I thought, Wow! That's an amazing story! Someone should write that!
Not long afterward, I was watching my younger daughter and her friend Lucas at a local park. Lucas's mom and I were talking about something engaging when suddenly we noticed that the kids weren't on the playground. We called to them; they called back from high up in a pine tree on the edge of the park. We asked them to come down, which they did. Once my heart was out of my throat, I put that image — the girl up in the tree — with the story of Lady Chiyome's school and wrote the first notes for what would become Risuko!
One was my house growing up, which was full of memorabilia from my parents' three years living in northern Japan before I was born — including books, figurines (including The Seven Gods of Luck), and my father's abiding love of samurai movies.
More specifically, I read an article a few years ago in New Moon Magazine, which my daughters subscribed to, called "Deadly Accessories." It told the story of a historical figure named Chiyome Mochizuki who started a school at her estate during the Japanese Civil War era (the sixteenth century). Supposedly, she was training miko — shrine maidens, as anyone familiar with Shinto (or Inuyasha) knows. In fact, Lady Chiyome was training an army of kunoichi: female spies, bodyguards, and assassins. I thought, Wow! That's an amazing story! Someone should write that!
Not long afterward, I was watching my younger daughter and her friend Lucas at a local park. Lucas's mom and I were talking about something engaging when suddenly we noticed that the kids weren't on the playground. We called to them; they called back from high up in a pine tree on the edge of the park. We asked them to come down, which they did. Once my heart was out of my throat, I put that image — the girl up in the tree — with the story of Lady Chiyome's school and wrote the first notes for what would become Risuko!
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