Author Interview with Shirley Cheng


Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I'd be glad to. I was born in 1983 and have had severe juvenile rheumatoid arthritis since only eleven months old. I spent my early years in constant pain, and was hospitalized between America and China (my mother took me to China six times for treatments). Owing to years of hospitalization, I received no education until age eleven. I started schooling in a special education class in elementary school. Back then, I only knew the alphabets and few simple English; I knew that 2 plus 2 equals 4 and that 3 times 5 is 15; other than that, my book knowledge was near non-existent. But because of my thirst for knowledge, I devoured everything and mostly self-taught myself how to read. So, I mastered grade level in all areas after spending about 180 days in that class before I entered a regular sixth grade class in middle school. I was a high honor student and received numerous awards. Unfortunately, I lost my eyesight at the age of seventeen. After a successful eye surgery, I hope to earn multiple science doctorates from Harvard University. I invite people to my site: http://www.shirleycheng.com

Who is your favourite author, and why?

I have a few favorite authors for the specific genres I like. I love Wilkie Collins' books, especially "The Woman in White", because his words flow easily and his style is easy-to-read. He wrote beautifully. I Like Bram Stoker for his book, "Dracula", which is my favorite horror book. My favorite fantasy author is Edgar Rice Burroughs, and I greatly admire Shakespeare and Honore de Balzac. As you can tell, I'm quite into classics. I love how these authors, especially Collins and Balzac, depicted human nature so completely and delicately. They must have great insights to be able to do so.

You are a very young writer, in fact the youngest one that I have ever met... How did it all start? At what age did you started writing?

I was an artist of the visual arts, so when I lost my eyesight, I no longer could depict my imagined worlds and creatures, so I turned to writing to express myself and to share with others stories full of my deep thoughts. I became an author when I was twenty, completing three books within one year. I began writing for fun and for school right after I was able to write when I was eleven after attending school for the first time. In fact, I wrote two notebooks of poems only after a few weeks of school. If I recall correctly, my first "real" short story is Fancella, the Goddess of Fire, which is one of the short stories in "Dance with Your Heart: Tales and Poems That the Heart Tells". I wrote that when I was in sixth grade.

When did you decide to publish your first book?

I decided to publish my first book even before I was finished writing it! I was simply writing a collection of short stories in the same series, and I thought they'd make a good book. So the book was published four months later.

At the age of 20, you have successfully published 3 books, plus you are an advocate of parental rights AND a caregiver monitoring and screening for students with special needs and disabled people; how on earth can you possibly manage this all? Where does your energy come from?

Self-publishing my books had taken quite a bit of time and effort, but I thoroughly enjoyed what I had to do. I like being my own boss. I successfully completed every self-publishing task, including formatting my manuscripts, on my own without sight. My first book, however, was published by a publisher, but I self-published it in 2005 when the contract ended. And as for advocating those two issues I feel strongly about--I'm simply speaking out about them on radio shows, in my articles, in my blog posts, etc.. If I were physically able to, I'd go out and about and really make my voice heard. But right now, I'm just doing my best in advocating. I've written to politicians, but to no avail thus far. I always keep myself busy and do something new. My energy stems from my strong passion for life. Life motivates and inspires me to move forward and never stopping, except to smell the roses, of course.

When you do have some spare time, what do you do then? What are your hobbies, besides writing of course?!

When I had my eyesight, I had plenty of hobbies and interests in the arts area; I made crafts, drew, and paint (watercolor). I have been an avid reader; books are one of my biggest passions in life. I've read over 2,000 books so far (some days, I read an average of three books a day...about 600 pages). I also design and maintain my own website. I'm always looking for ways to promote my books. I also love animals, but I don't have any pets. I used to have parakeets, cockatiels, goldfish, a hamster, a cat, snails, tortoises, chicks, ducklings, and an African Gray Parrot (not at the same time!). Also, I absolutely love making new friends...and oh yes, speaking and doing radio interviews. You can say I love doing a bit of everything as long as my health permits!

You have won several awards for your books. Which one means the most for you? And which one was your latest award?

Actually, the literary awards I've received are not for my books; I haven't won any awards for my books, yet. My short story, Mary Miller, the Elusive Lady, received Honorable Mention in Poughkeepsie Journal (my local newspaper) in 1997 (I was fourteen then), and a poem, The Colors of the Rainbow, earned merit status and was published in an anthology when I was fifteen. Both of these pieces are published in my book, "Dance with Your Heart: Tales and Poems That the Heart Tells". My newest literary award was for my tribute to my beloved mother Juliet Cheng, titled The Jewel from Heavenly Father, which tied for 1st place in Be the Star You Are! annual national writing contest in 2006. (Be the Star You Are! is a charity founded by New York Times bestselling author, radio/TV personality, Cynthia Brian, whose radio show I've been on three times; winning the contest garnered me the third appearance). Also, I'd like to mention that I was voted top ten (#8) in the 2005 Preditors and Editors Readers Poll for the best poet.

Do you have a book nominated at the moment?

Not that I know of.

I think you astonish the people with your young age, compared to the wisdom you have and your optimistic view of life. This really comes forward in your book "Dance with Your Heart: Tales and Poems That the Heart Tells". Can you tell us your secret; how you manage to keep up your good spirit, despite of the harshness of our world, our society?

So, what is the secret that has made me unstoppable or ultra-abled as I like to call it? There are actually two magical ingredients, both of which I've been blessed with.

The first magical ingredient is my mother, who is the cornerstone and light of my life. She has saved me numerous times from the grasp of death. Her love for me conquers all, and she has this invincible stamina to fight for my life till she wins. I believe that maternal love is the best love that has ever existed.

And the other ingredient that makes me ultra-abled is very simple: it is my love of life. You can say that I'm madly in love with life, with my own life. Life is too precious to be wasted. When you're given life, you should cherish it. I cherish my life; I value every minute. I hold on to the happy moments and don't dwell on the bad situations. I move forward.

People often ask me what inspires me to write. I tell them life. I am a very spiritual person who loves and appreciates all that life has to offer, and I can't help but to be empowered by life.

How does a writing day looks like? Do you start early in the morning? Write all day long? Do you plan what you write in advance?

I write whenever I have the urge, the desire, to write, and it strikes at different times of the day. I never give myself a writing schedule. But my inspiration for my poems usually come to me when I lie in my bed trying to fall asleep. Several of the poems, including A Humble Gift, in my book, "Dance with Your Heart: Tales and Poems That the Heart Tells", were written during the wee hours in the morning. When I was writing my autobiography, there were days I took several hours to write, and there were days I did not write at all. I daydream quite a bit, and many of my ideas for my stories have been conjured then...but in many cases, my ideas came to me as I wrote.

Does it take you a long time to write a book?

Actually, I am quite a fast writer. "Daring Quests of Mystics" was completed in eight days; my 700-page autobiography, "The Revelation of a Star's Endless Shine: A Young Woman's Autobiography of a 20-Year Tale of Trials & Tribulations" only took me less than two months, but it would have taken me a shorter time to finish if I hadn't had to wait for my mom (I had to ask her specific questions about my early years)...she is always so busy around the house; and "Dance with Your Heart: Tales and Poems That the Heart Tells"--well, that book comprises of stories and poems I had written between the ages of twelve and twenty-one, so I primarily had to organize it, expand on some of the stories, etc.. I have a very quick mind and some of my stories came to me like lightning. I type at the speed of 55-60 words per minute using only my two index fingers, but still, my fingers can't keep up with my brain sometimes.

The book "101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2" is a cooperation with other authors; did you like working on this book? When will it be released?

I enjoyed writing my chapter for this book a great deal. If you want to achieve spiritual affinity and ultimately the success and fulfillment that come with it, then read my chapter, Dance with Your Heart: How to Befriend Your Heart and the World Around You, which gently teaches the reader how to hold hands with oneself and then with others around them. This book will be released in this summer, 2006.

Are you working on a book for the moment? Would you like to tell us a bit about it? Do you know a release date already?

In fact, I am indeed working on my fifth book, though I've already finished writing my chapter. This book, Wake Up...Live the Life You Love: Finding Your Life's Passion, Second Edition, is the latest installment in the #1 bestselling inspirational Wake Up...Live the Life You Love series. Some of the internationally acclaimed authors in this title include Dr. Wayne Dyer, Tony Robbins, and Brian Tracy. This book is scheduled for release in early 2007, but I am taking pre-orders from my site, http://www.shirleycheng.com

Is there anything else that you'd like tell to our readers, advice you'd like to give to us?

My advice is: love life! Always keep in mind that there's always someone out there who is in a much worse situation than the one you're in, so be thankful for what and whom you have. The future is up to you; there are always two roads to choose from in life: the road to happiness and the road to misery. By picking the road to misery, you'll put yourself in a more miserable situation than the one you're already in. And lastly, dance with your heart! If you ever need some lift, visit my site or read any of my books.

Thank you for this interview!

Thank you, Sylvie, for giving me this opportunity to share with others a bit of my life story and the stories I create with my wild imagination and heart, of course.

- interviewed by Sylvie