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MEET CINDY PON
by Bonnie O'Brian

What did you most like to do when you were a child?

Cindy Pon

I really loved to play pretend. Pretend being mermaids in the pool. Pretend with our barbies. Pretend to sell my father's bonsai plants from the front garden...

What books influenced you most when you were growing up?

Childhood favorites include A LITTLE PRINCESS by Hodgson Burnett, ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS by O'dell, and DANCING SHOES and BALLET SHOES by Noel.

Did you write stories when you were growing up? at school? Or at home as a hobby? As a young child, or as a teenager, or both?

I actually came to the United States when I was six-years-old so English was a second language to me. I began writing poetry in junior high and moved on to short stories in high school. I did place in some district wide creative writing contests, but I did it solely as a hobby.

When you were a child did you ever have moments when you decided that you were going to be a writer when you grew up?

Never. I didn't think that being a "writer" as a profession was an option. Not creative writing at least. I did consider being a journalist but truly had no interest in it. So never participated in the school papers or such as a student.

What audience did you have in mind for your career as a writer - adult or children?

I originally wrote Silver Phoenix thinking it was an adult Chinese-inspired fantasy. It wasn't until I began querying agents that I realized it could be considered young adult. And that's what it sold as to my publisher.

When you went to college, were you already pursuing a writing career? (or a career in illustrating? or just art in general?)

No. In fact, I stopped writing creatively for a decade, throughout my twenties.

What was your first job when you graduated from college?

I worked abroad in London at the Tickemaster in Leicester Square selling tickets for plays and football matches.

How soon after that was your first book published?

After I graduated from college? Not until fourteen years later.

When was it published?

SILVER PHOENIX was published in April 2009.

Was your first book accepted immediately? or did you experience a number of rejections?

I had a difficult time finding an agent to represent me. I queried 121 and received over 100 rejections. The process of finding an agent took me about four months. In the end, I had as many editors interested in buying SILVER PHOENIX as I did agents interested in representing me. And SILVER PHOENIX sold in five weeks from going on submission.