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MEET NATASHA YIM
by Bonnie O'Brian

What books influenced you most when you were growing up?

Natasha Yim

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee was by far my favorite book. I think I read it five times. I loved the setting -- the lazy, Southern feel you get from her descriptions; the characterizations -- Scout, Atticus, and Boo were such distinctly drawn characters; the court-room drama; the mystery. It hooked me from beginning till end. Also, I read anything and everything by Jane Austen and Enid Blyton.

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?

I've wanted to be a writer since I was eleven years old when a school English assignment about creating an imaginary island got me interested in creative writing and using my imagination to make-up a different world. It was so much fun! I've been making up things in one form or another ever since.

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?

As a teen, I kept a journal, and also a notebook in which I often wrote short stories and poems. The journal I kept at home, but the notebook I had with me everywhere. I wrote whenever inspiration struck: at recess at school; sometimes during lessons when I got bored; at home; when travelling on vacation. Many times they weren't stories, but observations of people, things, and my experiences.

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

I had rejection letters before on other manuscripts, but with OTTO'S RAINY DAY, I was lucky -- and very patient! I submitted it to one publisher, Charlesbridge Publishing, exclusively. Their guidelines said that they responded to manuscripts in 3 months. After 6 months, I still hadn't heard anything, but I received a letter in the mail from them telling me that they were extremely backlogged, but that they would get to my manuscript. I thought it was really nice of them to take the time to keep me updated. So, I waited. At the 9 month mark, they actually phoned me and told me that they were still wading through the slush pile. They told me not to worry and that they would get to my manuscript. I thought, as busy as they were, that was a really nice gesture (although it did get my heart palpitating a little when I heard Charlesbridge was on the phone). At the one year mark, my editor, Yolanda LeRoy, finally called me at work and told me that she loved the book, and Charlesbridge wanted to publish it. I guess good things can come to those who wait.

Do you do other types of writing - for example, educational,nonfiction, magazine work?

I have had several non-fiction articles published in local and regional newspapers and magazines. A recent non-fiction article was purchased by Highlights for Children magazine, pending a publication date. I've written three ten minute plays. Two of them were staged by Mendocino Community College, and one, co-written with Paul Kubin, was written as part of a 24-hour play festival and was performed at Ukiah Players' Theater. I have also written press releases, play reviews, and newsletters.

How did your life change when you got married? and had children? Did it make it easier or harder to find time to write?

In terms of writing, getting married didn't really change much. But having kids certainly did. I have 3 under the age of 8, and with shuttling them to school, soccer practices, and horse-riding lessons; fixing school lunches, helping out in my kids' classrooms etc., plus the usual daily chores, I don't get time for much else. Most days, I'm so exhausted, I fall asleep in the kids' beds when I'm putting them to sleep. To fit in any writing time, I have to be creative. For two years, when I just had my two girls, I would wake up at 5 in the morning, and write for two hours before I had to get them up for school. I did it 6 days out of the week, and this was my most productive period. That all changed when the baby was born 20 months ago. Now, I snatch writing time when and wherever I can -- during nap times, at the health club (they offer 2 hours of babysitting) after my work-out, in the car during stop-lights (I also carry a book and a magazine -- mostly Writers' Digest -- and catch up on my reading this way). If I'm not actually writing, I'm working on writing-related things: I'll edit dialogue or scenes in my head while I'm grocery shopping or waiting at doctors' offices. I sometimes daydream of having a pretty, serene writing cottage, and of being able to write from 9 am. to 5 pm. But I've reconciled myself to the fact that this is my reality, and I've got to make my writing work around that.

Do you work on more than one book at a time?

I do tend to work on multiple projects at one time. I get easily bored and distracted. My focus seems to come in frenzied spurts then wanes a bit on a project, and I always have interesting ideas that storm my brain and pull me away from the task at hand. The good part is that I never get writers' block -- if I get stuck on something I'm working on, I work on something else for awhile. The bad part is it takes me forever to finish a project.

What other jobs you had before you became a writer/illustrator?

Currently, I'm a homemaker, but before my eldest was born, I was a social worker. I worked in group homes, residential treatment centers, foster family agencies, and with Child Protective Services. I've worked with foster kids, delinquent teenagers, and emotionally damaged children who have been physically and sexually abused.