Author Spotlight: Shisi
You may have noticed that Shisi’s name looks a bit different than what you’re used to seeing. It was requested for the English edition to shorten the pen name to Shisi!
We had a chance to ask a few questions about Little Mushroom.
Please note that answer number four has a few spoilers in it, but the third bullet is so cute we can’t help but share it.
We hope you enjoy these answers as much as we did!
How did you start writing and what are your favorite things about being an author?
I don’t think there was any particular time where I started, I’ve always loved imagining all kinds of stories in my head. Sometimes it would be stories of my favorite existing characters and other times it would be my own original characters. I’ve written many segments and pieces of a story when I was in Middle School, and now that I have more time to allocate to myself as an adult, I began writing longer and full stories.
Are you excited for the animation adaptation of your novel?
I hope they can make the monsters very scary and realistic, hahaha.
Are you generally a fan of sci-fi/dystopian stories, and if so, what are some of your favorites?
I love Ted Chiang’s short sci-fi stories, my favorite book by him is Story of Your Life.
Can you share with us something about An Zhe or Lu Feng that we wouldn’t know just from reading the book?
Colonel Lu truly believed that An Zhe was a worker from the Underground until the night of Judgement Day where he denied his own assumption.
The Chinese character for “Feng” in Lu Feng is an adjective used to describe the sound of wind or water, which also happens to be An Zhe’s favorite sounds when he was still just a mushroom.
By the end of the story, An Zhe often enjoys turning himself into a tiny ball of hyphae and hanging himself on Lu Feng’s shoulders.
Storytellers usually are drawn to either crafting plot or characters first. Which is your preference and why?
The most important aspect when writing Little Mushroom for me was the depiction of the internal conflicts between the two main characters and their developing relationship. While very few chapters in the actual story delve into it, many important decisions made by the two characters were directly influenced by the changes in their hearts throughout the story. I also really enjoy writing the scenic aspect of the story and let myself experience through writing the fear of the unknown on an apocalyptic land.
What kind of character or topic would you like to write about but haven’t yet?
I have many topics I want to write about that I’m almost losing count. For this year, I would love to write a Xianxia or Wuxia story, and another story about the deep sea—perhaps featuring a merman as one of the main characters.
The type of character I would love to write about the most right now is a character with flaws or even a dark side. I’ve noticed that I’ve been pursuing the creation of characters who are too perfect and ideal born from broad concepts to the point where I overlooked the part about creating depth and crafting a realistic human. It’s like the famous quote from Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, “Love life more than the meaning of it.”
What’s one thing you’d like to be remembered for?
I prefer the phrase readers over fans. I hope that my works can leave a lasting impression on my readers, and as for myself, I only hope people can think “she’s writing her next book” when they try to remember me, hahaha.
Do you have anything you’d like to say to your international audience?
What a pleasure to meet you all! I’m very happy to share my stories and characters with everyone. The world is vast, and I hope everyone can live joyfully. May each and every one of us have more exciting and beautiful experiences in life!
