'I knew I wanted to combine my love for stand-up with my love for Malaysia, so that’s how the (new) book came about,' says Ho. Photo: The Star/Low Lay Phon
For Malaysian author Lauren Ho, who grew up reading book series like Fear Street and Sweet Valley, there was a decided lack of characters in the books who resembled her and her peers.
“These books tend to centre very Western perspectives, so I always thought it would be nice to see more young adult fiction with protagonists that look like us, that feature our stories,” says Ho in a recent interview.
Last weekend, she returned to Kuala Lumpur to promote her debut YA novel, Bite Me, Royce Taslim. It was a chance for the author, who moved to Singapore in 2013, to reconnect with readers here with a series of bookshop meets in the heart of KL.
Known for her women’s contemporary fiction novels Last Tang Standing (2020) and Lucie Yi Is Not A Romantic (2022), Ho eagerly embraced the opportunity to venture into young adult fiction when she was approached by a publisher to submit a proposal in the genre.
Released in May, Bite Me, Royce Taslim is a hilariously sharp, yet sweet rivals-to-romance romp, following high school track star Agnes Chan, who goes through an identity crisis in her senior year after an accident destroys her chance at a college scholarship, and Royce Taslim, the golden boy rich kid whom Agnes considers her “arch-nemesis”.
The two unexpectedly find common ground in KL’s amateur stand-up comedy scene, engaging in a battle of wits that leads Agnes to realise that perhaps her initial impression of Royce wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be.
A battle of wits
Though the KL-born Ho admits that she never really had an arch nemesis growing up, she did for a time dabble in stand-up comedy – her genuine love for it really shines through in the book, fully immersing readers in the world of stand-up open mics and competitions.
“I was an amateur stand-up comedian in Singapore a few years back, between 2016 and 2018, and I don’t think you ever really stop being a comedian, even if you don’t perform anymore.
Ho’s new book is Disney-Hyperion’s first title that is set in Malaysia. Photo: Handout
“I knew I wanted to combine my love for stand-up with my love for Malaysia, so that’s how the book came about,” says Ho, adding that the book is Disney-Hyperion’s first title that is set in Malaysia (and South-East Asia).
Though she never pursued the hobby seriously, at the peak of her interest, Ho used to perform on stage at least once a week. Her favourite comedians include John Mulaney, Beth Stelling, Aparna Nancherla and Ali Wong.
“It was just a way for me to work through things, using humour as a sort of ‘cheap therapy’, since laughter is the best medicine, after all,” says Ho, who studied law in Britain and worked in a legal firm in Luxembourg before opting for a writing career.
“But it was also a means to reach out to a group of like-minded people. I really appreciated the stand-up community because it had a very open and welcoming spirit,” she adds.
According to Ho, who juggles her writing career with raising a family and a full-time job at an international non-profit organisation, comedic writing is one of the hardest technical skills to execute well on the page, but it’s also often too easily dismissed.
“Some people tend to wave off comedic writing, saying ‘Oh, it’s just light fiction or chick lit’, like it doesn’t take much effort, but honestly, it takes a lot of skill to write it well.
Ho chatting with a young reader and signing a copy of her new book at the MPH bookstore, TRX Exchange in Kuala Lumpur last Saturday. Photo: The Star/Low Lay Phon
“I was able to write my first book Last Tang Standing thanks to the exposure I had with stand-up comedy, which sharpens your storytelling skills. For Bite Me, Royce Taslim, there was also the artistic challenge of depicting stand-up sets on paper,” she says.
In fact, there’s never been a better time to release a book featuring stand-up comedy, as Ho says she’s noticed a rising interest in the pastime lately, thanks to social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where you can easily find short clips of stand-up sets from anywhere in the world.
“I think people are taking stand-up comedy more seriously now, especially as an art form. They’re investing time and effort into it to improve themselves and the scene as a whole has really stepped up its standards, so it’s an exciting time to be an amateur stand-up comic – if that’s something you’re interested in getting into,” she says.
Exploring new genres
Although Ho describes herself as an “older Millennial,” she didn’t find it particularly challenging to relate to today’s young adults when writing her book. She could easily put herself in their shoes.
But she still made sure to get their feedback – just in case.
“When writing young adult books as an adult, you come to realise that your experiences are somewhat removed from what the youths of today are experiencing. So I did speak to actual teenagers and young adults while working on the book,” she explains.
Ho is now focusing on her writing, promoting her YA debut and planning a mystery/thriller series. Photo: The Star/Low Lay Phon
“While there are a lot of universal themes that still resonate today, like learning how to be true to yourself, I wanted to make sure that it was contemporised, that things like language and tone felt right for this part of the world.”
Ho, who has two young children, does point out that she avoids using trendy slang in her works.
“I find that when you use very contemporary slang, like ‘rizz’ or ‘cap’, it’s very Gen Z, or even Gen Alpha, but it immediately ages your book. So it’s a deliberate choice for me to be youthful in the topics that I discuss in my book, but to keep the language pretty neutral.”
As much as Ho loves writing romantic comedies, she’s also itching to try her hand at other genres.
“As a writer, I appreciate having the opportunity to expand my skill sets in different styles. I have a couple of projects that I can’t really talk about yet in detail, but I can tell you that one is a mystery/thriller, which is a genre that I’ve always wanted to try, and another is speculative fiction that looks at marriage and family issues.
“So yes, I’m expanding my repertoire, but I’ll always love comedic fiction and will one day return to writing rom-coms, hopefully,” she concludes.
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