An Interview with Maisie Chan

World Book Day is just a few days away (Thursday 6 March). To celebrate the joy of storytelling, we’re thrilled to welcome back award-winning Glasgow-based author Maisie Chan. Last year, Maisie joined our Maths Tales programme for an online schools session, where she discussed her novel Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths and answered questions from enthusiastic pupils. This year, we’ve followed up with Maisie for an exclusive interview, perfect for those who missed the session or had more burning questions. Without further ado, let’s dive in with Maisie!

Hi everyone! I am Maisie Chan, a children’s author who lives in Glasgow. I’m probably best known for my debut novel Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths which is about a boy who thinks he’s not good at maths and therefore, he doesn’t like doing it. He loves drawing but his parents want him to be academic. His world changes when his grandma (who he’s never met) comes to live with his family and stays in his room with him. He has to ‘granny sit’ her and to make things worse, she is a math champion!

What inspired you to become an author?

Well, it didn’t cross my mind that I could be an author when I was younger. I didn’t know any authors in real life, and I never saw any authors like me, so it wasn’t a job I thought I could do. I think I was in my late 20s when I realised that I wanted to write books. I wish I had start writing stories much earlier when I was a child (start now everyone!). I was inspired to write novels about British Chinese characters because I couldn’t see any in children’s books and I thought to myself – I’m going to do it then!

What I have come to realise is that I love being a storyteller and there are themes I want to explore about being human, and stories are a wonderful way of doing that. Being creative is such a wonderful thing and I also like people, so I love doing school events and hearing from readers. Although, I didn’t write creative stories much when I was a child, I did have pen pals and I loved finding out about different countries like Jamaica, Canada and Greece – and I enjoyed telling my pen pals about my life in Birmingham. So looking back, I did used to write, but it was more about communication rather than my imagination.

How long have you been writing for?

I started writing short stories in 2006! Which is a really long time ago. One of my first stories was about my cat who was called Mo. I think it’s normal when starting out to write about people and things that you are familiar with. I started writing for children in 2016 when I got onto a mentoring scheme. I had support to write my first novel, and it helps to get someone to read it like an editor or another writer. All of my books have been supported by editors and other people who give me feedback and help make my writing better.

It’s taken years to become the writer that I have become. I’ve done lots of courses, read a lot of books, asked questions about writing to other writers and keep going even when I’ve gotten rejections.

How did you come up with the idea for this book?

Danny Chung began as a chance meeting. My friend’s grandmother moved into her house with her and her family when she was 92 years old. She was a strong personality and full of charm. I couldn’t understand her, but felt she was a wonderful character. I wanted to show the relationship between a boy whose grown up in the U.K. and how he deals with, someone living in his room who is essentially a stranger.

Why did you choose to write about someone not enjoying maths?

Well, the maths part came into the second draft. I wanted there to be a thing that maybe some young readers connect with – and that might be the notion that they don’t like maths. Some people do, but it’s usually people who find it easy or who are good at it.

I was exploring the notion that maybe we avoid doing things (like maths or learning an instrument) because we’re afraid that we’re not good at it, and we can stop ourselves from even giving it a go. I wasn’t great at writing stories when I first started out; but I practiced and tried to learn more, and here I am – a children’s author!

The theme of the book was about trying, and I felt Danny was a good character to show readers that you can try your best, and maybe there isn’t just one kind of math. You might struggle or need support with one kind of math, but there are so many different areas in maths and maybe you can find one area that you are good at and can enjoy. I think that sometimes we close ourselves off from different experiences even before we’ve explored the possibilities.

Who is your favourite character in the book?

My favourite character in the book is Nai Nai! She was so much fun to write, and readers usually adore her. I found her challenging too as she doesn’t speak much in the book, but her presence is huge. I enjoyed writing her little quirks such as buying and eating loads of fruit. I enjoyed how she became good friends with Mrs Cruikshanks and went to play bingo. I felt she was a good role model for Danny.

What is your favourite part of the book?

The bingo scenes are my favourite part of the book. The bingo hall is full of interesting characters, and it was a metaphor for wider society. There was a lot happening in those scenes.

Why did you decide to put maths in your book?

The maths part only came into the book during the second draft. I added it because I felt my protagonist needed a project to work on which would help have a timeline. I also was looking to debunk stereotypes and one such notion is that all Chinese people are good at maths. I’m not great at maths and as a child I liked to draw like Danny. So, I added a math project and Nai Nai the math champion to add more tension to the story. I added a little bit about the Fibonacci Sequence in the book too. I loved the idea that maths was all around us in nature and wanted to tell readers that wonderful fact too.

Why do you think maths is so important?

Maths is everywhere! It’s used in part of our daily lives that we don’t even see. We use it every day – in cooking, in banking, in decisions about how much we spend, it’s used in engineering and building work, and many more jobs.

We need maths! When I found out there was maths in nature in spirals, plants, shells, sunflowers and more – I was blown away. It felt like there was a kind of cosmic maths, a magical maths that could be seen in the real world and I wanted to just tell readers a little about it.

Did you like maths when you were at school?

I didn’t mind maths at school if I’m being honest. I didn’t hate it. I could do maths, but I preferred subject that were about people and words like English literature, sociology and psychology. Maths was something I was good at, but it wasn’t my passion. I think my project was that I was sometimes a perfectionist, and I didn’t like getting things wrong. In maths, there is a right answer, and I didn’t like that perhaps I would get an answer wrong.

What are you working on next?

My new novel is called Nate Yu’s Blast from the Past and it is a book about Nate who has a different kind of family. He has recently moved to a new city, and he finds a new friend – a ghost from the First World War! It is set in Liverpool so has some landmarks and history elements. It was a fun book to write. If you like BBC Ghosts, then you might like this book!

I’ve also written a non-fiction picture book, but I don’t know when that is coming out as it’s being illustrated and that can take ages!