X.H. Collins

X.H. Collins was born in Hechuan, Sichuan Province, China, grew up in Kangding, on the East Tibet Plateau, and now calls Iowa home. Although always wanting to be a writer, she chose a career path of science and earned a MS in cell biology and a PhD in nutrition, and has taught biology at a community college for the past fifteen years. When she's not teaching or writing, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, dancing (ballroom and Latin), and cooking. Her debut novel: FLOWING WATER, FALLING FLOWERS.

Twitter: @xixuan_c

Facebook: @xhcollins

Instagram: @xixuan_c

Is your go to comfort food sweet or savory? Is it something you make yourself? Does food inspire your writing?

My comfortable food is sweet. I cook a concoction of fermented sweet rice wine (醪糟), little sticky-rice balls, a poached egg, dates, and goji berries. It’s a real treat to have a steaming bowl of this, especially during the long, cold winter days when my whole being craves for something warm and sweet─the comfort.

Food is a huge part of my fiction writing, as food is a part of the culture. Many readers have told me how they are fascinated by the food I write about it in my novel and wish to sample it. I can’t help it because I love to eat.

Have you ever experienced Imposter Syndrome?

Yes, every day. English is not my first language, which I think makes my Imposter Syndrome more acute. Even after publishing a novel and getting good feedback from readers, I still feel like I’m faking being a writer and I’m not good at writing. Then I remind myself that a writer writes. The more I write, the closer I’ll become a “real” writer, and the better I can write, hopefully.

Is there another profession you would like to try?

Writing is already my second profession. I have been a biology professor at a college for seventeen years. My degrees are in science. I start to focus primarily on writing only this year.

But if I have a chance, I would love to learn how to play piano and become a concert pianist. I accompany my son to his lessons and help him practice, but I can’t play well as he does.

Do you have another artistic outlet in addition to your writing? Do you sew? Paint? Draw? Knit? Dance?

Dance! When I was very young I wanted to be a dancer. In college, I started ballroom dancing. I actually met my husband at a college ballroom dance club. Before we have our son, we were very active in dancing and traveled a lot for lessons. We even taught part-time at the local studio of the Arthur Murray dance franchise, college clubs, and local gyms. We didn’t do as much after our son was born, and we didn’t dance at all last year and a half due to the pandemic. But we are still dancers in our hearts. It’s such a different art form than writing, but it’s another great way to appreciate the beauty of life.      

Do you speak a second language? Do you think differently in that language? Does it influence your writing?

Yes! As mentioned above, English is my second language. My first language is Sichuanese, a dialect of Mandarin. Then in school, I learned Mandarin, but I still speak Mandarin with an accent. I also realized, once I start writing in English, that I learned British English in China, evident in my peculiar way of punctuation and certain spellings.

I used to think ESL is only a disadvantage in writing, but some writer friends and mentors have told me that having another language as a first language brings a different sensibility to my writing. I hope it’s true. Nabokov and Conrad are famous ESL writers. And today we also have Yiyun Li, Ha Jin, and many great academic authors whose first language is Mandarin. I aspire to be like them.