Thien-Kim Lam: On Better Vietnamese Representation
In this interview, author Thien-Kim Lam discusses how not being able to let go of certain characters led to her new contemporary romance novel, Something Cheeky.
Thien-Kim Lam writes stories about Vietnamese characters who smash stereotypes and find their happy endings. A recovering Type-Asian, she guzzles cà phê sữa đá, makes art, and bakes her feelings to stay sane. Thien-Kim is also a certified sex educator and the founder of Bawdy Bookworms, a subscription box that pairs spicy romances with erotic toys. She’s been featured on Jezebel, Bustle, Entertainment Weekly, and Oprah Daily. Follow her on X (Twitter), Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Facebook.
In this interview, Thien-Kim discusses how not being able to let go of certain characters led to her new contemporary romance novel, Something Cheeky, her hope for readers, and more.
Name: Thien-Kim Lam
Literary agent: Tara Gelsomino at One Track Literary
Book title: Something Cheeky
Publisher: Avon
Release date: March 4, 2025
Genre/category: Contemporary Romance
Previous titles: Happy Endings, Full Exposure
Elevator pitch: Two friends get the opportunity to work together on their dream project—a Vietnamese Cinderella rock musical with an all-Asian cast—and discover that falling in love was the easy part.
What prompted you to write this book?
I wanted to write a rom-com that was Asian AF while subverting stereotypes. By writing a large cast of Asian American characters, I’m able to portray us as individuals and not a nerd, an ingenue, or a mob boss. Can a fat Vietnamese American heroine fall in love while fully confident in desirability and sexuality? Yes.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
Zoe and Derek’s story was originally conceived in 2020 as a fake dating romance centered around a fictional Trưng Sisters space comic. My pitch didn’t resonate with my editor, so I ended up writing Full Exposure (with different lead characters) instead.
I couldn’t let go of Zoe and Derek, so I reworked my idea and pitched it as my next book. I channeled my theater costume design training to create a fictional Vietnamese Cinderella rock musical, which meant their love story would work better as a friends-to-lovers romance.
While the specifics changed dramatically from ideation to execution, both concepts have themes of identity as Asian Americans and the obstacles we face when we aim to tell our stories.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
Something Cheeky was originally slated to release on November 5, 2024—election day. It wasn’t a surprise, but the timing wasn’t great for a novel set in Washington, DC. My wonderful agent noted this early on and my publishing team agreed. I’m glad that they were able to push publication to March 2025.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I unlocked another facet of my sexuality. Writing this book allowed me to fully accept my demisexuality. Categorized under the asexuality spectrum (the A in LGBTQIA+), demisexuals need an emotional connection with a person in order to be sexually attracted to them.
In my previous novels, my characters became physically intimate fairly early, but this didn’t feel right for college best friends Zoe and Derek. I had a tough time portraying Zoe’s romantic arc until I explored what demisexuality meant to me. Once I realized that I’d intuitively written Zoe as such, I was able to figure out the nuances of how their relationship evolved.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
My hope is that Something Cheeky becomes whatever the reader needs to feel or see in their current situation. Perhaps it’s understanding the dichotomy between standing up for your values and keeping a job that pays the bills. Or that standing up against racism has more benefits than remaining silent. Whatever resonates with readers the most, I want them to feel optimism for the future.
I also want Vietnamese readers to see themselves in Something Cheeky. To see themselves as whole, complex people because in the past the media has done a shitty job of portraying us as victims of a civil war.
I want Asian diasporic folks to see ourselves as enough. There’s no such thing as being Asian enough. We’re already enough.
For non-Asian/Vietnamese readers, I want them to also see us as more than our food. I’m glad Vietnamese food is having a renaissance in the West. But we’re also complex people who are able to find joy in the midst of all the things like hate crimes and racism. And we deserve stories that are more than Vietnam War and refugee stories.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Don’t be afraid to make your story uniquely yours. Include the things you love and go for the weird in your writing. It could be your obsession with musical theater or making your novel Asian AF. Make it the story that only you could’ve written.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
