Not unlike the protagonist of Last Tang Standing, Lauren Ho brushes aside the counsel of others to listen to the beat of her own heart
Billed as "Crazy Rich Asians meets Bridget Jones' Diary", Malaysia-born Lauren Ho's debut novel will hit the bookshelves next week. The following is an excerpt of our interview with Ho, who is currently based in Singapore:
Tatler Malaysia: From law to literature, how did that transition unfold?
Lauren Ho: I harboured dreams of being a published novelist, but being pragmatic, decided that going to law school and getting a degree was safer. Nobody incepted the idea that law or medicine should be my only choice—my parents never pressured me to pick either—but I didn’t know better. I also blame Ally McBeal for glamorising a hard life.
I went on to work in one of the largest law firms in Luxembourg before becoming a legal counsel with the central bank of Luxembourg. Despite the prestige of my position, I was bored and unhappy. And there was so much work, cascades of it. I started writing a novel around that time but had to abandon it.
It was only after I moved to Singapore and returned to the humanitarian sector did I have the breathing space to write again. I had also matured as a person and had more stories to tell, and the discipline to tell them. Friends advised me to kick-start my writing, so I started writing flash fiction and short stories again. Being shortlisted in a few international competitions gave me more confidence to pursue my dream of becoming a published novelist. In late 2016, I got the idea for Last Tang Standing and finished the first draft in a year.
See also: How This Best-Selling Malaysian Author Brings History To Life Through A Collection Of Short Stories