On this episode, we are joined from all the way on the other side of the world by Emma Pei Yin to chat about her debut novel When Sleeping Women Wake, a historical fiction novel about three women who each find their individual paths to resistance during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during world war 2. Emma shares with how she was inspired to write the story after hearing about her grandfather's experiences as a resistance fighter in WW2 as well as how surprisingly difficult it was to find research about life under occupation from the Chinese perspective.

Follow Emma on Instagram at @emmapeiyin and check out her debut novel When Sleeping Women Wake available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

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The Books & Boba September 2025 pick is A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

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