Welcome to the Dark & Stormy Podcast. I speak about the challenges of writing a novel in a foreign setting, in this case, Japan.

My novel GAIJIN COWGIRL is partly set here. The soul of the book is rooted in the post-war arrangements between Japan and the US, with many aspects of that history coming out in the course of the story. I begin the novel in a hostess club, a social environment that is unknown in the West.

In this podcast, I discuss choices about setting, about approaching a foreign culture, how I handled these issues in GAIJIN COWGIRL, and the books and experiences that inspired and informed me.

Timecodes:

0:00 - Introduction

1:10 - Challenges of setting a novel in Japan

1:42 - Opening a book: setting versus character

3:11 - Jamie Dibs reads the opening to GAIJIN COWGIRL

7:47 - Considerations when writing fiction in someone else’s country

10:02 - Additional challenges of going for the seamy side

11:08 - Cinema’s influence

12:26 -Explaining a foreign culture and risking upsetting cultural sensitivities

15:51 - Crafting an adventure story on top of real-life power politics and history

17:58 - “I only know what I know”

20:42 - Late-night drinking and other research techniques

22:18 - Reading about Japan: Whiting, Buruma, Seagrave

25:42 - Reading about Japan: Murakami, Tanizaki, Mishima

30:44 - The limits and the possiblities of writing fiction in a foreign setting

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamiedibs.substack.com