Tori Eldridge Interviews Lily Wong and Ma

Tori Eldridge is the Anthony, Lefty, and Macavity Awards-nominated author of the Lily Wong mystery thriller series—The Ninja Daughter, The Ninja’s Blade, and The Ninja Betrayed—and the upcoming dark Brazilian fantasy, Dance Among the Flames (out May 2022).

She agreed to interview Lily Wong and Ma from her novel THE NINJA BETRAYED

About THE NINJA BETRAYED

Things get personal for Chinese-Norwegian modern-day ninja Lily Wong in Hong Kong when she dives into the dangerous world of triads, romance, and corporate disaster during the height of the pro-democracy protests.

Lily’s mother has been summoned by her grandfather, Gung-Gung to attend an emergency board meeting. Lily is happy to take her father’s place for exotic travel, family reunions, and romantic dates with her new boyfriend, Daniel Kwok, who’s there for business. Lily and her mother stay at her grandparents’ hillside home on Hong Kong Island, but tension between Gung-Gung and Ma makes it hard to enjoy the beautiful surroundings, especially with the city in turmoil. Gung-Gung won’t say anything about the meeting and Ma is worried that her career is in jeopardy. Meanwhile, the teenage daughter of Gung-Gung’s driver is pulled into the dangerous riots.

As Lily and Ma discover shaky finances, questionable loans, and plans for the future involving them both, Lily’s escalating romance with Daniel puts her heart at risk. Will her ninja skills allow her to protect her mother, the family business, and the renegade teen while navigating love, corporate intrigue, and murderous triads?

Tori Eldridge Interviews Lily Wong and Ma

Before Their Trip to Hong Kong

I sat down with Lily Wong and her mother, Violet, for dim sum lunch at Din Tai Fung in Arcadia, California, where Lily was born and her parents still live. This particular restaurant was located inside the Santa Anita Mall, but was just as posh as their other 170+ locations around the world, including their Michelin-starred restaurant in Hong Kong. Although I offered to host this luncheon, Violet insisted that she treat Lily and me.

“Thanks so much for taking the time to visit,” I said. “I know you’re both busy preparing for your trip to Hong Kong.”

Violet waved her hand dismissively, displaying the elegant imperial jade and diamond wedding ring and the Sì Xiàng bracelet she always wore on her wrist. Lily had been given a similar bracelet from Violet’s father, whom Lily called Gung-Gung. Both bracelets were sectioned into four pieces of jade, carved to resemble one of the four celestial guardians: Azure Dragon of the East, Vermilion Bird of the South, White Tiger of the West, and Black Tortoise of the North. Each segment in Violet’s bracelet was carved from the same dark green jade as her ring. The jade segments in Lily’s bracelet matched the symbolic colors of the guardians.

Violet smiled. “It’s our pleasure. Isn’t that right, Lily?”

“Of course. Especially it involves xiao long bao!”

The Din Tai Fung restaurants specialized in Taiwanese soup dumplings, delicate steamed buns that spurt delicious soup and delicacies when you popped them into your mouth—which is why one had to be extra careful when eating them. The Shanghainese xiao long bao that Uncle made in Lily’s father’s restaurant were too large to eat in one bite. Last year, Lily had taught me to nibble a tiny hole and suck out the soup before biting into the dumpling. Being a rather mischievous young woman, Lily had waited until I had exploded one all over my shirt and the table before sharing this important technique.

Violet gave her daughter a stern look. “Life does not revolve around food, Lily. There are people to consider as well.”

The glint in her eyes to the sting from the rebuke. The two of them were quite a pair: an elegant immigrant from Hong Kong and a modern-day ninja daughter even more casual and athletic than me.

Lily ignored her mother and opened a menu, nearly salivating over the pictures of spicy wontons, noodles, and buns. She lingered the longest over the wide selection of dumplings. If I didn’t know her history, I’d think her father nicknamed her Dumpling because it was her favorite thing to eat instead of her adorable baby cheeks and the secrets she would one day keep inside. Like the juicy xiao long bao, Lily could explode in shocking ways if someone was foolish enough to bite.

Violet rolled her eyes at Lily and turned to me. “Do you have any preferences, Tori?”

I shrugged. “I love everything on the menu, but the spicy shrimp and pork wontons and the sticky rice wraps are especially good.”

Lily smiled. “And don’t forget the sesame and mochi xiao long bao.”

“Oh, my gosh,” I said. “They’re so good.”

Violet nodded to our waiter then ordered in Mandarin. I don’t speak the language, but it sounded like like a feast. Lily smiled, every bit as excited about the meal as me.

“Are you looking forward to the food in Hong Kong?” I asked.

Lily nodded. “Definitely. Between the restaurants, street food, and Po-Po’s cooking, I’ll have to run everyday to keep off the weight.”

Violet smirked. “I’m sure you’ll find better things to do than run.” Then she tilted her head toward me. “The man Lily has been dating is in Hong Kong for business.”

“Daniel Kwok?” I asked.

“Indeed.”

Lily blushed and sipped her tea.

“I’ll be there on business, but Lily should have time to see the sights with Daniel.”

I had heard about the emergency board meeting and the way Violet’s father had sprung the news. Although Violet ran the Los Angeles branch of Hong Kong International Finance, it didn’t mean her job was secure.

“Do you think the board meeting concerns you?” I asked.

“Who knows? My father keeps his secrets close to his vest.” She glanced at Lily. “Just like his granddaughter. I’ll just have to wait and see.”

“You won’t be alone,” Lily said. “I’m coming to Hong Kong for you, not Daniel. If any one in that company or our family, for that matter, gives you a hard time, they’ll have to contend with me.”

The waiter set down a bowl of spicy wontons and plates of seaweed bean curd salad and sautéed garlic string beans. Violet spooned a few wontons into a bowl for me then did the same for Lily.

“You’ll have to excuse my daughter. She’s had an excess of energy ever since she dropped out of UCLA. Perhaps you could encourage her to go back to school. Or at the very least, find herself a job. Lord knows, she won’t listen to her father or me.”

 I slurped up a wonton and flashed a look at Lily, who shook her head in warning. Apparently, Violet still didn’t know about the rescue-protection work Lily did for Aleisha’s Refuge; and from Lily’s stoic silence, I guessed she wouldn’t learn about it anytime soon. Unless, the shit hit the fan. In which case, Violet might see her ninja daughter in a shocking new light.

When the zòngzi arrived at the table, I unwrapped the bamboo leaves and dug into the glutinous rice and Kurobuta pork.

“How are things in Hong Kong?” I asked. “The pro-democracy struggle is escalating.”

Violet frowned and pinched a green bean with her chop sticks. “It’s a volatile situation.”

“I’ll say,” Lily added. “Triad members are dressing up as protesters and inciting riots while the police look the other way.”

“She’s exaggerating,” Violet said.

“I’ve seen videos, Ma. This is happening. No matter what Gung-Gung and Po-Po say, we’ll be flying into a hotbed of family, corporate, and civil disruptions.”

Lily turned to me with steel in her eyes, the banquet of food forgotten. “My father has to stay in Los Angeles with the restaurant, but I’m going to Hong Kong to keep my mother safe.”

Tori Eldridge is the Anthony, Lefty, and Macavity Awards-nominated author of the Lily Wong mystery thriller series—The Ninja Daughter, The Ninja’s Blade, and The Ninja Betrayed—and the upcoming dark Brazilian fantasy, Dance Among the Flames (out May 2022). Her shorter works appear in horror, dystopian, and other literary anthologies, including the inaugural reboot of Weird Tales magazine. Her screenplay The Gift earned a semi-finalist spot for the Academy Nicholl Fellowship.

Before writing, Tori performed as an actress, singer, dancer on Broadway, television, and film. She is of Hawaiian, Chinese, Norwegian descent and was born and raised in Honolulu where she graduated from Punahou School with classmate Barack Obama. Tori holds a fifth-degree black belt in To-Shin Do ninjutsu and has traveled the USA teaching seminars on the ninja arts, weapons, and women’s self-protection. Learn more on her website: https://torieldridge.com

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Interviews, On Writing