What was the inspiration for Ken Tanaka and Death in Little Tokyo?
I wanted to write the most entertaining mystery novel I could, and I wanted to do it with a distinctive Asian American voice. Death in Little Tokyo grew from my interest in writing about how the past affects the present. The “camp generation” in the Japanese American community is passing, and I wanted to do my small bit to preserve some of the stories I had been told. I’m actually only half Japanese, and Ken Tanaka originally started as a “happa,” too. As I wrote, it struck me that most of the Asian American detectives I read didn’t have the right “aji” (taste)– they didn’t resonate with me and I couldn’t identify with them. Because of this, I changed Ken to a full Japanese American, so I could deal with a sub-culture, instead of a sub-culture of a sub-culture! I think too many writers don’t look at themselves and the world they exist in when they write. Everyone is interesting if they’re looked at properly. In mysteries, some people seem to write what others are writing, or they indu
