Yin & Young Podcast EP 70 - Writer Peter Kageyama returns with MIDNIGHT CLIMAX

Yin & Young Podcast

Writer Peter Kageyama joins Yin & Young again to talk about MIDNIGHT CLIMAX the second novel of the Kats Takemoto series. Peter joined us last time (EP 66) discussing HUNTERS POINT the first Kats Takemoto novel and in this book we delve more into Kats wartime past, Chinatown gangs, and secret government mind control experiments. Peter shares insight into the writing process of this novel and what is important to him as a writer.

Highlights:

- 00:11 Intro: photo of Peter’s dad by Dorothea Lange and Feodor Chin is the voice actor for Peter’s novels.

- 03:35 Reintroducing Peter and his first novel Hunters Point which podcasted about a year ago.

- 07:00 Yokohama is one of Dan's favorite places and Peter’s family origins are from the area.

- 07:55 Midnight Climax is Peter's latest book. Promoting a book runs contrary to the writing process.

- 10:00 Peter’s process for writing. Peter has places where he feels comfortable writing.

- 11:45 Thoughts on “writer’s block.” Writing the 3rd book has been more challenging.

- 15:40 In the process of moving in Florida.

- 17:00 “No-No Boy” by John Okada as testament to conscientious dissent.

- 19:20 Kats is not anti-government, but he doesn’t like bullies.

- 21:45 Officer Blackstone in the book is a real person and Kats is drawn to other principled characters like him.

- 23:13 How to write about historical figures. Peter connected with a relative of Shig Murao via Instagram.

- 26:54 Fell in love with the characters. Researched PTSD to flesh out the characters better.

- 30:05 Tours of Chinatown helped inspire the writings of the place in the book.

- 32:00 Learning about languages for the book. Utilized Wikipedia for some different terms of the time. Distinctions between Mandarin & Cantonese.

- 36:00 How to write about ethnic characters without playing into stereotypes, particularly the Chinese prostitute character.

- 42:17 The guys talk about why they started studying martial arts

- 46:20 Peter discusses the CIA experiments of the 1960s

- 51:10 Themes of love and friendship.

- 52:57 Dorothea Lange’s picture of Peter’s father who was an inspiration for Kats.

- 57:58 Discussion of sports leagues that came from internment camps. Repercussions of Japanese internment.

- 01:05:25 Staying balanced: Board games and exercise.

Language corner (01:17:20)

Cantonese

• 鬼婆 gwei po - devil old lady. Derogatory term for white women.

• 鬼佬 gwei lo - foreigner

Scottish

• Hurkle-durkle - to lay about in bed long after the time to get up.

Mandarin

• 舊金山 - jiùjīnshān - literally: old gold mountain which means San Francisco.

Peter Kageyama’s links:

• Website: https://peterkageyama.com/

• Peter’s non-fiction work on urban planning and communities: https://www.fortheloveofcities.com

Other links:

• Peter’s 1st appearance on the Yin & Young Podcast EP66 discussing HUNTERS POINT - https://youtu.be/el10M-hBdVI?si=2bKzcRffOm2CDhdW

• Feodor Chin returns to voice MIDNIGHT CLIMAX - https://peterkageyama.com/audiobook-now-available-feodor-chin-returns/

• Our podcast with Feodor: https://www.jamesyshih.com/yin-young-podcast/2017/12/3/yin-young-ep24-feodor-chin

• San Francisco City Guides - https://sfcityguides.org/

• Thai artist featured on Peter’s wall, Ummarid “Tony” Eitharong: https://tonyeitharong.com/

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