That’s the biggest part, because I think up until now I learned to be very easygoing because that’s what my family wanted, that’s how you make friends, that’s how you fit in with society. That was definitely something that I experienced, but the way that it set me free - it’s mostly with helping me advocate for myself and to understand my needs better.

Is that something you also grappled with, or did you want that experience to diverge from your own?įor Stella, her insecurity was how people would respond to it. You write how your “label set you free,” but for Stella the label is something she fears will spell the end of her relationship with Michael if it’s actually spoken or bestowed upon her. I thought that would be really interesting to write, so that’s where that came from. I liked the idea of a woman being successful and loving her career, and a hero as a prostitute with a heart of gold. I’d just read Fifty Shades of Grey, and I didn’t think I could write a Christian Grey ever. Also, I’m really drawn to anything that’s thought of as taboo or bad because I always feel there’s a compelling reason behind these things, and I always want to see if you were in this person’s shoes, would you feel it was wrong? And to push my mind to see things from a new perspective. I wanted to write about someone in a similar profession, which immediately brings up Pretty Woman in my head. My friend’s an anthropology major, and I thought it was fascinating. I’d been reading this anthropological piece called Night Work - it’s about hostess clubs in Tokyo. What is it about that film or that story that attracted you? You said you were inspired to write this because you wanted to do a reverse Pretty Woman. Learning to be was something that I’ve been working on now, and trying to accept who I am. It’s kind of unhealthy in that I will even become a different person depending on who I’m with. I feel like I’d take it a step further - camouflaging or trying to be other people. Self-acceptance was a big thing because before writing the book, I did a lot of masking.

Those are things that have always plagued me as unhappy things I have to live with and hide or try to cover up. This was an opportunity to embrace aspects like the repetitive motions and sensitivities. HELEN HOANG: Drawing Stella as a character, giving her all of these idiosyncrasies was really helpful for me because those are things about myself that I’ve never really paid attention to or understood. How much of that made its way into Stella and the story you were telling? ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You write movingly in your author’s note about how writing The Kiss Quotient sent you on a concurrent journey of finding your own diagnosis.

The love quotient book