Today’s I’m happy to tell you
about a new book by authors Binh Pham and R.M. Clark, THE DRAGON’S SONG.
This is a middle grade, refugee adventure that was released just this week.
THE DRAGON’S SONG is based
on Binh's true story, when he, as a young man, fled Vietnam in 1980. Though
some of the characters are fictitious, the story of Binh’s journey from Ho Chi
Minh City to the United States is based on true events.
THE DRAGON’S SONG
Eleven-year-old Bao Dang
remembers watching in horror four years earlier as Communist soldiers dragged
his parents from their home. Now an orphan, he begins a journey to escape the
oppressive government of South Vietnam. The owner of a small boat, paid in
gold, smuggles Bao and his cousin, Binh Pham, down the Saigon River at night to
the South China Sea, where he and over one hundred other "boat
people" pack into a trawler designed to hold fewer than thirty. For six
days, they face danger from the police, weather, and pirates, not to mention
the constant threat of capsizing as they take on water while living only on
dry, rationed rice.
Bao, Binh and the others hope a
refugee camp in Indonesia accepts them, but there's no guarantee. Word has it
they may be turned away and even towed back out to sea to starve. Eventually
finding a safe haven, Bao harnesses the power of music to heal and help endure
months of harsh and dangerous living while he and Binh await word from relatives
in the United States, hoping they'll obtain the ultimate gift: freedom.
Now please join me in giving a warm
welcome to R.M. as he stops by to tell us about the “making of The Dragon’s
Song.” Welcome, R.M.
I first met my co-author, Binh Pham, back in the 1990s when we were both working as computer scientists for the same defense contractor. In the 2000s, we were both switched over to Dept of Navy jobs, working in the same building. I knew from small talk and a few conversations that Binh had come over from Vietnam as one of the “boat people” of the early 1980s. He also mentioned some other tales of life in Vietnam. I was not a writer then, so his stories, although interesting, were just, well, stories.
I began writing in 2007 and got my first book published in 2012, with another to follow every year for five years. By this time, refugee tales were all over the news and I knew I was ready to tell his “escape from Vietnam” story, if he’d agree.
In the summer of 2015, I approached Binh and ask if I could chronicle his adventure. Since I am primarily a children’s book author, I had to convince him to have a fictional younger cousin go along with him and narrate the story (in real life, Binh made the journey without accompaniment). It would still be Binh’s story, but seen through the eyes of an 11-year-old orphan named Bao Dang.
Thankfully, he agreed and we went to work. We met in a break room once or twice a week. I told him to start at the beginning (why he left, how he paid for it, etc.) while I took copious notes. He went into vivid detail about the covert journey down the Saigon River with 14 others packed knees-to-chin in the bow of a small boat. Then it was on to the Hyvong (Vietnamese for Hope), a river boat that was used to transport Binh and over 100 other packed refugees to open water and beyond to a willing refugee camp. There were so many details about the trip I could never make up, they have to be experienced.
There were often others in the break room when we did this, and they, too, were enraptured by his tale. I frequently had to remind myself to keep writing as he spoke. It took most of the summer to get from escaping Vietnam to finally making it to the US (no spoiler needed), but I finally turned those many pages of hand-written notes into a nearly 40k word first draft manuscript called “Escape to America.”
First drafts are typically far from perfect, and this one was no exception. We removed unneeded scenes and fixed clunky dialogue. I had to make sure the “voice” sounded authentic by deleting all American-sounding phrases and mannerisms and infusing the occasional Vietnamese word or phrase for effect.
Something was still “off” with the next draft and that’s when I realized the point of view needed to be changed from third person to first person. We had to get inside Bao’s head and feel everything he was feeling and then some. To do this, I asked Binh to dig a little deeper and tell me what he was experiencing using all five senses. We needed the smell of the cramped quarters in the bow of the boat, the taste of the one cup of rice and one cup of water they were given daily as they made their way through the South China Sea. We needed the sound of the wind whooshing through the flimsy structures at the refugee camps. That version of the story was much better, but there still something missing. It read too much like a documentary. It needed more soul. That’s when it hit me. Bao, the fictional refugee needed non-human help to get him through the hardships of camp life. He needed music. He needed to hear The Dragon’s Song.
We rewrote dozens of scenes to add the element of music into the plot. Bao is given a small, bamboo flute called a sao truc. He soon realizes that he’s a very good player and that songs can soothe his soul. The music gets him through near starvation, bullying, overcrowded conditions, and worst of all, day after day of interminable waiting.
Now we were onto something. The title changed to The Dragon’s Song and we were ready to find a literary agent. After a few months and more than the usual amount of rejections, we found an agent from Texas who loved it. If we thought getting an agent was difficult, getting an editor at a major publishing house turned out to be an impossible task. We do give the agent credit for trying. She suggested several rewrites to add tension and humor. Unfortunately, her office was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey and she suffered some major health issues along the way, one of which forced her out of the business before she could make a sale.
We were free to shop the manuscript around on our own, so we did just that. In November of 2019, we sent the manuscript to Intense Publications in Texas and the editor, Jana Grissom, offered us a contract just four days later. The Dragon’s Song had found a home! Now, five years in the making, we present to you our story, a tale of faith and determination and courage.
We hope
you enjoy The Dragon’s Song. We also hope you appreciate what many refugees
around the world consider to be the ultimate gift: Freedom.
R.M., thanks for stopping by
today and sharing this insight into this fascinating story.
Meet the
Authors
Binh Pham was born into his family of 9 brothers and sisters in Saigon, Vietnam. Binh tried his best to make a living for himself, pursuing a degree of medicine.
His life changed when the
communist party took over Vietnam, forcing him to leave everything behind and
embark on a journey towards America.
Binh now lives in Rhode Island
with his wife, Chau. He has two children Hien and Liem.
R. M. Clark is a computer scientist for the Dept. of Navy by day and children’s' book writer by night.
He lives in Massachusetts with
his wife and two sons. He is currently at work on his latest middle grade
novel.
For more information on R.M. and
his writing, you can visit his author site: www.rmclarkauthor.com
Thanks everyone for stopping by
today. Don’t you find this to be a fascinating story? Do you enjoy books that
are based on true stories?
Thank you for bringing this book to my attention. The plight of refugees is very dear to my heart (and I am ashamed of my government's treatment of boat people). I am so glad that Bhinh Pham made his way to safety - and found someone to help him tell his story.
ReplyDeleteGlad it finally found a home. I can't imagine what Binh went through to get free.
ReplyDeleteWhat a story of courage! Thank you for sharing it. And it sounds as though the book tells that story in an accessible and engaging way. I'm very glad you found a publisher.
ReplyDeleteWow. --and yes, I like books based on true stories. Congrats to the authors.
ReplyDelete