An Na
An Na
An Nais a South Korea-born American children's book author. Starting her career as a middle school English and History teacher, Na turned to writing novels after taking a young adult literature class while enrolled in an M.F.A. program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She gained success with her very first novel A Step From Heaven, published by Front Street Press in 2001, which won the annual Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association recognizing the year's "best...
NationalitySouth Korean
ProfessionAuthor
intensity open people places sound struggling though
I had been struggling with how to create a child-like protagonist's voice without making it sound as though I was 'dumbing down' to the character. They are able to see events, people and places with an intensity and open mindedness that adults lack.
champions compete honor lucky national olympic surprise win
It is a surprise to win in the National Games. It's my honor to compete with Olympic champions and world champions. I am so lucky today,
coming felt last swing
After last week, I really felt like my swing was coming through.
chinese mom somewhere south tough waitress work
I want to go to Shenzhen or somewhere down south to work as a waitress or in a factory. I don't want to do what my mom does. Life's too tough as a Chinese farmer.
balance difficult hard slide
Footwork is the most difficult thing, ... It is hard to balance and difficult to slide into shots.
following match
The first match is always difficult. I think we will play better in the following matches.
tough tour
The woman's tour is very tough for all of the players.
funny kids parents worried
It's funny but parents are always worried about their kids first,
holds means since
'Mulan' holds a very special place in my heart. It's been 16 years since the film, but hordes of fans still come up and tell me how much she means to them.
cartoon felt hesitant legendary needed worried
I was hesitant to do 'Mulan II.' For me, I felt like the story that needed to be told, this legendary character of Mulan, was already encompassed in the first movie, and I was worried they would try to create this crazy cartoon character out of this legendary character of China.
cared chinese country family fearless folklore join sacrifice willing
Mulan is so important in Chinese folklore - a fearless girl who cared about her family and country so much that she was willing to join the fight and sacrifice herself.
bucket
'Star Wars' is on my bucket list. Even if it's just a small walk on, I don't care.
absolutely anybody asian experience growing isolated society white
Growing up as an Asian American in this society, there were a lot of times where you feel isolated or out of place as an Asian. And growing up in White America, that's absolutely my experience. And I think that's why I got into acting because I wanted to be anybody else but Asian.
bit ideas knowing liked secretive work
I think on 'ER,' my other long-running show, I had some ideas about what's going on. 'Stargate Universe,' they were kind of secretive too a little bit about what they wanted to do, but I kind of liked working this way. I like the surprises, and I like knowing just enough to work on the character.