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Born and raised in Hong Kong, Simon Choa-Johnston got his education in Canada and graduated from McMaster University in 1972. After post-graduate studies in New York, he worked in theatre in Canada for 25 years.
He has been recognized with the Governor General's Canada 125 medal and was nominated for the W.O Mitchell Literary prize.
Living in British Columbia, Choa-Johnston published a novel, The House of Wives (Penquin Random House, 2015) set in colonial Hong Kong in the latter part of the 19th century. The story is about two women competing for the affections of their opium merchant husband and is inspired by the lives of Choa-Johnston's ancestors.
He followed up by writing House of Daughters (Earnshaw Books $24.95) that follows the household of Emanuel Belilios, a wealthy Jewish opium oligarch. When Emanuel suddenly leaves Hong Kong, his junior-wife, Pearl Li blames Semah, the senior-wife. Pearl kicks Semah out of the mansion where the polyamorous trio had lived, and she shuns everyone including her daughter Leah Felicie. But when death strikes Emanuel and Semah and her father in rapid succession, Pearl suspects that the Chinese curse against opium smugglers has returned. She must act swiftly to assuage the hex. But the Fates are wily, and she's running out of time. Inspired by the author's own family, House of Daughters is a stand-alone sequel to the Globe and Mail best-seller, House of Wives.
BOOKS
House of Daughters (Earnshaw Books, 2022) $24.95 978-9888769636
The House of Wives (Penguin Random House, 2016) $24.95 9780670069477
[BCBW 2023]
He has been recognized with the Governor General's Canada 125 medal and was nominated for the W.O Mitchell Literary prize.
Living in British Columbia, Choa-Johnston published a novel, The House of Wives (Penquin Random House, 2015) set in colonial Hong Kong in the latter part of the 19th century. The story is about two women competing for the affections of their opium merchant husband and is inspired by the lives of Choa-Johnston's ancestors.
He followed up by writing House of Daughters (Earnshaw Books $24.95) that follows the household of Emanuel Belilios, a wealthy Jewish opium oligarch. When Emanuel suddenly leaves Hong Kong, his junior-wife, Pearl Li blames Semah, the senior-wife. Pearl kicks Semah out of the mansion where the polyamorous trio had lived, and she shuns everyone including her daughter Leah Felicie. But when death strikes Emanuel and Semah and her father in rapid succession, Pearl suspects that the Chinese curse against opium smugglers has returned. She must act swiftly to assuage the hex. But the Fates are wily, and she's running out of time. Inspired by the author's own family, House of Daughters is a stand-alone sequel to the Globe and Mail best-seller, House of Wives.
BOOKS
House of Daughters (Earnshaw Books, 2022) $24.95 978-9888769636
The House of Wives (Penguin Random House, 2016) $24.95 9780670069477
[BCBW 2023]
