Helen Hoang (born 1982) is the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

of an American romance novelist, best known for her best-selling debut novel ''

The Kiss Quotient ''The Kiss Quotient'' is a 2018 novel written by Helen Hoang. It follows Stella, an autistic woman who hires an escort in order to explore intimacy with other people. Development Hoang wrote the first draft of what would become ''The Kiss Qu ...

''.

Career

Prior to being published, Hoang wrote paranormal and fantasy romances with a martial arts bent. She states that she wrote on and off for around ten years before ''The Kiss Quotient'' was published. Hoang says that the writers who influence her own work the most are

Jayne Ann Krentz Jayne Ann Krentz, née Jayne Castle (born March 28, 1948, in Cobb, California, United States), is an American writer of romance novels. Krentz is the author of a string of ''New York Times'' bestsellers under seven different pseudonyms. Now, she ...

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, Elizabeth Lowell,

Susan Elizabeth Phillips Susan Elizabeth Phillips (born December 11, 1944, in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a romance novels, romance novelist from the United States. She is the creator of the sports romance and has been called the "Queen of Romantic Comedy". Biography Phillip ...

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, and

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. Hoang's first novel, ''

'', was published in June 2018. The romance novel follows Stella, an

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

woman who hires an escort in order to explore intimacy with other people. Hoang states that she initially wanted to write a gender-swapped ''

Pretty Woman ''Pretty Woman'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall and written by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), ...

'', but was stuck when examining why a "successful, beautiful woman would hire an escort." Later, her realization that she and her daughter are both on the autism spectrum led to the basis for the book. A sequel titled '' The Bride Test'', about Esme, a hotel maid who gets offered to accompany Khai, the autistic cousin of Michael from the first book who never had a girlfriend before to weddings, was published by Berkley in May 2019. Hoang says that she wanted to subvert the harmful tropes surrounding autism by writing an autistic character through protagonist Khai who is perceived by others as cold and heartless when this is not actually the case. The book was inspired by her mother's immigrant story, with Esme's story coming directly from conversations with her mom about what it was like to be poor in Vietnam and what it was like when she first came to the U.S. Hoang describes ''The Bride Test'' as "''

Green Card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

'' meets ''

Four Weddings and a Funeral ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to star Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle of ...

''—but with autism." ''The Bride Test'' received positive reviews from ''Publishers Weekly'' and ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

''. Hoang's third book in the series, ''

The Heart Principle ''The Heart Principle'' is a 2021 romance novel written by Helen Hoang. Plot A professional violinist, Anna Sun, learns that her boyfriend Julian wants an open relationship. Anna then creates a profile on a dating app and meets Quan Diep, a CE ...

'', was published in 2021. Hoang describes it as "a cross between a gender-swapped ''Sabrina'' and ''Say Anything''."

Personal life

Hoang was raised in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

before moving to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Her mother is a Vietnamese immigrant. Growing up, Hoang struggled with social anxiety, which led to her turning to romance novels as an outlet that guaranteed a happy ending. During a meeting with her daughter's preschool teacher, Hoang found out that her daughter is on the autism spectrum. She researched autism and realized that she, too, is autistic. This influenced the development of ''The Kiss Quotient'' and her subsequent books. She received an undergraduate business degree and worked in finance after college prior to becoming an author. Hoang lives in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

with her husband and two children.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoang, Helen 1982 births Living people American women novelists American women romantic fiction writers 21st-century American women writers Writers from San Diego Writers from Minnesota American writers of Vietnamese descent Autistic writers American writers with disabilities American romantic fiction writers