In “The Teacher’s Match,” a new romance novel by Kristi Hong, two teachers meet, feel a spark, and attempt a platonic friendship as coworkers while working at a Mandarin-immersion school in a cute, coastal town.
“A quick description would be ‘Abbott Elementary’ meets ‘Crazy Rich Asians,’ but a lot less crazy and rich. … Joanna Lin, leaving behind an unfulfilling job and bad relationship with a co-worker, starts over in a new career as an elementary school art teacher. She’s determined not to let anything get in her way, especially her meddling mother who keeps wanting to set her up!,” says Hong (which is a pen name for the author, whose real name is Stephanie Chen). “Jack Sun is a veteran educator who loves his job as a teacher, but he’s promised to return to Taiwan to take over the family business, as his father has recently ed away. When the two meet, it seems like sparks are about to fly, but given each of their circumstances, they agree it would be best to just be friends and co-workers. Of course, that wouldn’t be a very good romance, would it?”
The setting of the elementary school is based on Barnard Mandarin Magnet Elementary School in Pacific Beach — a school Hong’s children attended when they were younger, and where she volunteered and participated in plenty of school activities, like the annual Lunar New Year Festival and the dragon boat racing team, which holds dragon boat races in nearby Mission Bay.
“While the characters in my book are not based on any real people, it can be fun to imagine the ‘other lives’ that our teachers have outside of the classroom,” she says.This book, published by Harlequin Heartwarming (which releases “wholesome, fun, and feel-good contemporary romances), is her first romance novel, and she previously worked on Wall Street in investment banking as an analyst. Hong, 45, lives in Pacific Beach with her husband and two children, where she divides her time between motherhood and writing. She loves connecting with readers on Instagram (@kristihongwriter) or her website to hear their romance story, and took some time to talk about her book, featuring Asian American characters in a love story, and fulfilling her middle school dream of becoming a published author.
Q: Harlequin is a well-known romance publisher (I spent many months in my pre-teen middle school years combing the library and checking out stacks of Harlequin titles, lol). What was your relationship to Harlequin books, and romance novels in general, before writing your own stories?
A: I had read more than a few Harlequin novels (although maybe not as many as you!), and became intrigued with writing romance when I learned that the genre comprises a huge segment of the fiction market; estimates vary, but I saw figures saying romance s for a quarter to a third of the market, and maybe even closer to half of mass market with the smaller, cheaper, widely distributed paperbacks. It seemed like a big market, so I thought, why not try to write a romance?
Q: What is it that you enjoy about the romance genre, first as a reader and then as a writer/storyteller?
A: I love a happy ending. The challenge as a writer is to make it interesting enough to keep the reader engaged even though they know the HEAT is coming.
What I love about Pacific Beach…
Similar to how Jack Sun in “The Teacher’s Match” feels about seeing the sunset on Lake Michigan, watching the sun go down on Pacific Beach is a sight I’ll never get tired of!
Q: What is the significance, for you, of centering a love story around Asian American characters?
A: Writers are often given the advice, “Write what you know,” so certainly as an Asian American, writing about them came quite easily. I’m proud to be able to represent Asian Americans within the mainstream romance category, both as an author, and with the book’s main characters (and cover models).
Q: Your bio says that your parents are immigrants from Taiwan and that you grew up in Michigan before living in a number of different places. Do we see any elements of Taiwanese culture in “The Teacher’s Match”? Were there ways that you were able to incorporate elements of your background into this story?
A: Yes! As the main characters are Taiwanese American and teach at a Mandarin immersion school, there are elements of Chinese and Taiwanese culture throughout the story. In the book, Joanna goes through a career change, which I experienced when I started writing a few years ago, so in many ways, her worries and determination to succeed mirror my own. (I’ll note that my mother, however, has never tried to set me up!)
Q: You also previously had a career on Wall Street. Are you a full-time writer now?
A: Officially, I’d say I’m a full-time mom, part-time writer, but now that my kids are teenagers and need — maybe want is a better word — me less, I’m definitely hoping to fill that extra time with writing more books.
Q: I understand that your dream when you were in middle school was to become a published author? Can you talk a bit about how your dreams of becoming a writer got started? What’s your earliest memory of understanding that you had an interest in writing and storytelling?
A: When I think back to elementary school, I recall enjoying writing short stories and articles. In middle school, I even sitting with my guidance counselor and telling him I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. But then, I think somewhere along the way to college/adulthood, I lost the thread of that dream and became more focused on finding a stable, good-paying career. I ended up studying finance in college, so it took about 30 years or so before I returned to that middle school dream.
Q: When did you know this was something you wanted to do professionally, and why?
A: At the beginning, I felt compelled to write. It started with just journaling and essays, then grew to a novel, then another. Then, I wanted to share my writing with others. I am grateful I had agents, editors, and publishers that liked what I had written.
Q: What inspires you in your writing, in the creative process?
A: I tend to draw from real life, and since I write romance, I often start conversations with new people I meet by asking how they met their significant other or about their last relationship. It’s a fun way to get to know someone and also gives me lots of new ideas.
Q: Do you have favorite romance writers whose work you like to read? Favorite romance genres?
A: One of my all-time favorite books—an epic romance—is Gabriel García Márquez’s “Love in the Time of Cholera.” A recent, more light-hearted one I really enjoyed is Sangu Mandanna’s “The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.” I do love an eye-catching cover image and fun title. Harlequin, of course, has many romances ranging from its spicy, contemporary Afterglow Books to Harlequin Heartwarming, its wholesome line featuring modern and relatable stories focused around family and community. “The Teacher’s Match” is part of Heartwarming’s April 2025 box set.
Q: What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
A: “It’s never too late.” Whether it be starting a new career or hobby, it just takes a little perseverance.
Q: What is one thing people would be surprised to find out about you?
A: I dislike being complimented. I think I worry I’m either being patronized or being buttered up to do something. (But if you like my book, please do leave me a positive review!)
Q: Please describe your ideal San Diego weekend.
A: Sleeping in (black-out curtains are a must), brunch with the family, a walk around Mission Bay or down the Pacific Beach boardwalk, afternoon coffee with a book, and dinner at Convoy or UTC will just about do it.
