Helen Hoang (born 1982) is the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, 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 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 Quot ...

''.

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,

Christine Feehan Christine Feehan (born Christine King in Ukiah, California) is an American author of paranormal romance, paranormal military thrillers, and fantasy. She is a #1 ''New York Times'', #1 ''Publishers Weekly'', and International bestselling author ...

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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 The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

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, from a screenplay by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), La ...

'', 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 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 w ...

'', 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 feature Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle ...

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

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

''. Hoang's third book in the series, '' The Heart Principle'', 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 state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

before moving to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. 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 Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

with her husband and two children.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoang, Helen 1982 births Living people American women novelists Women romantic fiction writers 21st-century American women writers Writers from San Diego Writers from Minnesota American writers of Vietnamese descent People on the autism spectrum American romantic fiction writers