Amy Tan Publishes First Fiction in Six Years

Posted on December 5, 2011

It's been six years since Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club) has published any fiction. Amy decided to do something different for her latest release: Rules for Virgins is a digital book from Byliner.com. Amy tells USA Today that it's a "long short story." The 42 page story is available for download for $2.99 at Byliner, BN.com and Amazon.com.

The piece is too long for a short story, but too short to be a novella. Amy says she loves not having to worry about word count. The story is set in 1912 Shanghai. An aging master courtesan begins to teach the secrets of seduction to her beautiful young protege. Amy says she got the idea for the story when she saw a photo of her grandmother's cousin who was dressed as a courtesan. That made her think about what life was like for a courtesan during that time period.

The author won't disclose financial terms, but she says she was paid "a decent fee upfront. We'll see how it works out."