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311 ratings | 15 reviews | avg rating:4.52

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Nicki Chen

Goodreads Author

Born

in Sedro-Woolley, WA, The United States

Website

http://nickichenwrites.com/wordpress

Genre

Historical Fiction, Fiction

Member Since

April 2013

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomnicki_chen

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Nicki Chen is a freelance writer and blogger. Born and raised in Washington State, she married a man who fascinated her with his stories about an exotic childhood in China. Three daughters later, they moved to the Philippines, where they stayed for the next fifteen years. While there, she immersed herself in Asian cultures, studying Chinese brush painting and batik, volunteering at the International School, traveling, reading, and making friends with other Asian expatriates. She enrolled in an MFA program through the Vermont College of Fine Arts, earning her MFA after moving to the South Pacific. Her twice-yearly residencies took her on a 17,000-mile round-trip journey from Port Vila, Vanuatu, to Montpelier, Vermont, and back. Ms. Chen is a Nicki Chen is a freelance writer and blogger. Born and raised in Washington State, she married a man who fascinated her with his stories about an exotic childhood in China. Three daughters later, they moved to the Philippines, where they stayed for the next fifteen years. While there, she immersed herself in Asian cultures, studying Chinese brush painting and batik, volunteering at the International School, traveling, reading, and making friends with other Asian expatriates. She enrolled in an MFA program through the Vermont College of Fine Arts, earning her MFA after moving to the South Pacific. Her twice-yearly residencies took her on a 17,000-mile round-trip journey from Port Vila, Vanuatu, to Montpelier, Vermont, and back. Ms. Chen is a graduate of Seattle University and a member of the Ladies Writing Club of Perrinville.

Her love of stories began the day her dad returned from the Second World War. Every night he invented a new bedtime story to tell the three-year-old daughter who was born while he was fighting in Italy. His tales were full of giants and flying carpets and shipwrecks.

Years later, Ms. Chen’s passion for stories about China was sparked by her husband, who always brought a gallon of Christian Brothers sauterne and a bag full of stories to their dates, delighting both Ms. Chen and her roommates. He was a Scorpio, born in the Year of the Tiger, and though she was merely a Taurus born in the Year of the Sheep, she dared to marry him.

For a long time Ms. Chen believed she was a teacher. She had a degree in education. She’d taught kindergarten and ninth-grade Spanish. When they moved to the Philippines, where foreign teachers were seldom allowed work permits, she still thought she’d go back to teaching. Eventually.

Then she began to write, and she found her home. Through writing, she found she could dig deeper. She could grab onto those small, beautiful moments that slip away so easily. She could bear witness to the courage and suffering of others. ...more

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Combine Editions
Nicki Chen’s books

Average rating: 3.75 · 115 ratings · 55 reviews · 4 distinct works • Similar authors

	When in Vanuatu 3.46 avg rating — 68 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tiger Tail Soup: A Novel of China at War 4.17 avg rating — 47 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	¡Vamos! Reunion En La Pista 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	When in Vanuatu: A Novel 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Nicki Chen's Blog

The Most Waterfalls

One more reason I love living in Washington State. Our waterfalls. According to studies cited in Travel & Leisure, we have more waterfalls than any other state. How many you may ask. Would you be surprised to hear that we have 2907 naturally occurring waterfalls? Alaska is our biggest competitor with 2013. Oregon is #3 […]

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Published on June 21, 2026 04:02

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Nicki is Currently Reading

Nicki Chen is currently reading

The Amateur

by Chris Bohjalian (Goodreads Author)

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Aug 18, 2026 11:31PM

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The Night Shift (Sam Pope, #1)

by Robert Enright (Goodreads Author)

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Jun 07, 2026 03:53PM

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The Lost Soldiers (The Kyiv Mysteries #3)

by Andrey Kurkov

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May 25, 2026 11:14PM

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Jun 24, 2026 11:30PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Nicki Chen is currently reading The Night Shift (Sam Pope, #1) by Robert Enright (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 07, 2026 03:53PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Night Shift by Robert Enright. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Night Shift by Robert Enright <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Nicki Chen is currently reading Land by Maggie O'Farrell (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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“After a while, though, even sadness becomes tiresome.”
― Nicki Chen

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