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Sophia Kouidou-Giles

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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 · 114 ratings · 54 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	When in Vanuatu 3.46 avg rating — 67 ratings — 3 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

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

369 posts
Nicki Chen's Blog

My Mom Didn’t Nurse Me

I was born in 1943, during the Second World War. I picture my Dad sitting in a foxhole in Italy reading the telegram that announced my birth. Or maybe he was in a foxhole in France. For Valentine’s day, Mom sent him a handmade card. I wonder how quickly it arrived. Or how slowly. In […]

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Published on February 08, 2026 09:49

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Nicki is Currently Reading

Nicki Chen is currently reading

The Folly of Realism: How the West Deceived Itself About Russia and Betrayed Ukraine

by Alexander S. Vindman

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Dec 26, 2025 04:31PM

Nicki Chen is currently reading

Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle (Vintage International)

by Vladimir Nabokov

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Nov 08, 2025 10:56PM

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Butchers Hill

by Laura Lippman (Goodreads Author)

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Aug 05, 2025 11:22PM

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Nicki Chen wrote a new blog post My Mom Didn’t Nurse Me I was born in 1943, during the Second World War. I picture my Dad sitting in a foxhole in Italy reading the telegram that announced my birth. Or maybe Read more of this blog post »
Feb 09, 2026 03:17AM · like
Nicki Chen entered a giveaway The Amateur by Chris Bohjalian (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
Feb 02, 2026 08:48AM · like · see giveaway
Nicki Chen rated a book it was amazing Six Years by Harlan Coben (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
Feb 01, 2026 11:25PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Six Years by Harlan Coben. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Six Years by Harlan Coben <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Nicki Chen rated a book liked it Chasing the Monkey King by D.C. Alexander (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
Jan 26, 2026 09:38AM · like
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Jan 25, 2026 11:14PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Six Years by Harlan Coben. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Six Years by Harlan Coben <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Nicki Chen is currently reading Chasing the Monkey King by D.C. Alexander (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
Jan 15, 2026 03:52PM · like
Nicki Chen rated a book it was amazing Tell No One by Harlan Coben (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
Jan 06, 2026 11:16PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Tell No One by Harlan Coben. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Tell No One by Harlan Coben <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Nicki Chen is currently reading The Folly of Realism: How the West Deceived Itself About Russia and Betrayed Ukraine by Alexander S. Vindman	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
Dec 26, 2025 04:31PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Folly of Realism by Alexander S. Vindman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Folly of Realism by Alexander S. Vindman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Nicki Chen rated a book really liked it A Killing on the Hill by Robert Dugoni (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
Dec 26, 2025 12:44AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Killing on the Hill by Robert Dugoni. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Killing on the Hill by Robert Dugoni <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Nicki Chen rated a book it was amazing Nobody’s Fool (Detective Sami Kierce #2) by Harlan Coben (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
Dec 14, 2025 03:24PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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“After a while, though, even sadness becomes tiresome.”
― Nicki Chen

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