Carmarthen Chinese takeaway owner gets first book published

A Chinese takeaway owner from Carmarthen will have her first book published this month.

Julie Ma won popular daytime TV couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan’s Search For A Bestseller book competition last year.

She scooped the prize for her book Happy Families – a fictional story about three generations of a Chinese family.

Born and raised in Carmarthen, Julie’s  grandfather arrived in Wales from China in the 1920s.

Her parents set up a Chinese takeaway in the 1970s and she took over the business in Water Street, with her brother in 2008.

The family ran a Chinese laundry before diversifying into opening a takeaway.

Her love of reading and writing emerged from school and a local bookshop called Derrick Williams which closed many years ago.

Julie said: “It was school and the encouragement of reading and writing that sparked my interest and despite a few different jobs over the years, it was a passion always there.”

Indeed, Julie graduated with a drama degree from Aberystwyth University and initially worked as a postal sorter at the Royal Mail sorting office in Pensarn, Carmarthen.

This was followed by temping, call centre work and a fashion company before taking the helm at the family takeaway.

Speaking about winning the competition and being just days away from the book being published Julie said: “It’s great and when I entered I didn’t expect to win and was ready for rejection.

“But secretly I was hoping Richard and Judy would enjoy hearing about the folk in the Chinese takeaway and the quirky town they live in. And they did.”

“It was unusual to have to send the completed manuscript in for the competition as normally it’s a shorter selection.

“This story has been knocking around with me for the last eight years so it was more or less done.”

Speaking ahead of the book hitting shelves, she said: “I would like everybody to read my book but especially anyone who has ever been in a shop and given a thought to the other life led by the person serving them.

“Everybody has something more to them than being the woman behind the counter in Next or the man on the till in Aldi, or even the girl who’s serving you a Chinese takeaway!”

The book, while fiction, has its roots and inspiration in Carmarthen.

Julie said: “It’s a made up story but draws upon Carmarthen as its a town full of characters, so people locally will definitely be able to pick out things and perhaps places within the book, which are based on town.”

Richard Madeley said: “We thought Happy Families was great – absolutely bloody great. It’s a wonderful story and she’s such a talented, funny writer.

“We think this has real appeal to a wide audience and are thrilled to choose it as the winner. Julie Ma is a rare find.”

Jon Elek, fiction publisher for Welbeck Publishing Group, said: “From its waggish first page to its perfect ending, Happy Families was the bright shining star among the 900 submissions we received for the competition.

“Julie Ma’s story of three generations of a Chinese immigrant family in rural Wales was a joy to read.

“It is sad, funny, moving, and draws you into the lives of these fantastic characters who are all involved in one way or another with the running of a Chinese takeaway in a small town.

“To me it had the charm of The Rosie Project, the warmth of The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry, and the magic of Gavin And Stacey.”

Happy Families is published on February 18, by Welbeck.

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