Born in 1966, Chu Shao-Lin is a cult figure in literary circles in Taiwan. Her first novel, Café Triste, made its quiet debut in 1996 but quickly became a word-of-mouth sensation on Taiwan’s university campuses and Internet forums, selling over half a million copies. Her third novel, Three Hundred Thousand Feet Below the Earth’s Surface, was also a best-seller, achieving sales of over one hundred thousand copies. Known for the philosophical nature of her work, Chu Shao-Lin has been consistently voted a reader’s favourite. She is famously media-shy and has retreated into quiet introspection in recent years. Her fans still eagerly await the possibility of a fourth novel.