Five Questions with Author J.D. Ho

We’re delighted to present our Five Questions author interview with J.D. Ho, author of the forthcoming essay collection Backyard Alchemy. This book, which publishes February 23, 2026, is one of the first two titles in our Plainwater Nonfiction Series.

We encourage you, dear reader, to preorder it today. We are so grateful for your support of our small press — it means the world, and your orders make our books possible.

How does the idea of place, something we love at River River Books, shape your collection?

All of the essays are place-specific and involve a landscape. Most of them are about the particular place in which I live now. Place always shapes what I write about. I never would have written about the longleaf pine if I hadn't lived in a place where they once grew, and in a house that had floors made of that wood. Place also directed the ideas and themes I wrote about because I was living in a rural area during most of the time when I wrote the essays. It was also an area shaped by a history of slavery. That history threads through several of the essays.

What is a poem that you see as a particular driving force in Backyard Alchemy, and why?

 I'm going to go ahead and assume I can use an essay as an example, though I actually could tell you the poem! It would be “Living” by Denise Levertov. But the essay “Rebellions of the Body” is probably most central because it integrates the external place and the internal. That's a big idea in the collection.

What was a significant revision that occurred along the way?

I adjusted the pronouns in my river essay. In word count, it was not a significant revision, but it was otherwise significant. The shift highlighted the point of view in a really interesting way in different sections of the essay.

 At what stage did your final title emerge—early, late? How did it help with your collection’s conception?

The title came after the collection was done, but it's the title of one of the essays. I do think it shapes how people will think of the collection, and it unifies a lot of the ideas. It says: this is about transforming the place you're in, whether that's your body, your house, or your yard. Or something bigger. It also touches on the idea of hope, which is important right now.

What’s something you wish every reader could know about you as the writer of Backyard Alchemy?

 I'm sure that every reader will think I only eat really healthy food, but I love potato chips and French fries (McDonald's!), and I eat them frequently. The rest of the time, I eat organic veggies and meats. I think that says it all. You need balance in life.

J.D. Ho was born by the sea, raised on a rock, schmoozed in Hollywood, drove to Austin, Texas, for an MFA, and now lives among foxes and deer on a sliver of east coast green. J.D.’s work has appeared in Georgia Review, Missouri Review, Ninth Letter, and other journals.

River River has seven books coming in February 2026!
Watch for preorders for all of them at our store!