A Scatter of Light functions as a companion piece to Last Night at the Telegraph Club (2021), another LGBTQ novel. Lo identifies as a Chinese American lesbian, an identity which informs her characters Lily Hu and Aria Tang West. Aria’s mother, Alexis, is an immigrant from China, just like Lo, and while Aria’s sexuality is central to her developing identity in A Scatter of Light, she occasionally reflects on her Chinese identity as well. Many of Lo’s works explore the intersectionality of identities, and the author’s sexuality, race, and experience as an immigrant influence many of her pieces, which include queer romances, retellings of fairy tales, and nonfiction works that appear in queer and feminist anthologies.

Having studied in both Wellesley, Massachusetts, and Stanford, California, Lo’s past places of residence appear as settings for her novels. Massachusetts and California have had thriving gay communities for decades (in Provincetown and San Francisco, respectively), and as historically liberal states, they give Lo’s characters access to everyday queerness and community, which helps them discover themselves.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club received numerous awards, including the National Book Award, the Stonewall Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature.