and that’s why i’m antisocial!
i went back to the gym for the first time
in eight weeks and had a rather untriumphant
return. i’m so out of shape! but to rub salt
in the wound, i spent 15 minutes at my locker
trying to remember my combo. i knew for certain
2 out of the 3 numbers. then i started second
guessing myself on the sequence. and that was
the beginning of the end.
muchly sheepishly, i went up to the front desk
and had the clerk cut off my lock. *shakes head*
this is my state of mind these days.
i’ve been living in the sequel so much i daydream
about it when i’m awake and literally dream about
it when i sleep. after i sent the ms to my editor,
i dreamt about her reading it that night. haha!
it seems i’m due for a second round of revisions
and i’m both excited and anxious.
it’s never anxiety about the work ahead of me.
because i’m not afraid of good old roll up
your sleeves tappity tap hard work, it’s always
that little doubt in the back of my mind asking,
Can I Pull This Off? i think that’s what causes
every writer anxiety.
i’ve been reading a lot! i reread (and i almost
never reread) The Queen and King of Attolia
this past weekend. am reading my friend jill
myle’s Gentlemen Prefer Succubi (fans self!)
right now and have Wolf Hall and Shadowrise
waiting for me. i’m actually quite particular on
what i like to read while i’m writing and revising.
i’ll leave you with another ballad by jay chou.
this one is called “orange jasmine” and the lyrics
are here. it’s difficult tho. i still don’t know the words
to it. (my mandarin skills are elementary, so this is
like a difficult poem with phrases and meaning beyond
my abilities. boo. i love the song tho.
*waves to helen and moonie* =)
9 Comments
I’m tempted by Wolf Hall, too. Make sure to let us know what you think!
day and night dreaming about your book is always a good sign!
That was a really pretty song!
And I agree with Michele–dreaming about your book is a good thing! I get that with my stories sometimes. It’s pretty awesome :)
jen, i’ll def let you know!!
michele and dara, yes, i love book world more than the real world right now!
dara so glad you enjoyed another emo ballad. =D
To be drowned in the thoughts of book sound lovely to me :)
Hi Cindy,
I’m a new reader here who just finished your book and really enjoyed it! I was born in Taiwan and moved to Canada when I was young, so it was great to read about something familiar about the culture that I grew up with. I’ve been looking for YA novels inspired by or set in Chinese history, but there doesn’t seem to be many of them.
I was inspired by your imagination with the creatures that were present in Silver Phoenix. Some of them I recognized, but others were quite scary to think about! I will be writing a review on the book on my blog soon after everything settles a bit in my mind.
Thank you for writing such a wonderful book and I look forward to the sequel!
- Judy
P.S. I love Jay Chou’s songs, especially the ones with the melodies based on classical chinese music. :D
judy, thank you so much for reading my debut. and i’m so happy that you enjoyed it! i made up more than half of the creatures in Silver Phoenix, but a few are rooted in myth and folklore.
i just discovered jay chou and he’s been great for writing the sequel. =DD
Looking forward to reading Fury of the Phoenix! Thank you for sharing that Jay Chou video. What a beautiful song (even if I don’t have any idea what he is saying). The little smile at minute 3:31 is so adorable. I will have to look up more of his music.
violet, so happy you like the jay chou song. i did link the translation. one sentence roughly translates into :
you appear in every page of my poetry.
awwww! hee!