Blog – Cindy Pon

measuring time

September 12, 2011 – 10:31 am

hello lovely readers!

it’s been a hectic few weeks. we survived our uk
trip! we had a lot of fun but i’m thinking the days of
all four of us trapped in a tiny motel/hotel room for
11 days may be in the past. the bubs are only getting
bigger and more rambunctious! i hid out in the lounge
most of the night in my pajamas with a book. haha!

i was able to spend my 38th birthday in london with
my bff eating and shopping! best birthday ever! it’s been
so long since i’ve spent my birthday with friends, much
less my actual birthday with my bff. it was a real treat. 8)

i’m afraid i don’t take many fotos during my london jaunts
anymore. i’ve taken so many fotos these last 15 years i’ve
been visiting. so here’s just a few to share with you.

*we spent most of the time in the countryside
near the sea. the tide was out most mornings, and the
locals would come out with galoshes on and a bucket digging
sea snails (?) from the ground to eat!

*one of many english breakfasts i had while there.
i’m afraid to step on the scale since my return. i had lots
of pastries too! love the english bakeries. (at least i hate bacon,
so i didn’t eat any of those. =) i tried black (blood) pudding for
the first time and really liked it. i think it’s pig’s blood? (it’s the
black round patty on the plate.)

*i admired the beautiful stained glass windows at
london’s natural history museum.

*munchkin especially enjoyed the dinosaur exhibits. here
he meets a real live moving t-rex.

*we also took the bubs to the Tower of London. there was a
period re-enactment outside the walls which was very entertaining.

finally, congratulations to bonnie for winning my original
bird with plum blossoms painting for the great movie poster she
made for the Fury Meets Mad Men contest! she describes the movie
poster in her own words:

I’m sure you can guess who everyone is, but at the forefront, we have Silver Phoenix and Zhong Ye; in the background, we have an image of Ai Ling (okay, I know her necklace isn’t magical anymore, but…!) and Chen Yong on the ship. I wanted to feature both couples because unlike SP, Fury is very much about both couples. SP & ZY have a more tragic, immediate, grabbing story that looks best at the forefront.

i love it, bonnie! thank you so much!
i hope you enjoy the brush painting too. =D

and the runner up is eve with this “pitch”:

Fury of the Phoenix: A Love Across Centuries and Worlds

eve’s prize is two brush art cards of her choice!

thank you so much for those of you who entered this contest!

also, our reading challenge has been extended to 10/1!
LIBRARIANS and BLOGGERS! it’s not too late to join and win
over 50 rad diverse middle grade and young adult novels!
check out the details here.

until next time!

By cindy pon | Posted in Fury of the Phoenix extras, contest, diversity in YA, fan art, food, fury of the phoenix, holiday, london | Comments (2)

london calling

August 16, 2011 – 2:02 pm

it’s been a crazy summer, dear readers!
but i’ve survived it, and it’s ending with a bang
with a trip to london, my favorite city. in fact,
i’ll be celebrating my 38th birthday there. it’s
been a long time since i’ve visited london during
the summer. am really looking forward to it.

i’ll be tweeting and sharing fotos during my uk
trip, sure make sure to check out my twitter wall
if you’re curious as to what i’m up to in the next
two weeks. 8)

a few weekends back, i had a blast at the scbwi
los angeles conference. i crashed with ellen oh for
one night and was able to hang out with her, which
was *loads* of fun. and then meet and see many other
writing friends. as you can tell from the fotos below.

also had a lovely signing at Once Upon A Time in montrose.
another fantastic event co-sponsored by Bridge to Books,
they do such a fantastic job. thank you!

*gretchen mcneil and ellen oh! check out
gretchen’s blog for her rad count down to the release
of her debut, Possess!

*martha flynn, me and ellen at the scbwi gala!

*we had an inkies breakfast the next morning bright
and early at 8am! lisa green, gretchen, amaris glass,
me, ellen and robin lafevers. love these ladies. mike jung,
honorary inkie, took the foto.

*a few members of the Asian Mafia in children’s literature.
ellen oh (Prophecy, 2013) and mike jung (Geeks, Girls and
Secret Identities, 2012).
there have been rumblings and rumors (started by
ourselves, HAHA) of the mafia. what exactly is it? well, basically,
we get together, eat, and take fotos (sometimes awkward
and goofy). oh, and we also write Kick Ass books. no lie. 8)

*one of the highlights of the weekend was
finally meeting nova ren suma and hanging out
wish suz young for more than five minutes at a time.
i enjoyed both their novels, Imaginary Girls and A Need
so Beautiful–so different and original. and Once Upon A
Time created such a fantastic display for our novels.

*it’s always a happy book event if khy shows up.
she’s my Original Teen Fan!! had a lot of fun chatting
to her and her mom, as always.

*the fantastic group that helped with YA Rising Stars
event! janelle, alethea, me, holly goldberg sloan, aly,
vania, nova and suz. i was kicking myself for not taking
a foto with vania alone! she’s always the one behind the
camera.

*suz, bethany griffin and mandy. was so excited to
find out that bethany is a new greenwillow books author!
her debut, Masque of the Red Death will be released in 2012.
check out a rad interview with bethany by fellow soon to
be published author lenore appelhans!

*we had a delicious and beautiful cake pops bouquet
at the event! me, nova, holly and suz, the authors at the
signing.

*and finally, fun to hang out with lindsey leavitt always.
she just makes me laugh and smile. she even gave me
a signed copy of Sean Griswold’s Head. so excited to
read it!!! thanks lindsey!

that’s my last post among scarce posts this summer.
i’ve been busy and doing good authorly things, i promise!
remember to check me out on twitter if you want to get
a peek of my uk trip! 8) until september, lovely readers.
i’ve got loads of rad books to give away for tgifbm
(Thank Goodness It’s Free Books Monday)–so stay tuned!

By cindy pon | Posted in author's life, scbwi conference | Comments (3)

awkward author fotos

July 27, 2011 – 3:53 pm

i survived comic con! the panels i attended
(one as a panelist and the other as a YA fan)
were great and i also enjoyed the very short
Fringe presentation i got in on after waiting almost
two hours in line with thousands of other fans.

took two fotos over the weekend that are totally
filled with Pretty People but are also totally
Awkward Author Fotos.

behold and judge for yourself!

(back row L to R: Elizabeth Bunce, Kiersten White,
me, Dave Roman. front: Shannon Messenger, Kirsten
Hubbard and Nikki Katz.)

we have a wonderfully fun and supportive MG and YA
writing community here in san diego. so it was lovely
for shannon, kirsten and nikki to come to the signing after
kiersten’s and my panel together. author fotos during
signings are always awkward. from the mere logistics
of The Table. whenever i can, i’ll run to the other side of
the table to take a less awkward foto, but it didn’t happen
in this case. haha! still a great foto tho!

me, Malinda Lo and Marie Lu.

on saturday night, was lucky enough to catch
malinda and marie (with beau in tow) to have dinner
together at extrao desserts. of course, we had to take
a foto of this tremendous occasion!

but as you can see, marie’s beau wasn’t quite sure
which was more important, the cake and mimosa or
the women in the foto. he wanted it all! and malinda
somehow decided it wasn’t cool to drape her arms around
us like “the don”, and instead, chose to hover between
marie and me like the Head of Oz.

dudes. i could NOT stop laughing after i saw this foto!
i mean, crying laughing. and everyone else thought it
was hilarious too! (i swear i cannot look at this foto and
NOT laugh. hhahah!)

pretty people. awkward foto.

haha!

i am bleeding words. at least half way through
novel 3 and Trying Not to Panic. 8) but the first
half is rad, so i’m happy with that.

next week, i go to scbwi (unofficially). you can find
me in the lounge or by the pool. if so, stop and say hi!
also, my exciting signing with Nova, Suzanne and Holly is
next sunday as well at 1.30pm hosted by Bridge to Books
and Once Upon a Time. click here for details!

By cindy pon | Posted in funsies, novel 3, scbwi conference, self-promotion, silliness, upcoming events, vanity, writing life | Comments (0)

win original chinese brush art!

July 17, 2011 – 8:32 pm

yes, yes, i’m still here!
completely immersed in writing my third
novel as well as reading loads (Forbidden
by tabitha suzuma, The Gray Wolf Throne by
cinda chima, Legend by marie lu, Dreams of
Joy by lisa see and now Madame Tussaud by
michelle moran). i’ve also been researching
and brainstorming and trying to figure this
novel out.

i’m not an outliner, and rough drafting can be
a terrifying experience for someone who tends to
be a Control Freak in every other aspect of her life.
there’s nothing like the challenge of The Blank Page
and that oh crap, what happens now feeling. haha!
but i will say, i’ve got very intriguing characters and
situations in this novel and i’m at that stage where
i love it a lot and can’t leave it alone. i’ll enjoy this New
Cute Boyfriend feeling while it lasts. 8)

now that my annual brush painting show is over as well
as the exhibit at the san diego county fair, i know what
paintings i can give away as grand prize(s) for the Fury
Meets Mad Men contest!

*baby panda will come matted in chinese fabric
and framed. it is a small painting.

*i really love this bird plum painting. i didn’t clean it up
in photoshop but it’s a huge painting, matted in green chinese
bordering and rich with spring colors. this prize will come unframed,
as it is so large!

as i’ve said before, the Fury contest is open to fans who have
read the novel and can come up with a slogan or ad, etc, to help
“sell” my rad sequel. 8) check out the original post for full details.
contest closes on september 1. WINNER chooses
which painting s/he would like.

now for some upcoming author events i’l be participating
in! comic con starts this thursday and i’ll be on a panel
with some great authors on SATURDAY, 7/23! with a signing
right after. hope to see you there!

12:30-1:30 Diversity in Young Adult Works— It’s not all about being torn between vampire and werewolf boyfriends. This panel is a celebration of different genres, protagonists, and media for young adult readers. The diverse authors participating include Cindy Pon (Fury of the Phoenix), Kiersten White (Supernaturally), Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy), Vera Brosgol (Anya’s Ghost), Gene Yang (Level Up), and Elizabeth Bunce (A Curse Dark As Gold). Moderated by Malinda Lo (Huntress). Room 8

and i’m so excited to say that i’ll be participating in another
Bridge to Books co-sponsored event and signing with nova
ren suma (Imaginary Girls), suzanne young (A Need So Beautiful),
and holly goldberg sloan (I’ll Be There) at Once Upon a Time in
montrose on Sunday, 8/7 at 1.30pm.

click here for full details!

as you know, i had a blast at the first Bridge to Books event
which was YA in Bloom!

that’s all for now, dear readers. i hope you’re
all having a wonderful summer–especially since
it’s already half over!

By cindy pon | Posted in author's life, novel 3, upcoming events, writing life | Comments (10)

where in the world is cindy pon?

July 6, 2011 – 11:49 am

hello lovely readers!

i apologize for dropping off these last few weeks.
it took me over two weeks to get over my gross
summer cold and in the mean time, i leapt right into
rough drafting my third novel.

so i’m officially in Troll Mode.
while rough drafting, i don’t often feel very chatty,
tho you can always catch me (usually late at night)
on twitter. =)

it’s very strange to be writing completely new characters
and stories. i know some writers (like dia reeves) who
doesn’t enjoy writing the same characters because she
finds it too constricting. i, in turn, very much like writing
the same characters because there is a familiarity to them–
like an old friend.

but ai ling’s story ended with Fury of the Phoenix so
i move on–to characters i don’t know at all. to a story
i don’t know enough of. the whole thing is rather maddening
and scary and hard. i’m trying to write at least 1k words
a day, so i plod faithfully on this summer. wish me luck!

in the meantime, i went to the first YA in Bloom event
run by Bridge to Books, a few saturdays back. and had
a blast! i sounded a little like a man due to the tail end
of my cold–but that didn’t stop me from having fun! =)

*teen readers chloe and khy, the Original Teen Fan! =D

*i had the pleasure of meeting ashyln, teen reader and blogger!

*was able to hang out with marie lu which was
so much fun. her debut LEGEND is a rad read!

*authors and organizers of the event! (alethea, me, jessica brody,
andrew smith, lisa yee, nancy holder, katie alender, and aly beecher.)

lisa yee does a wonderful write up of the event here.
i always love hanging out with her and le peep!

diana, who was super fun to meet, recaps here.

and ashlyn also shares her thoughts!

finally, malinda and i are very excited to launch
our next big DiYA endeavor–a summer reading challenge.
librarians are welcome to create summer reading programs
focused and inspired by diverse middle grade and YA novels
for a chance to win over 50 books for her/his library.

and book bloggers are encouraged to read diverse novels
throughout the summer and write an (at least 500 word)
essay on her/his experience. the winning blogger with the
best essay will win over 50 books all for him/herself!

it’s an amazing list of books to be won–check it out here.
and all the details here!

challenge closes on september 1, y’all! so get on it!

until next time…

By cindy pon | Posted in author's life, contest, diversity in YA, novel 3, writing life | Comments (3)