we immediately went to the harpercollins booth
together! i’m supposed to be a “pirate queen”. i’d
be a pirate wench if i were more curvaceous. haha!
and let me just say straight up that corsets are no
joke. i nearly died trying to cinch myself into that
thing and it is for my 29″ waist.

no wonder those ladies fainted all the time.

megan and i were wandering around and she
took the place of sarah rees brennan as my
“comic-con boyfriend” this year. (megan named
it, ha!) tho megan got the much easier job. chun
li was so popular. i enjoyed the anonymity this
year. we were looking at gene yang’s graphic
novels when this chap tapped me on the shoulder
and asked for a foto. we were like pirate soul mates.
he let me hold his gun. ha! cause i appeared
weaponless, but i actually had a dagger in my right
boot. (i take my costuming very seriously. =)
you can just see it’s silver tip in the above foto!

then megan and i went All the Way to the
other side of the con world to artist’s alley in search
of gene yang for a signature. (he was signing on saturday
but i wasn’t crazy enough to venture to con then.)
the crowds were insane. but megan blazed a trail for us!

gene was super sweet and fun to chat with.
i found out later that day he won the eisner with
derek kim for “Urgent Request” from The Eternal Smile.
congrats guys!!

i actually “bumped” into quite a few people i knew
just by walking around. amazing considering how huge
the con is. here is senfaye with her adorable little sister!

and here’s khy, one of my favorite teen book
bloggers! =D i was super early for kami and
margie’s arc signing of Beautiful Darkness but
my schedule got switched around meeting with
friends from michigan so i wasn’t able to see them
then. or hang with many of the other book bloggers
that were there. sorry i missed you guys!!

*margie, kami, heather, me and heather’s son.
foto taken by the lovely vania!

i did get to hang out with kami and margie at
penguin’s “fangfest” party with heather brewer.
nancy holder showed up a little later too. that
was a very fancy party with an invite list, velvet
ropes and everything. had fun eating yummy food
and chatting with writerly friends.

another SDCCI post to follow this week
and also an awesome surprise. =D xo

i survived my first try at “surfing” with
megan as my coach. she was really great
and i had a blast! more soon… =)
i did eat well after, yum!

congrats to becky who won the tgifbm!
extravaganza giveaway! there will be another
big giveaway soon, san diego comic-con international
style! don’t forget, i’ll be moderating a panel
on sunday at noon.

SUNDAY, JULY 25, 2010
noon – 1pm in Room 24ABC
Blood, Sweat and Tears: Teen Angst in Young Adult Fiction
Panelists: Nancy Holder, D.J. MacHale, James Owen, Christopher Pike,
Kathy Reichs, Emily Drake, Neal Shusterman and Michael Spradlin
Moderated by Cindy Pon

hope to see you at the con!! =)

my prize is a full drawing by natalie.
i really enjoy her art and drawings so i’m
very very excited about this. i’ve asked for
a drawing of ai ling and chen yong together.
*beams*

*this is a drawing natalie was kind enough to
do for me of chen yong last year. =DD

just finishing up this batch of line edits this morn
(and reading the prose aloud) when i got an
email from megan whalen turner inviting me to
go surfing. and i actually agreed. only for you,
megan! i really hate the sea and almost never get
into it. i hope i survive. and i’m already fantasizing
about the bagel and mocha i’ll have after.
food fantasizing always helps in difficult
situations. haha!

the discussions continue on the Fury cover.
i’ve had more than one person ask me whether
or not Silver Phoenix has been remaindered. and the
happy news is that it hasn’t! the paperback with new,
darker cover will release 2/1/2011. Fury of the Phoenix
is out 3/29/2011! thank you so much
to everyone who has supported my books in his/her own
way. it means a lot to me.

and don’t forget i’m giving back the love with
the latest tgifbm! seven fantastic YA novels all
featuring protagonists of color, and the winner
TAKES ALL! i’ll be selecting the lucky person
at random some time tomorrow!! xo

i had a really interesting discussion with megan
the last time we met about Wolf Hall, which i had
just begun. if you didn’t know, i’m absolutely fascinated
by the tudor period. so much so i’ll actually read non-fiction
novels on the time and people--which i don’t do often.
i’m almost strictly a fiction kind of reader--other than
novel research.

my favorite “characters” has to be anne boleyn
and her daughter, elizabeth I. you truly couldn’t
write their lives and make it more tension filled,
passionate, dangerous, exciting and tragic as they
actually lived it.

*anne boleyn.

we’re not even quite certain how anne looked.
given all the various portraits supposedly attributed
to her. she is often portrayed as very devious, chasing
after power and seducing henry VIII. but i was reading
a new biography which decided to present her as a
reluctant maiden, a virgin that garnered the king’s
attentions and although trying to deflect it, could
not deny him in the end. (how do you deny a king?)
she finally accepted her fate as an opportunity to
support the protestant cause.

how does one historian come up with this
interpretation and others call her a temptress
and whore, willing to do anything to become queen?

*cromwell by holbein.

since i had just started reading Wolf Hall, megan said
that it portrays thomas more in a poor light. and makes
thomas cromwell sympathetic. and she was reluctant
to read it because she liked thomas more, and was afraid
reading this will taint her opinion and view of more.

well, i’m nearing the end of Wolf Hall and i have to admit,
it certainly does portray cromwell as very sympathetic.
very human, with vices and foibles--but a character
incredibly well drawn by mantel. as a writer, you should
read it to see how real and alive an author can render
a person long gone. a true portrayal? we won’t ever
know--but certainly a compelling one. but more is definitely
put in an unfavorable light.

how can you possibly know which portrayal is true?
or the truest? is it possible to know? can we tell anything
about a person by another’s assessment of her
or him? is it possible that this is an unbiased view? and
even if not biased, could it not be one of the many masks
we wear to show the public, depending on the situation
we’re in? i think people are fascinating because we can
be so very contradictory. impossible to peg down even.
i think we all have multiple-personalities.

can we judge a person’s personality by the letters s/he
wrote? love letters? can someone who is cruel and violent
not write beautiful love letters? what about henry, who
hacked off wives’ heads one by one with (what may seem)
little remorse. but he was king. does that mean he lived
by different rules? of course. is that fair? no. but it is. it’s
impossible to believe that henry behaved or thought like
us. how could he?

it really made me think of my own characters.
they say that action speaks louder than words.
perhaps for people as well as the characters that
we write. but what meaning in action when we don’t
have the motivations behind them? murder to protect
someone you love, for vengeance or for mere blood thirst?
altruism to better the world, or to ingratiate, to salvage
a damaged reputation?

i think people--or the human condition--is so
complex. so complicated.
and i love it when it’s reflected in writing.
i don’t believe i’m a very character driven
writer. i’m much more comfortable with action
and situations, but Fury has definitely required me
to think much more about character (with my editor’s
gentle--or not!--prodding), which is exactly what
i wanted for the sequel.

and i’ll leave you with another song for chen yong
and ai ling by faye wong this time! lyric translations here.

congrats to mike jung who incredibly won the third book
by megan. (he had won the first two too.) i swear it’s
not rigged!

other than le guin’s earthsea series, this is one
of my favorites. A Conspiracy of Kings is a New York Times
Bestseller AND was also chosen by American Library Association’s
Booklist as one of the Top Ten Fantasy/Science Fiction Novels for
Youth in 2010! i’m delighted to offer a signed copy for tgifbm!

i also have an impromptu interview with megan whalen
turner. these were questions i had posed to the authors
of the summer reading panel at mysterious galaxy a few
weeks back.

if you could live the life of one of the characters you’ve written,
which would it be and why?

[This] makes me wish I’d written a story about a nice
middle aged woman living in a charming hillside town with a great
veiw and central heating, where the villagers revere her for no particular
reason and bring her food three times a day and otherwise don’t
bother her much. : )

See, you didn’t ask which person I’d like to be, you asked whose
life I’d like to take on. I think I’d have a nervous breakdown if I had
to deal like any of my characters. So, I think I’ll go with the narrator–Aunt
Charlotte, in my story “Aunt Charlotte and the Portraits at the NGA.”
Sure, she had some absent parents and some childhood isolation
going there at the beginning, but by the time she’s telling her story,
she’s all grown up and it’s clear she’s got her life well in hand.
Ooh, or possibly I’d be the Selkie in that story. That would be okay.

(megan did admit at the panel to admiring eddis and it might
be neat to be her. but not so much living her very
stressful life as a queen.)

name a favorite book that you wish you had written
yourself. why do you love this read?

Just lately, I’ve been thinking that if
I were Frances Harding and I’d written The Lost Conspiracy,
I’d be darned proud of myself. But the problem is that
if your *write* the book, you don’t get to be the reader of it. Given a choice,
I’d rather someone else wrote books *for* me.

If you could magically implant your idea in someone else’s head and
get *them* to think it through and make a story out of it,
who would you pick?

megan’s sly like that and turns the table on you! ;*)
well, i’d be really interested in how you’d write Silver Phoenix,
megan. and i’d be curious to see how neil gaiman would
write it as well. because you are both authors i admire and
write and think so differently than i do.

…

okay, lovely blog readers! you know the drill!
tweet, fb status, blog or LJ about this contest with
a link back to the post AND comment here with
your link to enter!! i’ll select a random winner some
time on wednesday, june 16th! this contest is open
to all!! good luck!

i don’t know what to do with myself now
that i’m waiting on my editor’s comments.
any writer knows what it’s like to be obsessively
immersed in the world and then to be forced
to leave it.

thankfully, megan whalen turner was kind enough
to meet and “play” in celebration of completing
round two. we always get into interesting rambling
all over the place discussions about anything and
everything. but a lot about publishing and books,
of course!

we also had the YA panel together to launch the
summer reading celebrations at mysterious galaxy.
i was hostess and we had a great time!

*our audience. we did have them laughing, promise!

*was so happy to meet online friend helen
and her sister tiffany. helen’s also a mwt fan and
started giggling a lot when she went up to her. it
was really cute!

*greg van eekhout (Kid versus Squid), barrie summy
(I So Don’t Do Mysteries series), richard harland (Worldshaker)
megan whalen turner (The Thief series)

all of us are local authors with the exception of
richard who flew in from australia on his united
states tour! and mysterious galaxy is so so good
to its local authors. those stacks are getting signed
by us and they always make sure our books are carried
when they are gone from chains within 3 – 6 months
of release usually!

anyway, i had the high perch on the right that
you can see and for some (bad and wrong) reason
pet megan on the head several times during the
panel. haha! sorry megan!
richard did a very dramatic reading from
Worldshaker (steam punk which i just read and
enjoyed) and all the authors answered a few fun
questions that i posed as well as some great and
interesting ones from the audience.

my next event will be at the local RWA chapter
meeting with fellow YA authors and signing to follow.
SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 2010
10am – noon
“Writing for YA. It’s just like writing for adults. Only different.”
Panel : Barrie Summy, Laura Preble, Cindy Pon, Debbie Garfinkle
411 Hotel Circle South, San Diego 92108

congrats to madeleine on winning
Candor and Lips Touch Three Times, my last
tgifbm give away!

i’ve also joined a fabulous new group composed
of adult and YA harpercollins paranormal authors
called supernatural underground. we just launched
our blog yesterday and we’re doing fantastic
book give aways all month. so please check it out!

we’re also on facebook. like us! =D

i reserved rooms for the sirens conference
in colorado in october today. i’m hoping to be on
a panel about world fey. the guests of honor
this year are holly black, marie brennan, and
terri windling. sirens is a conference that focuses
on women in the fantasy genre. i’m very excited
to be attending and hope our panel will be accepted!

also, i’ll be hosting a YA panel at Mysterious Galaxy
on tuesday, may 25th @ 7pm. greg van eekhout, megan
whalen turner, barrie summy and richard harland will
be there with a signing following! i can’t wait to be Vanna White! =D

here are few more fotos from our san fran trip
during easter weekend. i had such a fantastic time!
i miss my friends up in the bay area.

*i love open air markets! this one was very
crowded on saturday morning.

*munchkin admiring the pastry selection. 8)

*hike in the castro for a stunning view.

*so many flowers were in bloom already!

congrats to sara and jenny on winning nicole peeler’s
Tempest Rising. thanks to all those who entered!

on a normal “workday”, i get about
four hours on a good day. i’m at that point
in the writing process where i’m utterly
madly in love with my story. favorite parts
are emerging. i’m beginning to know it well
enough to jump to exact points.

if my manuscript were a boyfriend, he’s shown
me all his scars and divulged most of his super
top secrets and dreams. we always hold hands
when we’re together. =)

on friday, i had such a fun fun panel at the
santee library with barrie summy, laura preble
and megan whalen turner. it was for the library
volunteers. we got breakfast (moo!) and the group
was so engaged and asked many fun questions.
i absolutely love library events!!

*me, megan, barrie and laura.

after the panel, mwt, barrie and i were chatting
and we were discussing something or other about
characters. and i mentioned how beloved and devoted
her fans are to eugenides. (honestly, one of my
favorite characters of all time!) and megan scoffed
and said we’d all want to throttle gen if we met him
in real life. (haha!)

i protest! never!
whichever way, he’s an unforgettable
character, imo.

look for more emo songs from jay chou
later in the week. 8)

must click of the day : i just checked out laura
preble’s new novel project OUT. what if being gay was
normal, and straight not? check out the cool video.

currently reading :

the blue sword by robin mckinley

1. THE KING OF ATTOLIA by megan whalen turner
if you haven’t read the queen’s thief series, why
ever not? one of my 2009 highlights was to meet
megan in person and actually hang out. she’s totally
fun and down to earth, despite her rockstar status.

2. FLASH BURNOUT by l.k. madigan (debut)
i was so so thrilled when i found out lisa
was on the shortlist for morris award! (these
are given to YA debut books only.) i love blake
and this novel satisfied on multiple levels.

3. THE HERETIC QUEEN by michelle moran
i’m a fan of michelle’s historical fiction.
this is my favorite by her with a strong heroine
and a wonderful story. she writes with enough
detail to immerse you in the time and culture but
not so much that you feel lectured to.

4. FIRE by kristin cashore

i enjoyed graceling but liked FIRE even more.
i love seeing more traditional fantasy within
young adult genre!

5. EYES LIKE STARS by lisa mantchev (debut)

such an original and fun debut.
charming and whimsical and i have a crush
on her naughty elemental, ariel! who lisa tells
me looks like daniel henney too, so that never
hurts. =D

here are my favorite reads from 2008 :

1. swordspoint by ellen kushner
2. gifts by ursula le guin
3. paper towns by john green
4. the lady elizabeth by alison weir
5. graceling by kristin cashore (debut)

and from 2007 :

1. the meaning of night by michael cox (debut)
2. american gods by neil gaiman
3. confessions of an ugly stepsister by gregory maguire
4. the blood of flowers by anita amirrezvani (debut)
5. in cold blood by truman capote

below is my complete 2009 reading list, in alphabetical order :

• a conspiracy of kings by megan whalen turner
• ash by malinda lo
• beautiful creatures by kami garcia and margie stohl
• book of a thousand days by shannon hale
• break by hannah moskowitz
• cleopatra’s daughter by michelle moran
• crown duel by sherwood smith
• evermore by alyson noel
• exclusively chloe by j.a. yang
• eyes like stars by lisa mantchev
• faery rebels by r.j. anderson
• fire by kristin cashore
• flash burnout by lk madigan
• forget-her-nots by amy brecount white
• fortune’s folly by deva fagen
• give up the ghost by megan crewe
• hush, hush by becca fitzpatrick
• liar by justine larbalestier
• north of beautiful by justina chen headley
• paris pan takest the dare by cynthea liu
• perfect chemistry by simone elkeles
• prada and prejudice by mandy hubbard
• radiant darkness by emily whitman
• sacred scars by kathleen duey
• shadowed summer by saundra mitchell
• shanghai girls by lisa see
• shiver by maggie stiefvater
• skin hunger by kathleen duey
• soulless by gail carriger
• the absolutely true diary of a part-time indian by sherman alexie
• the adoration of jenna fox by mary pearson
• the demon’s lexicon by sarah rees breenan
• the graveyard book by neil gaiman
• the heretic queen by michelle moran
• the king of attolia by megan whalen turner
• the last queen by c.w. gortner
• the queen of attolia by megan whalen turner
• the season by sarah maclean
• the stolen one by suzanne crowley
• the thief by megan whalen turner
• theodosia and the serpents of chaos by r. l. lafevers

the moms that went most definitely left
their tween/teens behind. the kids that were
there were preschooler age. so i wound up not
doing a reading because the age bracket just wasn’t
right. i had actually told megan whalen turner
about the event and she came with. so i felt
a little bad, but we both took it in stride, still
sold a few copies of books, and had oodles of
fun strolling the exhibit hall looking at “womanly”
things. =D not only is megan a fantastic author, she’s
just plain fun to hang out with.

got home around
2pm, had a late lunch, then got ready for the
mysterious galaxy holiday party. this was
so much fun. the eleven authors invited
(including me!) were very eclectic in genres.
nancy holder (wicked, possesions) and
kami garcia and margie stohl (beautiful creatures)
and i composed the YA authors.

we also had a few YA bloggers show, which
is always loads of fun!

vania, me, kiersten ( debut PARANORMALCY out with
harperteen fall 2010!), khy, and nancy!
i had the pleasure of meeting vania at scbwi this summer.
and khy in my pocket is my Original Stalker, who drove over two hours
to attend my san diego book launch! nancy came to my san francisco
signing. it was so great to see everyone there again and feel the
YA book love! =DD

pamela, a fellow fantasy writer and
aspiring author!

kami garcia, margie stohl, nancy holder, me
and megan whalen turner.

look at these fotos? how could i not have
had fun? i always have a great time at
mysterious galaxy events!!

and of course, i have an interesting story
behind my purple velvet dress. it actually
has long sweeping sleeves, quite renaissance
like! no fotos of sleeves, alas. =( i was probably all
of twenty or so when i went to the citadel in
los angeles (an outlets place) to shop. wandered
into a betsy johnson shop (had no clue who
she was) and fell in love with this dress.

purple was my favorite color at the time. i’m pretty sure
the dress was discounted to $150 or $100.
either which way, more than i had ever paid for
a dress. but i loved it so much i bought it. so yes,
it’s nearly two decades old. haha! and i’ve worn
it only a handful of times. so i was happy to show
it off at the holiday party. =D
the necklace i bought from etsy.com!
the large crystal pieces were actually part of
chandeliers and reused by the jeweler. i love it!

finally, there are signed copies of Silver Phoenix
available through mysterious galaxy for holiday
gift giving! if you’d like it personalized with a name
inscription, just email me! it’s something i can
definitely do! thanks to all of you who have been
so supportive of my debut! <3 <3 <3