*all dressed up with somewhere to go! =D

hello my lovely blog readers!!

i turn 37 today!! i love the odd number years,
because i love odd numbers in general. but
i’ve been mooching up the birthday loving all over
the internets rather shamelessly. i joke that i have
Summer Birthday Complex. you know. when you get
your lockers decorated on your birthday and balloons
and presents from your bff? me? everyone was gone on
august 29th every summer! no cupcakes to pass out,
no decorated lockers, no love notes from boys. okay,
perhaps the last bit is unrelated. =) OR NOT.

this week was quite a week. my mom visited
and she bought me pretty pewter flats that make my
feet look like boats. and we ate and shopped a lot!
i love my mommy! =)
i turned in my final line edits to my fantabulous
editor. i am so happy with Fury of the Phoenix and
am looking forward to doing copy edits next. we’re
so close!! very exciting.

then…well, then despite other things on my to do list,
i simply napped and read for pleasure a lot. like a lot.
and on saturday, i had my fun secret craft class and
finished another project. had a lovely lunch by myself
with k. a. stewart’s debut, A Devil in the Details. a great
read so far. i also tore through nicole peeler’s sequel
in her tempest series, Tracking the Tempest. so much fun!
i’ll be doing a giveaway soon. and read n. k. jemisin’s
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, which was fantastic!
all recommended. and all read this week! =)

then i had a lovely birthday date night and actually
took the time to dress up. (i usually opt for casual and
lazy, ha!) so note before birthday dinner foto above. =D

the best part of our lovely dinner was the dessert. the
“vietnamese alfogato” was condensed milk ice cream with
coffee nibs, vanilla mochi cubes, drizzled in espresso with
a side of cinnamon fritters, which were basically fresh mini
churros. SO GOOD! i already dug in as usual before taking a foto. =)

today was a nice birthday brunch and reading by the sea.
more relaxation. the bubs are home with me for two weeks
before school starts! then it truly is the end of summer.
and how fast it flew, i can only measure it by revisions i’ve
done. haha! i can’t wait for you to read Fury of the Phoenix! <3

the venue was packed and i had great seats in the third
row. however, not the best spot to take fotos, so sorry
for all the giant heads in the way. =)

the emcee with the two stars of the show, both students
of music and twenty years old. (because a senior woman
asked “how old are you guys anyway?” during q&a. ha!)
i pegged them at no older than twenty.

the chap in white plays the erhu, which is similar to a
violin, but as he explained it, the bow is actually connected
to the violin, making that very different from the western
violin. i was really taken by the melodies produced by
this instrument–instantly haunting, sad and pining. it’s
a very expressive instrument. he said he’s been playing for
ten years.

i was especially taken with the other musician because
of his natural super curly hair, that basically is like a chinese ‘fro
and his smiley demeanor. =D he plays the russian
accordion. it was explained that in the early 1980’s was
when there was a big resurgence of music and study in
the conservatories, including western instruments and music.
(this after the cultural revolution, when it was forbidden.)

accordions became popular because most families couldn’t
afford a piano. the accordion player says he’s been playing
since he was five years old.

these fotos aren’t very good, as the musicians are in constant
motion. but i love watching the musician’s body movement
and facial expressions while playing, as i think both are very
visceral and unedited. which is moving to me.

curly haired musician was also very expressive!
he played a score he wrote himself titled “to spring”.
it was very playful and fun.

the concert ended with a western string quartet
accompanying the er hu, which was also fantastic.

afterward, i chatted with the curly haired musician asking
where he got his curls from. =D because i have naturally
wavy hair myself, and am constantly told by people (including
chinese!) that chinese people don’t have naturally wavy/curly
hair. um. i’m chinese people and my curls are natural. ha!

we’re a small percentage, true. and my waves don’t compare
to accordion player’s tight curls. =) during the conversation,
i fumbled for the right word for “perm” (the same way i fumbled
for “domino” when i was being tested for my english abilities
when i was twelve–irony, i have no idea how to say *that*
in chinese). since i came to the states when i was six years old,
my chinese language abilities basically froze at that age. so i
can do general conversation at best.

it’s a constant reminder of how easily language is lost.
within a generation or less. and it really is a pity. i can
literally feel it slipping away from me.

still eyeball deep in line edits. we’re getting close!

currently reading :

twenty boy summer by sarah ockler

i’m taking solace in my Fury edits.
will be reading the prose aloud. i highly
recommend this to writers. it allows you
to hear things (redundancies, stilted dialogue,
awkward prose) that you normally wouldn’t
notice while simply reading.

i’m also having instant ramen for lunch
with an egg! my ideal comfort food. and finally,
what better way to combat the gloom than with
some jay chou emo? this one is titled “clear sky”.
you can find the lyrics here.

and of course, don’t forget about my awesome
tgifbm! giveaway extravaganza!!! post below.

dogeared pages.

nose in a book.

creased spine.

the well worn pages of a treasured favorite.

the smell of a new book.

to judge a book by its cover.

to curl up with a book.

to flip the page.

yesterday morning, on a whim, i decided to do
an impromptu twitter and facebook poll asking :

with all the talk about ebooks, are YOU willing to
read ALL books/novels solely on an ereader?
yes or no?

unofficially (as in don’t trust me to do the
counting at the presidential election =), we
had a total of 211 responses. 186 said no
and 25 people said yes. which makes nearly
12% responding with a yes.

i didn’t include confusing or qualified answers.

i didn’t ask whether they’d consider using BOTH
because i believe this IS where the future will
lead us. the ereading experience complementing
the real book. i didn’t offer this as a choice because
doomsayers are predicting the extinction of Real Books
in the future–and me, stubborn ox that i am,
absolutely refuse to believe this.

i’m a book lover and enjoy reading for the
escapism. but i’m not a book collector. i usually
give most of my books away. so you’d think i’d
be the perfect candidate for an ereader. but to
me, reading a novel is an experience. just as
watching a movie is an experience. i’d compare the
two more than those who say look at the music
industry. books are NOT like music. music, when
downloaded, has the same end result. holding a
book in the hand, is not the same as having an
ipad or whatever.

perhaps it’s just the difference between the
sentimental and the practical. but for me, i’m
on the computer enough as it is, squinting at my
screen. it doesn’t equate to escapism and pleasure
(unless i’m writing my own novel =) for me. i want
something to hold in my hands that i can page through.
something i can look to the back glossary with ease
in the middle of the story. to be able to flip to the
acknowledgment and author’s note whenever i want.
to return to passages i want to reread.

i’m sorry, but i simply don’t want to scroll through
my novels. there is no joy in that for me.

that doesn’t mean that people don’t enjoy the
ease of ereaders. i think they will definitely be
a large part of publishing’s future. but every reader
has a personal idea of what is worth buying in
actual pages (some said non-fiction, some said
fiction, some said most definitely graphic novels
and others were willing to read them on screen)
which, to me, means there will still be a demand for
Real Books in the future.

i think other than distribution, determining the
best price point (which means shaking up all
the price points, from mass market paper backs
to hardcovers) for ebooks will be one of the biggest
challenges. what is an actual story worth if delivered
electronically?

many people polled complained that some ebooks
cost more than a paperback, and the fact that
they have nothing to “keep” after they’re done reading.
nothing to pass on or swap. to place in the bookshelf.
but should a newly released novel be less than the
average $10 cost?

does a real novel cost what it does because of its
pages and cover, and the ink to print it, or
for the actual story itself? i ask from an author’s
viewpoint, is my story worth less because it’s
not tangible in an ebook?

of course, i have no answers. i only pose
opinions and ask more questions. and it’s no
wonder publishing (notorious, i think, for being
slow to change) is scrambling to try and gauge
and wrestle with this Brave New World. i’m hoping
that by the time ereaders have dropped in price to
something affordable to most, that it will be sussed
out. but i’ll still be holding on to my Real Books for
dear life. =)

i had a fabulous time at my first RWA local
chapter meeting this past saturday
and participated on a YA panel with
laura preble, debra garfinkle and barrie summy!

i’ll also be hosting a comic-con panel on
SUNDAY, JULY 25 @ 12pm 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

i just finished shusterman’s Unwind which
i really enjoyed and am moving on to christopher
pike’s Thirst!

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!

i gift my brush painting teacher an amaryllis each
year. this year, i had chosen one that was a deep
rich crimson. this is my attempt at its portrait. =)
i used the same one and a half shuen paper i had
used for blobby cat with quasi-disastrous results.
the flower blobbed out more than i wanted in much
of the petal area, so it’s an imperfect painting (in my
critical mind). but i still quite like it.

my art show just ended today. i sold quite a few
cards as well as a hummingbird painting! (thanks
gjb and v!) which is always so thrilling! our long weekend
in SF is coming up in a few days and i’m eager to
play and see some friends. i also signed up for
a top secret class in the name of research that will
start next week! it’s not as if i weren’t busy enough, but
it seems the busier i get, the more ambitious i become!

in rather sad news, i think i’ve lost my wild bunny muse. =(
she was here every day and over a week ago, she disappeared.
it’s not like her during spring. some twitter and fb friends
suggested she may be preggers. which is likely! but i researched
online and it would seem wild bunnies have a life span for
about two years, and i think i’ve had the pleasure of her company
for two spring times. (honestly, i don’t even know if it’s the same
bunny but i think so!)

i had written a poem for bunny a while back and
completely forgotten about it. then came across
it again a few days ago. i’ll share the poem and a foto of
her from last spring, sprawled out and chillaxin’. =)
it makes me smile!!

Quiet and serene
Nibbling with wide eyes
Ears raised then tilted
knowing where I am
admiring from behind my window.
You slowly trust me but will always
be careful and wild.
This is why a glimpse of you, your
cottontail, is such a delight.
Mine but not mine, wild bunny muse
You bring your quiet and serenity
to my own day.

…

i hope another wild bunny finds our
secret garden. and this is why i can’t keep
real pets. i get so attached!! also, i’m lazy.

edited to add : MY BUNNY IS BACK! MY BUNNY IS BACK!
she made an appearance this afternoon. =DDDD yay!

linky love : come discuss the queen’s thief series by
megan whalen turner over at the enchanted inkpot!
why do you love this series? what are some of your favorite
scenes and quotes??

congrats to mike jung, winner of the signed mwt books
for our TGIFBM contest! and thanks to all those who entered!

currently reading :

the warrior heir by cinda williams chima

all san diegans are cordially invited to the
chinese brush painting society’s art show.
i can’t believe it’s just next week–i’m very
excited, especially since i’ll be selling my cards
for the first time this year. they have been well
received and i hope people enjoy them!

i finished The Glass of Time, which i enjoyed,
but didn’t find as compelling as cox’s debut,
The Meaning of Night. probably because i found
the first protagonist more interesting as well
as the storyline. having said that, i would still
recommend both novels.

for those who don’t know the books, michael
cox’s debut was critically acclaimed in england.
he finally wrote the debut that had been lurking
in his mind for the past three decades–the thing
that drove him to action was an illness that would
soon steal his eyesight.

he died before seeing his sequel published.
in an interview i found online, cox said that he
had a third companion novel in mind–which
did sadden me, because it obviously would never
be written. however, i’m glad that he DID write these
two books, that he finally sat down to realize his dream,
tho he didn’t have it in him all those years before.

i’m glad that he found the courage.

currently reading :

perchance to dream by lisa mantchev

congratulations to travis, who won copies
of Demon’s Lexicon, uk edition, and the arc to Mistwood!

february and i have yet to post my christmas
london fotos! today is my tribute to one of the
best greek restaurants i’ve ever been to. lemonia
in primrose hill. interestingly enough, we also went
to an excellent greek restaurant in vienna (ah, if
only i remembered the name?). we ate well in
crete of course (for the love’s 26th birthday, when
i was living in london). i’ve yet to find the delicious tomato
stuffed with ground lamb and rice dish anywhere since.

*a vegetarian version of keftedes made from zucchini.
and the cucumber yogurt dip, taziki.

*i ordered two appetizers as my main meal. dolmas, a favorite
of mine stuffed with rice and minced lamb wrapped in grape leaves,
and artichoke with beans. so so delicious!!

*my dessert that was the most heavenly thing i’ve ever
tasted. my first time trying greek yogurt! fresh fruit,
drizzled in honey with chopped almonds!

if you’re ever in london and in the primrose hill area,
GO TO lemonia!! the service is fantastic too!

on our last day in london, we went to spitalfields market.
alas, it was a weekday, cold and wet, and most of the stalls
weren’t there. so there wasn’t much to browse thorough. BUT
upon leaving the covered market, i came across this boutique.

it’s called Queens and absolutely insane.
i had to wander through it, altho the bubs weren’t
allowed, as it was a small intimate room crammed with
fragile things dangling and skewed from every nook
and corner!

if you are willing to take one travel advice from me, it
is this. ALWAYS buy something that you like while away
from home. because it will be a wonderful reminder of your
trip and most likely, you will never get a chance to buy the
same item again and regret it horribly.

i speak from experience. during my trip to hk, we had gone
to a nightmarket and i saw a set of little twin stars pajamas.
LITTLE TWIN STARS PAJAMAS!! i love little twin stars! so
much cooler than the newer sanrio stuff. i tried to bargain
with the merchant (as all tour books recommend and really
as required of me since i’m a shopping chinese girl in hong kong!)
and got shot down. the pjs were probably all of $25 but i refused
to buy them out of principle. and look at me, thinking about them
still over seven years later!!

this is my favorite purchase from london!
her name is iris and she is my new lucky writing
charm! she is clutching books and has them stacked
on her head, dolled up with glasses and sparkly lipstick
with a latte pressed to her side. she cost me 20# but i
didn’t hesitate to get her. =D i smile every time i see her!

thanks to all who entered the fantastic TGIFBM giveaway.
stephanie ruble was the lucky winner! i’m not so good about
announcing every time but i do choose winners! =)

currently reading :

mistwood by leah cypess

we visited san francisco on my 30th birthday
in august 2003, when i was around seven months pregnant
with sweet pea. fotos were taken, me with my
rotund belly, but i can’t be bothered to resurrect
them. and in november 2003…

…sweet pea arrived!

i was fortunate enough to take an entire year
off from work, and much to my surprise, found
out we were expecting munchkin when sweet pea
was just seven months old. i cried.
i felt very sorry for myself. haha! to this day, i call
munchkin “my favorite mistake”. =p

we traveled to london at least once a year all
these years. in 2004, we went twice, once
in the spring and once over christmas. (again, fotos
not readily available.)

in march of 2005, munchkin arrived!

the love and i began discussing perhaps
moving to a bigger home, which was a three
bedroom bungalow. but we loved this area so
much, instead, we decided to add a new master
and bath toward the back of our house and gut
the kitchen and dark tiny dining area to the studs
and open it up to our living room. (the one public
living space.)

from january 2006 through june, my only living
space was three bedrooms and two bathrooms. the
guest bath was converted into a place i could do the
dishes. i tried cooking soup udon noodles on a bunsen
burner in the bathroom once. i didn’t do it again!
we ordered take out a lot!
at the time, both bubs were at home with me full time.
honestly, i’m not sure how i survived.
i chose almost everything for the remodel, from cabinet
doorknobs to lights to dining room table and chairs,
doing all my research (and much of the shopping) online.

i was an hgtv fiend during that time. and
tho i still enjoy many of the shows, i don’t watch
the home redecorating so much any more.
my decor tastes are pretty eclectic, tho i think
ideally, beach cottage is what i would love best.
bright, clean, cheery. that reading nook in the
master overlooking the garden was meant to be
a walk in closet. (what a waste of the views!) and
originally, the claw foot tub was a monstrosity of
a giant square jacuzzi thing stuck in the corner in
the original designs. i requested all the changes,
including over sized windows where the tub sits.

and a blog post from that year.

23 July 2006
..long drawn..

i spent over five hours this
weekend writing and editing
my story. i am nearly at 10k
words now. it is a painstaking
process. and lonely business
at that. i am too close to it
to know whether it is good
or interesting.

i am meeting with my monthly
read and critique group this
tuesday night. a writer
cannot ask for anything more
than good honest criticism.

that and thousands of
adoring fans.

(ha! and yes, this is my rough
drafting of Silver Phoenix.)

in september 06, we had professional
family portraits taken on the beach.

in spring 2007, i somehow convinced
my mom to look after the bubs while the
love and i escaped to fiji for ten days for our
ten year anniversary. my mom flew my aunt
from china to help. when i returned. she said
it was the hardest days of her life. (i am her only
child, and she’s not at all used to little boys, hee!)
i pretty much knew i wouldn’t be asking her for
the same favor again for another ten years. =p

we were in northern fiji, at the yasawa islands.
the blue lagoon was filmed in this area of fiji.
the resort we stayed at (very small with private bungalows)
was steps from the private beach and a few feet beyond
there was an amazing reef full of sea life and coral.
(all the underwater fotos were taken by me while snorkeling!)
i would often poke my head above water and look back onto
the beach, marveling the beauty just ten feet from the sand,
completely hidden from view if you were just glancing seaward.

at night, i saw the most stars i’d ever seen my entire
life. the experience was written into Silver Phoenix, when
ai ling takes a bath in a certain river.

in january 2008, i began querying for an agent for
Silver Phoenix. another blog entry…

27 March 2008
..numbers game..

nine weeks into my agent querying

total queries sent : 109

rejections :38

rejections assumed : 8

partials requested : 18

partials rejected : 9

fulls requested : 4

fulls rejected : 1

rejection with inviation to submit new project : 3

rejection with invitation to submit revised beginning : 1

have yet to respond : 41

that same month, we took another trip to taiwan,
the bubs’ first to my birthplace. i’m so glad that we
did, as that summer, my uncle fell ill suddenly
and died. =( he was always our tour guide and a very
gracious host for all our visits, and
a wonderful father to both my girl cousins. they and
my aunt were devastated. i was so happy that we took
this trip and was able to spend some time together as
a family that year.

*the 101 building. was the tallest building
in the world for a short time.

*how is it that i can smell them and am
now actually salivating?

*i love LOVE LOVE taiwanese street food.

*the market on a typical day.

*the asian food courts at the department stores put
the american ones to shame. this meal cost me $4. yeah,
good thing i don’t live in taiwan!!

*the taiwanese dessert chua bing (crushed ice).
i love mine with tapioca balls, taro, barley and
condensed milk. damn. i’m drooling even more now. ha!

within a week after my query stats post, in early april
2008, agent bill contardi offered to represent me. about
six weeks later, my novel sold in mid-may.

which brings us to 2009, the most wonderful, amazing,
stressful and exhausting unforgettable year yet. but i don’t
think i need to document 2009? you can just click on my
archives. =)

in 2000, i was just finishing my masters program
at new york university. i would graduate in may
and return to san diego by the summer. what was
revolutionary for me was the purchase of my first
digital camera. i don’t consider myself a fotographer
at all. but i do take plenty of fotographs. it’s my
own attempt at grounding myself, by saying i was
HERE–to capture brief moments in life,
the beauty and the color around us.

this foto excavation has been a lot of fun, and only
sifting through do i actually realize how much i had
done, seen, experienced. and this, only for 2000-2002!

new york city, spring 2000

in may 2000, we went to bonaire (an island in
the dutch carribean) to celebrate our 3rd anniversary.

the following year, in may 2001, we spent
our 4th anniversary in maui. in june 2001, we
bought our first home.

that winter (december 2001), we took our usual trip to
london to visit family, then flew to vienna, austria.
gustav klimt is one of my favorite artists, and many
of his originals are in museums throughout vienna.
i absolutely fell in love with the city.

in april 2002, we took a jaunt to hong kong
and taipei with my mom. the main purpose for
going to hong kong was to buy qi paos. i was
very sad that i couldn’t get any custom made, as
my visit was just for three days. i had just seen
in the mood for love and the star had the most
amazing qi paos on. it’s a visually stunning film.
i recommend it if you haven’t seen it yet. and i love
tony leung as well as maggie cheung! and the main
goal for visiting taipei (other than seeing family
and eating like a fiend) was to have professional
wedding portraits taken (asian glamour style!).

in hong kong, april 2002.

in taiwan, april 2002

after the trip, i took a foto in one of two new qi paos
(that i can barely squeeze into now, so i don’t wear them)
in the back garden of our new home. i think a lot of things
when i see this picture : wow, look at how thin i was! wow,
look at how young i was! wow, look at all that hair i’ve got!
and a still from in the mood for love.

in december 2002, we take a jaunt to
bruges, belgium. both the love and i love
to travel, and we knew Our Days Were Numbered. =)
as you’ll see beginning in 2003 posts. ha!
i’m the shopper when we travel, the love hardly
ever buys anything. but he really went all out in
bruges, stuffing our luggage with chocolate, belgian
beer, and fancy beer glasses to drink the belgian beer. ha!

as you can see, my love for food has a long
history. ha! tho i didn’t begin consistently
taking food fotos until recent years–which is
a pity! whew! this post took me all day to put
together. i hope you enjoyed looking at the fotos
as much as i did again. =)

don’t forget to tweet or fb status or LJ or blog
with a link and short blurb about the TGIFBM
give away!!