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!

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!

it started with a lunch date with gretchen and
mike at the bread bar. a must every time i’m at scbwi.
i simply love bread and i love their food!! gretchen
just sold Banish, her debut out in 2012 with balzar & bray
about a 15 year old who conducts exorcisms. whoa!
mike, newly agented, has a middle grade humorous
sci-fi novel going on sub soon!

we ordered sliders. a lot of them.
and we ate them happily, while chattering
non-stop. it’s a wonder one of us didn’t choke
on a slider…or a hunk of brie.

amaris, who writes young adult fantasy,
joined us a little later. if i had to do a thought
bubble for mike, it’d be “how the hell did i get
so lucky?” yeah, mike. how did you? haha!

after going on a mini-shopping trip with gretchen,
we headed to the hotel pool where i got to meet
some of the musers for the first. all as delightful and
kooky as i thought they’d be. =D

*me and sophie! i’m her #asianmomstandin! =D

*sagers, hannah, gracie, me, sophie and
debra draped over us.

most of the musers left for a panel
and i hung out by the pool with gracie and jo, who
joined us a little later. that was relaxing and fun to
catch up with one another.

when it got a bit too shady and cool, i wandered into
the lounge and found jacqui, frank, then was joined by
barry and we chatted books for a while. before we knew it,
it was time for our rsb dinner at rock sugar! barry, the only
dude, came along. =)

we decided to go with the tasting menu, and because we
had seven people, wound up getting seventeen dishes.
that’s right, SEVENTEEN. you know what, i’m not even gonna
try to label what we ate. it was a feast.

*an assortment of tasty appetizers.

*papaya and mango salad.

*almost everything. more dishes kept coming
and i finally gave up. ha!

*wait! let’s get a group foto!
amber, jacqui, barry, me, debbie, sara and elise!

*the aftermath. i especially like how debbie’s got
her hand over her stomach. ha!

*bannana brulee cake with ice cream and
coconut donuts. what!

and can you believe, after that meal, i barely
zipped myself into a betty draper dress to party
at the gala!

*i’m so glad suz came to find me. it wouldn’t
be an scbwi conference if i didn’t take a foto with
suz! <3

*me with the fabulous martha and edna.

*sophie is a sweetheart. i’m proud to be her
#asianmomstandin. study hard sophie! don’t
forget to floss and, er, eat apples and carrots! =D

*also so happy the gorgeous jo came to take a foto
with me. that dress is much more stunning ON you, jo!!

*me with the radiant gracie, adam and sophie.
adam wins points by grinning very much like munchkin
right now when we ask for a foto.

*and i’ll end this post with a foto from my wonderful
rsb friends. you are all awesome and i’m so glad we got
a chance to hang out, if only for a few hours!
[debbie, elise, jill, sara, amber, jacqui and me.]

wow! i wasn’t kidding about my full day, huh?
i think i’m still recovering from it!!

i’ll leave you with a post on food in fantasy
by yours truly over at the enchanted inkpot.
also, i DO have a follow up post on san diego
comic-con international and a huge #tgifbm!
giveaway coming next monday!! stay tuned… =D

currently reading :

everlasting by angie frazier

the difficult part is shutting out all the noise
so i can let my intuitive side guide me.

my mom is visiting for two days (long overdue!)
which means three days (as i did not write today)
of no writing. i can go months without writing but
when i’m really within the story, three days is a long
time to be away from it.

also something exciting, the tiniest barely there
seedling of an idea for a third novel. set in xia but
with different characters. i’m very excited by the thought
of this. i’m strictly a ONE IDEA at a time type of writer.
(and reader, as well!) in fact, i can’t help but turn a little
green whenever i hear about writers who seem to be
constantly bombarded with GREAT IDEAS. i get my one
idea, i write my novel, and hope that i get another idea.
somewhat. somewhere. somehow.

i need to read a little bit more, but i do hope
this seedling for a third novel is a viable one. =D

and without further ado, as it’s 10pm again
and i want to go read and watch MAD MEN…
i had the pleasure of going to one of my favorite
restaurants at the century city mall–the bread bar–
with one of my favorite people! gretchen and i have
been friends online for quite some time, but this is
the first time we met!

we started with an assorted bread basket
and different spreads. so yummy!

i decided to try the beet gazpacho. the flavors
were amazing. perfect for summer.

gretchen had the french onion soup and
i will have to try that next time! *drools*

i couldn’t resist their sliders! i got one in angus
beef and one of beer battered brie. SO GOOD!

gretchen got a grilled cheese sandwich that came
with a side salad. yes, we feasted! and chatted much!

love this foto! gretchen is every bit as witty and
charming as i imagined she would be. she just finished
an eight week run as a soprano singing in the circus.
how cool is that? bet you couldn’t claim the same, huh?
and fyi, we are both dolled up in anthropologie. hee!

i bought an almond chocolate (is that even LEGAL?)
croissant to go and omg–it was a little pocket of flake
crusted heaven! i highly recommend this
restaurant to anyone who’s hanging in the ritzy part
of los angeles!!!

and the most amazing news!
kiersten got a three book deal with harperteen!
we’ll be publisher sisters!!!
her debut, PARANORMALCY, will be out
fall 2010!

Sixteen-year-old Evie’s job is bagging and tagging
paranormals. Possessing the strange ability to see
through their glamours, she works for the International
Paranormal Containment Agency. But when someone–
or something–starts taking out the vamps, werewolves,
and other odd beasties she’s worked hard to help become
productive members of society, she’s got to figure it out
before they all disappear and the world becomes utterly normal.

Normal is so overrated.

i’ve followed her journey and struggles
and absolutely could not be more thrilled for
her. congrats, kiersten!!!!

currently reading :

sacred scars by kathleen duey

i’m pretty sure this alien was much enamored
of chun li–but we had a language barrier. haha!
actually, he was very popular and took fotos with
many people!

one of the highlights of the night was when i was
dancing and someone tapped me on the shoulder. and
there was angela in her shimmering octopus costume
(which she made and won first place for–just like last year!)
wanting to introduce herself to me. it was very funny
and surreal and sweet.

the lovely edna [the sleeping giant] is also in foto!

i finally got a signed copy of savvy. am so excited
to read it. i saw ingrid at the ala chicago newbery banquet
and she is just the nicest, sweetest person you could meet.
she also gave a wonderful speech at scbwi–her metaphorical
journey to publication as a story.

this foto cracks me up. because jay [thirteen reasons why]
always dresses up and also because someone stuck their
star in the foreground of the foto.

m lo [ash] was my roommate at the conference.
we had a lot of fun! i know she was a bit leery that
i would turn out to be a weirdo. and well, i was. but
she still thinks i’m fantastic. =D ASH is a terrific read.
malinda’s prose and storytelling is simply amazing.
her huntress in ash is hot!

my rsb posse, only three of us made it back this
year. =| i got some opps to hang out with jacqui
[two of a kind] but not so much with jill. wah! cause
jill is a rockstar.

not at the blue moon ball but at the author signing.
suzanne [the naughty list] blogged and tweeted about
the conference the entire time. it’s always fun and a
delight to see her around the conference.

eta : i’m chuckling as i look over these fotos as i had
my chun li pose down and look like a transportable cut
out. haha!

just back from scbwi los angeles and had a wonderful, exhausting
time. i’m wondering when i’ll recover. returned and jumped
right into mommy mode, picking the bublets up from summer
camp (last week, eee!), grocery shopping, a large stack of bills, etc.

also waiting for me is the sequel. i really missed
it, but didn’t have much time to dwell these past
days while i was gone. i’ve found myself a bit emotional
and reluctant to tackle the last scenes and pages. but
i do and must be done by the end of this week–rough
draft wise.

the last panel i attended was career planning as an
author led by holly black. (who is super sweet
and nice. we totally fangirled megan whalen turner
together. seriously.) she had a list of ten scenarios and
we had to number them from most desirable to least.
here is what my list looks like :

1. writing a critically acclaimed, award-winning book.

2. writing a series / several books with a huge fan base.
i don’t know about HUGE. but a good sized fan base,
that would be lovely.

3. writing a book that is read through the ages and taught
in the schools.
i would love it to be read for many years to come. not
sure about taught in schools thing–given the topics
i tend to write.

4. being able to live off the earnings of my writing alone.
this would certainly be nice. i’m obviously not feeling very
practical and should put this at number one.

5. having your book translated into many languages.
yes, please!

6. getting a movie made of your book.
i think Silver Phoenix is perfect for the cinema. =D

7. networking with other writers.
love fellow writers. but not sure if this is as career
related–more like a fun side perk?

8. becoming famous because of my work.
being famous is overrated.

9. writing one single perfect book.
this actually is a very very bad thing.
just to write ONE book? even if perfect? i think
i’d rather write several imperfect books. i don’t
believe there is any thing such as perfection in any
book. tho we all strive for it.

10. writing a hundred books and publishing all of them.
uh. yikes? i’d have to strike a deal with the devil
in order to accomplish this one.

so what about you? are your rankings much different?

i hope to be done with the sequel this week.
i only have some final scenes to write. and i have
to say, writers always complain about how difficult
beginnings are. and they are. but for me, endings
are much more challenging. it’s the difference
between an initial impression and a lasting impression.
i think only the ending can accomplish the latter.

what do you think?

i had a lot of fun at my first teen book club
library visit. around fifteen readers showed up
and miko the librarian did an awesome job
by creating a fantastic flyer announcing my visit.
on top of that, she served pot stickers, rice,
green tea and even had a package of dried squid!!
to pass around. many of the teens were brave
enough to try it! hee!

we talked about everything from chinese
folklore and myth to li rong and chen yong
to themes found in Silver Phoenix, my personal
phobias (which made their way into the book),
titles and covers and my ending. 8)
i had such a great time and thank you to two
other librarians, joann and jennifer for attending
as well! i wish i had a teen book club at my local
library during the summer!

ruth had asked about my silver phoenix contest
from april. um. i think the winner will be drawn
in october! i didn’t mean to take so long, honestly.
but don’t worry, i haven’t forgotten!

i’m off to the scbwi conference for a long weekend.
looking forward to the panels, meeting new and old
friends, talking about books and writing. i’m sure i’ll
return with another stack of books. i simply can’t
resist! will report back next week!

now for some taro / vanilla frozen yogurt,
tele and reading. =D

currently reading :

the adoration of jenna fox
by mary e. pearson

me, jill c and steph.

the debut by sara lewis holmes,
a fellow RSB femme. we all have
some incredible stories to publication,
and hers is one of my favorites. she
was inspired after reading dear genius
by leonard marcus,
a book about ursula nordstrom, who
headed childrens books at harper for
over three decades. sara’s debut novel,
letters from rapunzel, was the first to

win the ursula nordstrom fiction prize.
i know that sara took the time to thank
marcus at the conference because she
found his book so inspiring! amazing!
i’m reading dear genius right now and
really enjoying it. i should read sara’s book
right after! 8)

another debut from a RSB femme,
debbie freedman. the colors and charm,
whimsy of scribble definitely caught my
eye. i searched the room for her to autograph
the book but never found her. i was so
excited when she joined our group for drinks
at rock sugar and she did sign my copy.
thanks, debbie!

adam rex (who has an awesome name, no?
and is super cute with clark kent glasses
to boot….) gave a very funny speech at
the conference. his line was always ridiculously
long so i was sneaky and had amber / jacqui
ask to sign munchkin’s steamboat book, which
he illustrated. i’m looking forward to reading
his debut novel, which is middle grade humorous
science fiction.

the view from my table at the golden
kite luncheon. i thought the chicken was quite
good (considering they had to make about
1000), but i didn’t like the cheesecake really.
only because i dislike cheesecake in general!

i was lucky enough to sit with lisa yee
and mark teague–but too shy to say hi
or introduce myself. but i did chat quite
a lot with chris eldin, who sat next to me.
i’m so glad we bumped into each other
before the luncheon! she sort of jumped
in front of me like magic! =D

i sat in on an illustrating panel with mark
teague and bought three of his dino books.
two for munchkin and a third as a gift for
an upcoming baby shower. mark was really
nice and made a dino doodle in every book.

lisa yee signed my millicent min book
for sweet pea (tho i bought it to read
for myself, haha!). i think it’s so exciting to
have middle grade books featuring asian
american kiddies. i simply didn’t grow up
with that. (and as far as i know, there’s still
no asian barbie on the toy shelves is there?
other than special edition kinds?)

she was so nice and just as cute in person.
peep wasn’t shy and agreed to a foto.
she recognized me from online and i felt
silly for not introducing myself at lunch.

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yuyi morales won the golden kite award
this year for her picture book, little night.
it’s so gorgeously done and i love the story.
sweet pea enjoys it, too. there is a spanish
version as well.

i sat in on her very crowded session and
she shared all the tips she had for doing
her art. she seems very gracious and kind.
loved yuyi!

virginia suggested i introduce myself
to sid fleischman, who is a fellow
greenwillowite. he signed the whipping
boy for munchkin and i got a foto
with him, too!

and here’s a final foto of part of the RSB
femmes. i miss you guys! [L to R] jacqui,
amber, elise and me!

i always sing some
of that awesome cure
song when elise comes
to mind. =D

the first set of fotos is from my
new favorite restaurant which i won’t
go back to until next summer’s
conference, i’m sure.

the bread bar
@ century city mall
10250 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90067
310 277 3770

i went there three times
during the 4 day conference. =)

this is their beet salad, which
was light and delicious.

the beet gespacho, which i didn’t try,
but i believe jill c and amber liked it!

i love their sliders! this one was
the beef. i also tried their beer
battered brie. SO GOOD!!

and of course, we had to try
the bread and cheese. their bread
is very good, fresh with lots of variety.
even better, they sell fresh bread and
pastries in the front. i tried their choccie
croissant as well as choccie and almond
croissant. to die for!!!

amber is eating very healthy for

baby in her belly. here is a side of veggies

she got. aren’t the colors amazing?

on sunday night, a group of us somehow
converged (it wasn’t planned as far as i
could tell, i sort of fell into an awesome
group of writing mommy femmes) and headed
to rock sugar, a pan asian fusion place
that’s fairly new, also inside the mall.

and here’s the sassy Rock
Sugar Beets crew that ate
at the fancy dinner joint! [l to r]
jill c, amber, cindy, jacqui, sara,
elise and debbie! unfortunately, debbie
could only stay for drinks.

here’s the entrance to the restaurant.
the decor outside and in is AMAZING.
it’s a gorgeous restaurant. i highly recommend
it.

in the courtyard waiting to be seated.
it was a sunday night and it took about
an hour before we were shown to our table.
the restaurant was very busy. but we had
awesome drinks to keep us company.
and each other, of course!

amber and i both got the same drink–
the hibiscus tea with [something fancy
i can't remember]. it was SO GOOD!
and only $4.50, which
i thought was a great bargain for
the flavorful delight. yummy!

amber, glowy and cute with her drink.

and me with mine!
i got rather attached to my name
tag during the conference. i think
people should wear name tags
everywhere everyday. it’s a good thing.

ooh. dinner. we started with samosas,
an indian flat bread filled with minced
beef, and also some popcorn shrimp
and veggies. our waiter, nicholas
(all the wait staff were ridiculously good
looking–welcome to los angeles), was
very helpful with his recommendations.

green beans and halibut over
tofu and veggies.

beef–and i am NOT a beef eater–
i had two pieces of their beef because it
tasted so good. i’ve never eaten a steak
in my life and chunks of beef usually
weirds me out. not so wit
h this dish. also
shrimp pad thai.

hey RSB girls, what happened to the
green curry chicken i wanted? haha! i
remembered in bed that night. i really
wanted curry, too! but the “replacement”
dish of shrimps was yummy, too.

i definitely recommend rock sugar–
tho beware of the wait. put in your eyes
so you can ogle all the beautiful people.
now i’m hungry and all i have is an apple. =(

i’ve got another batch of line edits waiting
for me–but the kids are home so i’ll wait

till they are napping to get some work in.
and tonight after they’re in bed. virginia makes

doodles on certain pages to illustrate what

i’ve written in words for visual clarification.

it always makes me smile.

i think it’s gonna be a busy birthday
month for me. but i’m not complaining!! =D