*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 commissioned this portrait from phoenix lu. =)
her digital art work is nothing less than stunning.
i cannot wait for you to read zhong ye and silver
phoenix’s story in Fury of the Phoenix.

and YES! i am making postcards to give out as swag!!

just finishing up line edits and this commission
couldn’t have arrived at a better time as i’m working
on making the sequel better. =DD

this week’s links of interest:

*ai ling and bod owens (The Graveyard Book) are
battling for their lives at YA Fantasy Showdown
cage match! neil gaiman told me very graciously
via twitter yesterday that he voted for ai ling. haha!
that neil, such a charmer. it does make me a little
sad tho, as i love bod and both ai ling and he aren’t
violent by nature. but all’s fair in love and cage matches…

go vote if you think ai ling would win! (bottom of page.)

*i give some advice on college to diana dang
as well as a signed copy of Silver Phoenix and a
brush painting card of your choice from my etsy site!

*i interview dia reeves, author of Bleeding Violet, at the
enchanted inkpot!

*SIGNED copy of The Magicker’s Chronicles which
includes The Magickers and The Curse of Arkady by Emily Drake.

*Thirst volume one which includes the first
three novels in the series by christopher pike.
first novel(s) i read by pike and wow.

*SIGNED copy of Possessions by nancy holder. i actually
read the sequel, The Evil Within and loved it! intense,
sexy and scary. i can’t wait for the next book!

*SIGNED copy of Here, There Be Dragons by james owen.

*SIGNED copy of The Light, Book one of Morpheus Road,
YA horror series by d. j. machale.

*SIGNED copy of Worldshaker by richard harland.
steampunk YA. a really fun read.

*SIGNED copy of Unwind by neal shusterman.
first novel i’ve read by him and i couldn’t put it
down. i’m looking forward to reading his other books!

*SIGNED ARC of Virals by kathy reichs. the creator behind
Bones, the television series based on her adult books, this
is reichs first foray into YA and she does it wonderfully.
i really enjoyed this read and looking forward to the sequel!

*and last but not least, The Youngest Templar series
by michael spradlin, historical fantasy adventure. SIGNED
copies of the first two books and a SIGNED ARC of the last.

again, WINNER TAKES ALL! and i think
there are many young adult reads here that
you may have not picked up. and you’re missing
out if so! contest closes friday, september 3.
i’ll randomly choose a winner on that day.
ONLY OPEN TO US addresses, because i’m afraid
the box of books costs a lot to send. so sorry. =(
TO ENTER please tweet, fb status, blog,
LJ, etc and LINK to this post! COMMENT with your
link here so you’re entered.

EXTRA CREDIT : i blogged about my comic-con panel
at the supernatural underground. COMMENT THERE and
include “squish” in a sentence. this will earn you an
extra entry. =)

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

i commissioned a portrait of ai ling and
chen yong a while back from a digital artist,
shuangwen. she happens to be from guangxi,
the province that my mom is from! i couldn’t
be happier with it and hope to make postcards
from them to pass out as swag in the future! <3

thanks especially to courtney (ANGELFIRE,
HarperCollins/Katherine Tegan Books, 2/15/2011)
for recommending shuangwen to me!

i’ll be at the scbwi los angeles conference on saturday
only. eating mostly with friends. perhaps will make it
to one panel. but will definitely be at the gala–most
likely in my corset and awesome hat again. =D
if you see me, do say hi!!

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

squee!!! look at the wonderful portrait the
talented natalie whipple drew for me of ai ling
and chen yong together. don’t you love it?

be sure to click on the drawing to see a larger
version! i couldn’t be more thrilled. thanks so much
natalie!! i love it!!!

i’m happy to feature shani petroff’s third novel
in the bedeviled series today!

Book Summary:

Being a teen is tough. Especially when your dad’s the
devil. Literally.

Angel is not sure she’ll ever gain control of the powers
she inherited from her devil father. All she meant to do
was help poor nerdy Max break into the popular crowd.
But somehow the wires got crossed and she ended up
granting all of her best friend Gabi’s secret desires instead.
Not that Angel has anything against Gabi getting what she
wants. It’s just that the things Gabi dreams about on the
QT—1) starring in a reality TV show with Angel at her side
and 2) dating Angel’s boyfriend, Cole—just happen to be
the stuff of Angel’s worst nightmares.

Author Bio:

Shani Petroff is a writer living in New York City. In addition
to tween and teen books, Shani writes for news programs
and several other venues. When she’s not locked in her
apartment typing away, she spends a whole lot of time on
books, boys, TV, daydreaming, and shopping online. She
has no devil lineage as far as she knows.

more on shani : http://www.shanipetroff.com

amazon linky love!

congrats, shani!!

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!! =)