fortune cookie friday

"Even if you live near a forest, you should not waste firewood."
-Chinese Proverb

booktalk tuesday

The Case of the Goblin Pearls by Laurence Yep

Indiebound Description:

What would you do if your famous movie-star aunt asked you to be a jar of ointment in Chinatown's New Year's parade? And what if disaster struck in the middle of the parade and someone stole the priceless Goblin Pearls right in front of you? Worse still, what if your great-aunt still thought she was the famous action heroine Tiger Lil and decided to catch the thieves? What else could you do but become her sidekick?

Lily is excited when Auntie Tiger Lil comes to San Francisco to arrange the Lion Salve float and marching unit for the New Year's parade. Most famous for the Tiger Lil series of action movies, she's now dabbling in publicity, and the Lion Salve account could finance her movie comeback. The float is sure to be the centerpiece of the parade, especially since Miss Lion Salve will be wearing the ancient Goblin Pearls that day.

The Goblin Pearls have always been trouble, and the day of the parade is no exception. When they're stolen in broad daylight, Tiger Lil isn't about to let some punks ruin her plans -- if the cops can't catch the thieves, she will. But everything is not what it seems, and Tiger Lil and Lily soon find themselves in the middle of a plot worthy of one of Auntie's movies. Will this be the end of Tiger Lil and her trusty sidekick, or will they live to sleuth another day?

My Thoughts:
A fun read to prepare for the Chinese New Year! I love mysteries and this is a good one!

on my desk monday

Leftover sketches and reference from Dumpling Days! I'm using it to make the special deleted chapter & behind the scenes PDF for  the special red envelopes I'm giving away  at the Dumpling Days Book Launch!

Sunday Chinese School

Welcome to Sunday Chinese School, where we learn a Chinese word (or phrase) a week with my mom!

Today's word is:
chocolate
qiăo kè lì

fortune cookie friday

"In the midst of great joy, do not promise anyone anything. In the midst of great anger, do not answer anyone's letter."
-Chinese Proverb

more dumplings!

I'm getting more and more excited for the Dumpling Days Book launch! Though, unfortunately, my attempt to get a headcount using tickets is not working so well.  I think many enthusiastic young fans from places like Florida and California misunderstood that this was for an actual event and signed up for numerous tickets and I don't know how to adjust the ticket availability. So, even though it says tickets are sold out, please still come!

I plan to make extra goodie bags, just in case! Because of the limited quantity, goodie bags will be given to children first, adult ticket holders second, and everyone else after. Thank you for your understanding.

In the meantime, I've been enjoying  reviews of Dumpling Days!  At Jama's Alphabet Soup, there is particularly delicious one! Yum!

interview about Anne

Recently, the LM Montgomery Society interviewed me for their Shining Scroll newsletter. Just in case you aren't familiar with the name, LM Montgomery* is the author of Anne of Green Gables, maybe my favorite book of all time. Needless to say, I was honored to be a part of it! Here is an excerpt:

As you continue to write, do you notice any other opportunities to return to Montgomery for inspiration?

From a technical standpoint, I continue to look at her writing as inspiration for writing description (most recently, I've been studying how she writes sunsets) but her overall work and her thoughts as an author also inspire me.

A lot of children's/young adult books these days are "dark" and many feel as if that gives them more weight and seriousness. So every once and a while, I'll worry if my work is not dark enough. But then I will think of the Anne books and Montgomery herself, who (in response to reviews of her work) wrote, "..one which sneered at my ‘sentiment.’ The attitude of some English critics towards anything that savors of sentiment amuses me. It is to them as the proverbial red rag to a bull. They are very silly. Can’t they see that civilization is founded on and held together by sentiment? Passion is transient and quite as often destructive as not. Sentiment remains and binds."

And I will remember that a book with a true heart is the one most worth writing.

You can read the rest HERE!

*Lucy Maud Montgomery is such a favorite author of mine we were considering naming Rain Dragon Maud. Then, we realized that with my last name, she would be Maud Lin....maudlin...we'd have to have her room Edward Gorey-themed...

booktalk tuesday

Dumpling Days, by Grace Lin

Sorry for the shameless self-promotion! But I'm so excited about having a new novel just come out, I couldn't resist! And here's the brand new book trailer:



 Hope you like this one!!

IndieBound Description:


There was no day that dumplings couldn't make better.

Pacy is back! The beloved heroine of The Year of the Dog and The Year of the Rat has returned in a brand new story. This summer, Pacy's family is going to Taiwan for an entire month to visit family and prepare for their grandmother's 60th birthday celebration. Pacy's parents have signed her up for a Chinese painting class, and at first she's excited. This is a new way to explore her art talent! But everything about the trip is harder than she thought it would be--she looks like everyone else but can't speak the language, she has trouble following the art teacher's instructions, and it's difficult to make friends in her class. At least the dumplings are delicious...

As the month passes by, Pacy eats chicken feet (by accident!), gets blessed by a fortune teller, searches for her true identity, and grows closer to those who matter most.

on my desk monday

I received my author copies of Dumpling Days!! The book is now available, but the book launch is on Saturday, Jan 21st!  I'm hard at work prepping for it (I'm hoping to make enough pocket pacys for everyone), please come!

Sunday Chinese School

Welcome to Sunday Chinese School, where we learn a Chinese word (or phrase) a week with my mom!

Today's words are:

10: shí
9: jiǔ
8: bā
7: qī
6: liù
5: wǔ
4: sì
3: sān
2: èr
1: yī