I am enjoying working with Balestier Press on my book's interior layout and with their contract artist, Andre D’Rozario, on the cover. The Strength of Water is starting to feel real! Here I share a bit about the process. The book is the story of my mother's Chinese American odyssey, so for the cover, I …
Continue reading The Strength of Water: Adventures in Book Cover Design and Interior Layout
Forty-two – it’s the answer to life, the universe, and everything[i]. It’s also my new lucky number -- the number of queries I wrote before signing a book publishing contract. Most Hero's Journeys start with a starry-eyed protagonist like Frodo Baggins, Harry Potter, or Luke Skywalker, but mine starts as a 55-year-old dance instructor with …
Continue reading How I Survived My Debut Book Publishing Journey at 55 Years Old
Maybe you're seeking respite from the summer heat. Maybe you'd like to pretend you're in the Halls of Moria in the Lord of the Rings. Or maybe you want to hike through miles of graffiti art. Whatever your reason for coming, the Donner Pass Train Tunnels near Truckee, California, offer a fascinating and sometimes heartbreaking …
Continue reading Hiking the Donner Pass Train Tunnels, a Triumph and Tragedy of Immigrant Grit
Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh In February 2021, I had the great pleasure of signing a contract to publish my narrative non-fiction debut, My Name Is King Ying, with a small press publisher. I had two offers, and …
Continue reading One Writer’s Journey through the Dauntless Dunes
When quarantine began, I joined a writing group. I wanted to regain focus, connect socially, and revisit an old dream. In university, literature classes felt like sacred space. Words flowed through my mind, painting pictures, sparking ideas, injecting oxygen. By sophomore year, I thought I would major in English Literature. But when I expressed my …
Continue reading Re-Sparking An Old Dream By Committing to My Book Publishing Quest
The pandemic has devastated the San Francisco and Oakland Chinatowns, leaving them with much less tourism and foot traffic. That’s why this year, I am dedicating the lunar new year season to doing what I can to give back to these communities that formed such a memorable backdrop to my childhood. Memories of Chinatown As …
Continue reading Why I’ll Celebrate Lunar New Year by Helping Chinatown
A fond reminiscence of those days when we could still gather at huge arenas, and I joined my daughter at her first BTS concert.
Book review of Somewhere in the Unknown World, a Collective Refugee Memoir by Kao Kalia Yang
Much has been made about Vice President Harris’s multi-racial ethnicity, how it has shaped her, how it inspires girls of color, and how people perceive her. Her inauguration has caused me to reflect on my upbringing and its effect.
Imagine yourself with tables all around and men and women dressed up. There’s a dance floor with a big band playing and couples dancing. Then performers come out to sing and dance in scintillating costumes...