augh! is it monday already?
this is so icky i simply must give away
some books to make myself feel better!
while in england this past x’mas, i picked
up a few awesome uk editions (with uk covers!)
of debs novels, including r.j. anderson’s
gorgeous KNIFE. to my utter surprised pleasure,
her sequel REBEL came out while i was there–
and i can’t wait to read this!

my review of knife :

what an absolutely delightful read. you always
know when a book has found its way into your
heart when you are filled with regret when the story
is over. faery rebels is a middle grade novel–a genre
i have not read in some time–but it is a book to be
enjoyed by all ages.

knife is a fearless faery intent on finding out the truth
of her people’s past, when she befriends a human friend, paul.

with evocative prose and wonderful storytelling, anderson
slowly unravels the mystery behind the faeries’ unhappy
circumstance, as knife does all she can to help her kind.
knife is the perfect heroine for this fantastic debut. i
recommend highly!
…

r.j.’s debut has received much critical acclaim including
being nominated for Hillingdon Book of the Year Award,
a program which promotes literacy in schools in the London,
UK area. students read the nominated books and vote on the winner.
how awesome is that?

win BOTH uk editions of this novel by tweeting/fb/blogging/LJ’ing
about this contest and linking to this post. be sure to come back
and COMMENT in this post with your link to tweet, etc, by this
sunday, 2/14. i’ll choose a winner some time on sunday. good
luck to all and TGIFBM!! =D

contest is OPEN TO EVERYONE!

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

*mao mi translates into kitty. =) this was
my second attempt at a blobby cat. didn’t like the
last one well enough but the love did.

i’ve been working on painting fat blobby cats!
this one probably isn’t very fat, but she is blobby!
(or do you think “he”?)
i was very excited to just recently buy one and a
half shuen paper from my teacher.
speaking of time snowballing–it’s hard to believe
i’ve been a student of brush painting for nine years
this june. and for those nine years, i had painted on
rolls of “student paper”. a thicker paper that behaved
and usually did what you expected.

most chinese brush artists use single shuen, very
thin, and…temperamental. this one and a half shuen
is in between, but much more capable of bleeding.
or blobbing as i would say. see the edges of the cat?
i love that effect and am having much joy in painting
on this new paper!

other than that, kept busy this week with my sister
who surprise visited, critiqued writing friends’ novels,
and concentrated on my art. i hope everyone enjoys
the weekend!

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

is it really and truly february??
i have this theory that time takes on
a snowball effect as one gets older. imagine
calendar pages of months flipping faster and
faster and faster… i’m sure some physicist
can prove this somehow?

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

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

i’ve been painting quite a lot in the new year and
trying to add to my very small collection of
brush paintings as our (chinese brush painting
society) show in balboa park is in mid march.
the person that i usually hire to mount my brush art
has retired, and so far, no one has replaced him.
thus, i’m left with unmounted paintings! if worse
comes to worse, i can try and back the paintings myself.

i’m very excited as i’ve been working on making some
more greeting cards with my brush art, including
these sea birds and the lily i painted recently. it’ll
be the first time i’ll be selling cards (finally!) at the
art show!

other than that, Silver Phoenix is featured on Free
Books Friday–your chance to win two signed copies.

also, i interview kristine cashore for the enchanted inkpot!

and don’t forget my own awesome TGIFBM giveaway of
two morris 2010 shortlist novels and the winner, signed
copies to ONE lucky winner!

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

we despise mondays!! =D
this is the reason i decided to feature my
free books giveaway on monday, to try and
bring some cheer to this day.
today, i have a very special giveaway.
three books that were on the morris shortlist
for 2010. the morris award is given to excellent
young adult debuts, and i’ve had the pleasure of
meeting the authors as well as enjoying their
fantastic novels.

also, i’ll be buying a signed copy for the winner
directly from indie bookstores, which will also
get some loving in this post!

my review :

i’ve heard ASH by malinda lo described as a lesbian
retelling of cinderalla, but this short changes
malinda’s wonderful debut novel. beautifully written in prose
that can make your heart ache, ASH loses everything
that she loves and is on a journey to discover herself
in the process.

rich with folklore, malinda intrigues the reader with
the dark, intense and possessive fairy, sidhean juxtaposed
with the innocent, butterflies in the stomach encounters
with the king’s young huntress, kaisa. both relationships
drew me for their own reasons, and malinda does a fantastic
job of adding her own twists to a familiar fairy tale.

i highly recommend this debut!

*malinda and i at the 2009 scbwi LA conference.
i try to post the foto as much as i can cause it makes
me giggle. ha!

*Photo L to R: Elaine Petrocelli, C. Lee McKenzie,
Lissa Rovetch (Kid Lit Salon coordinator), George McGovern,
Sarah Quigley, me, Cheryl Renee Herbsman, J.A. Yang.

signed copies of ASH can be purchased from Book Passage.
this is what malinda had to say about her local indie bookstore!

My local independent bookstore, Book Passage, is way more
than a bookstore. It has a gigantic series of events every month
including author signings, writing conferences and literary salons –
it’s truly a community meeting place. My first event for ASH was at
one of those literary salons, the Kid Lit Salon, which brings together
Bay area writers and readers of children’s and YA books. Because
Book Passage is such a happening place, George McGovern happened
to be presenting in a separate area of the bookstore the very same
night, and Book Passage owner Elaine Petrocelli brought him over to
the Kid Lit Salon to say hello. That was an awesome way to kick off
my ASH promo efforts!

my review :

gothic. epic. touching. frightening.
mysterious and intriguing.
with a hero falling in love for the
first time whom you can’t help falling
in love with yourself.
and a heroine battling her family, her
past, her future and herself.

definitely recommended!

*L to R : kami garcia, margie stohl, nancy holder,
me, and megan whalen turner.

the signed copy of Beautiful Creatures which will
be made into a film soon (!!) was purchased
at the Mysterious Galaxy Holiday Party in december.
i got the chance to hang out with some awesome author
friends and many lovers of Mysterious Galaxy showed
up to support authors, good books, but most of all, a very
beloved local indie bookstore.

Mysterious Galaxy focuses on, according its website,
“books of Martians, Murder, Magic and Mayhem
(with occasional Matchmaking and Munchkins)”.
every author i know who writes within these genres
loves the store. and if you’re a reader that enjoys
science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, suspense or thrillers,
it’s the bookstore to go to if you are ever in san diego!

i had the pleasure of meeting tad williams, elizabeth
moon, melissa marr, and neil gaiman at MG author
events. i also attended my first fantasy novels panel
at Comicon and had a signing there through MG last year!

they have also been so supportive of SIlver Phoenix
and keep signed copies in stock, calling me to let me
know when there are personalized requests!

and last but not least, Flash Burnout was my
second favorite read from 2009–out of 41 books read.
it was an utter surprise to me because i do lean toward
fantasy as favorites (reading tastes are so personal), but
i instantly fell in love with l.k. madigan’s “hero”, fifteen
year old blake. his voice was so honest, endearing, funny
and real. this debut satisfied on multiple levels, and
i couldn’t have been happier to learn that it was awarded
the morris award for 2010!

congratulations, lisa!!

signed copies of Flash Burnout are available
from Annie Bloom’s Books. this is what lisa had
to say about her local indie bookstore :

The first blog review FLASH BURNOUT ever received
(a glowing one!) came from Holly at Annie Bloom’s.
And the very first fan mail I ever received (literally: the
topic line was “Fan Mail”!) came from Matt at Annie Bloom’s.
No wonder they’re my favorite independent bookstore.
They made me feel like a star before my book ever came out,
and they’ve been hand-selling it ever since.

whew! so how do you win ALL THREE fabulous
signed copies? simply tweet, fb status, LJ or blog a link
and blurb about the contest from now through this
saturday (1/30). i will choose a winner randomly some
time on saturday. please be sure you let me know in
THIS POST if you’ve tweeted, etc, to officially enter!
contest is open to all! good luck!

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

sweet pea came home from school yesterday
excitedly telling me she had made a book for me.
and this is its cover. tell me it’s not the cutest thing
you’ve ever seen? of course “j” is her and “c” is me,
curly hair and all. =D
we’re holding books! here is an excerpt from her story,
errors included. (it was a free write in class. =)

My mom and I like writing. We are Drowers to We like
to Pinte and Drow We like art. Writing is fun I like
writing becuas you get to writ storys I like to read.
I like reading books thay make me think about
afenchers afenchers are fun.

hehe! i’m filled with pride, of course!!
and have you figured out what “afenchers”
is yet? =D

tgif and have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

i forgot to mention that i started my chinese
brush painting classes in 2001. a very frustrated,
impatient why can’t i paint beautifully right NOW
right AWAY brush art student. =)

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. =)

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

my intention was to do a decade look back.
i don’t usually do this type of retrospective post,
but so much has happened for me between 2000-2009,
i thought it would be a fun endeavor.
i began collecting fotos and realized that it will
have to be divided into two posts, at least!

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!!

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

*today, as the bubs helped their daddy search
for “treasures” with his metal detector. 8)

i’ve been tweet-bragging about our sunshine
and high 70’s temps and getting grouchy and
threatening replies from all over. =p what can
i say, i’m a southern cali girl through and through.
i’ll gladly trade “seasons” for constantly temperate
weather. and proximity to the beach. i don’t like
swimming in the ocean at all, but i love to gaze at
it. it’s both soothing and inspiring.

last night we went to watch sherlock holmes
which i loved! i really love robert downey’s come
back and he and jude law’s rapport and chemistry
are spot on. i really recommend this movie!

imagine my excitement when i saw the trailer
for a remake of Clash of the Titans. i LOVED that
movie. it epitomizes everything i adore about
fantasy : gods, monsters, a hero on a fantastic
journey. ha! the final scene with medusa is
incredible and this was over two decades ago.
i can only wonder what they’ve done with it now!
watch the trailer and see how kick ass it is!

and today is the inaugural post for
Thank Goodness it’s Free Book(s) Monday!
i thought i’d kick off the give away with some
wonderful news! Silver Phoenix was a 2009
Booklist Editor’s Choice for young adults! such
an honor--one that could never have happened
without greenwillow books and all the people
there who helped make my debut the best it can
be! so in celebration of this and GWB’s 35th year,
i’m giving away an ARC of amy brecount white’s
Forget-Her-Nots and david macinnis gill’s Soul
Enchilada.

i loved soul enchilada! it was an exciting,
fun, scary and touching read--all through the
eyes of a heroine with sass, gumption and heart.
i had the pleasure of reading david’s arc while in
england two years ago and nearly missed my train
stop because i was so engrossed in the story. for
anyone who is a writer, you MUST read this novel
for the voice--which is incredible.

i also loved Forget-Her-Nots! a entirely unique
take on magic, with intrigue, mystery and romance.
i love flowers and found the lore absolutely fascinating.
it’s unlike any fantasy i’ve read and that is a good thing!

so how do you enter to win BOTH arc and novel?
simply tweet, fb, LJ or blog a link to this contest and leave
a comment in THIS post letting me know. contest will
close some time this saturday (1/16) when i will
randomly choose a winner! this contest is open
internationally!

my mom is visiting tomorrow and she is bringing
my dad’s persimmons. i’m so excited! my dad grows
fantastic fruit in the garden! 8)

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

i was watching the season 2 finale of The
Tudors last night, and feeling really very
anxious about it all. anne boleyn was beheaded
and altho i’ve read about this multiple times, it’s
quite another thing to see it acted out. there’s
something to be said about visuals. she was
executed in 1536 and the 500th anniversary
date will be in 2036. i fumbled with the math
in my mind and figured i’ll be 63 that year.
it’s rather unsettling to calculate
my life years (away) like that.

as i said, we made it safely back from england!
i won’t lie, it was one of the most stressful
and coldest jaunts ever. sweet pea was air sick
the entire eleven hours there and back. =( i was
hoping she would get better as she got older
but this trip was the worst yet. we gave her over
the counter medication on the flight back and it
didn’t help one bit. she’s traumatized over flights
now. =( we flew back with heightened security
which meant further stress and delays. i was just
so happy to be back home safe again!!

*to high 70’s weather and surfers galore!
those are my boys in the corner. =D

this doesn’t mean i didn’t manage to enjoy
my trip. i’m returning to my favorite city after all!
i went into london for the weekend by myself to
see my best friend, and we had such fun!

*i loved this “christmas tree” outside the
royal academy art institute on piccadilly.

*and right adjacent wedged into a tiny corner
of an arcade was this french macaron shop.

*yes, please! we had to let the macaron
shopwoman fill our boxes for us. i bought
a dozen: pistachio, chestnut, praline, vanilla,
chocolate and coffee. yes, i remember! i tried
the praline and chestnut.

*and probably one of the highlights of this
trip, my best friend took me to the wolsely
for afternoon tea. oh, it was just gorgeous
inside and completely full our entire 2 or so
hours there! it’s a place i’ve walked past many
times with the love and bubs and said, we wouldn’t
be welcome there. ha! but it was more casual than
the ritz close by, which required black tie for tea!

*so so delicious. the restaurant had a no fotos
policy so i was trying my best to be quick and
surreptitious. meep!

i’m still a little jet lagged, but almost fully
recovered. i have a feeling 2010 will be a very
exciting year–tho 2009 will be a difficult one
to top, certainly!

it’s a special year as my publisher, greenwillow books
just celebrated 35 years! to mark the occasion,
we’ve started a blog, under the green willow. there
will be fun and interesting posts, including the
inaugural post by my fantabulous editor, virginia!
do check it out and say hello!

(my munchkin would LOVE that Fire Truck book!)

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

happy 2010! i’m back from england!
it’s so good to be home safe. holiday fotos
will follow soon! for the past three years,
i’ve shared my reading list as well as my
top five books on my blog. this year is different,
as i’m beginning to read books that are written by
authors i know, some even friends to me! the list
is most definitely predominantly young adult, more
so than all previous years.
so without further ado, these are my top five
favorite reads of 2009!

1. THE KING OF ATTOLIA by megan whalen turner
if you haven’t read the queen’s thief series, why
ever not? one of my 2009 highlights was to meet
megan in person and actually hang out. she’s totally
fun and down to earth, despite her rockstar status.

2. FLASH BURNOUT by l.k. madigan (debut)
i was so so thrilled when i found out lisa
was on the shortlist for morris award! (these
are given to YA debut books only.) i love blake
and this novel satisfied on multiple levels.

3. THE HERETIC QUEEN by michelle moran
i’m a fan of michelle’s historical fiction.
this is my favorite by her with a strong heroine
and a wonderful story. she writes with enough
detail to immerse you in the time and culture but
not so much that you feel lectured to.

4. FIRE by kristin cashore

i enjoyed graceling but liked FIRE even more.
i love seeing more traditional fantasy within
young adult genre!

5. EYES LIKE STARS by lisa mantchev (debut)

such an original and fun debut.
charming and whimsical and i have a crush
on her naughty elemental, ariel! who lisa tells
me looks like daniel henney too, so that never
hurts. =D

here are my favorite reads from 2008 :

1. swordspoint by ellen kushner
2. gifts by ursula le guin
3. paper towns by john green
4. the lady elizabeth by alison weir
5. graceling by kristin cashore (debut)

and from 2007 :

1. the meaning of night by michael cox (debut)
2. american gods by neil gaiman
3. confessions of an ugly stepsister by gregory maguire
4. the blood of flowers by anita amirrezvani (debut)
5. in cold blood by truman capote

below is my complete 2009 reading list, in alphabetical order :

• a conspiracy of kings by megan whalen turner
• ash by malinda lo
• beautiful creatures by kami garcia and margie stohl
• book of a thousand days by shannon hale
• break by hannah moskowitz
• cleopatra’s daughter by michelle moran
• crown duel by sherwood smith
• evermore by alyson noel
• exclusively chloe by j.a. yang
• eyes like stars by lisa mantchev
• faery rebels by r.j. anderson
• fire by kristin cashore
• flash burnout by lk madigan
• forget-her-nots by amy brecount white
• fortune’s folly by deva fagen
• give up the ghost by megan crewe
• hush, hush by becca fitzpatrick
• liar by justine larbalestier
• north of beautiful by justina chen headley
• paris pan takest the dare by cynthea liu
• perfect chemistry by simone elkeles
• prada and prejudice by mandy hubbard
• radiant darkness by emily whitman
• sacred scars by kathleen duey
• shadowed summer by saundra mitchell
• shanghai girls by lisa see
• shiver by maggie stiefvater
• skin hunger by kathleen duey
• soulless by gail carriger
• the absolutely true diary of a part-time indian by sherman alexie
• the adoration of jenna fox by mary pearson
• the demon’s lexicon by sarah rees breenan
• the graveyard book by neil gaiman
• the heretic queen by michelle moran
• the king of attolia by megan whalen turner
• the last queen by c.w. gortner
• the queen of attolia by megan whalen turner
• the season by sarah maclean
• the stolen one by suzanne crowley
• the thief by megan whalen turner
• theodosia and the serpents of chaos by r. l. lafevers

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

i can’t believe this is my final debs 09
blog tour post!! ringing in the new year
with rhonda and her debut, Stupid Cupid!

About Stupid Cupid

Felicity Walker believes in true love. That’s why
she applies for a gig at the matchmaking company
Cupid’s Hollow. But when Felicity gets the job, she
learns that she isn’t just a matchmaker…she’s a cupid!
(There’s more than one of them, you know.)

Armed with a hot pink, tricked-out PDA infused with
the latest in cupid magic (love arrows shot through email),
Felicity works to meet her quota of successful matches.
But when she bends the rules of cupidity by matching her
best friend Maya with three different boys at once, disaster
strikes. Felicity needs to come up with a plan to set it all right,
pronto, before she gets fired…and before Maya ends up with
her heart split in three.

About Rhonda Stapleton

Rhonda Stapleton started writing a few years ago to
appease the voices in her head. She has a Master’s degree
in English and a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. Rhonda
works as an editor for a legal publishing company and enjoys
offering editing workshops. Rhonda lives in Northeast Ohio with
her lovely, energetic family, who are more than enough to keep
her busy when she’s not writing.

In the twelve minutes of free time she has each day, Rhonda
enjoys reading, photography, writing poetry, singing in the
shower (and in the car, at work, or basically anywhere that
provides oxygen), drinking chai tea, and playing on the Internet.

and the cindy interview!

1. who is your literary character crush?

Oooooh I am totally crushing on Mr. Darcy. I
also have a crush on Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre.
I’m a glutton for snooty men, I guess.

darcy has been quite popular among the debs!
jane austen obviously did something right!

2. who is your author crush? (does not have to
be romantic!)

I have an author crush on the 2009 Debs. I can’t
believe what talent we have in our group. It’s been
incredible debuting with them!!

aww, agreed! it’s been an incredible year with
incredible books to read!! so much fun!

3. what is your favorite pastry?

I have a particular weakness for anything dipped
in chocolate.

haha! chocoholic!

4. what is the favorite scene from your novel?

There are a lot of scenes that I really love. The one
that gets me every friggin’ time I read it is toward the
end when Sammy gets a new guitar.

more about rhonda : rhondastapleton.com

indie book love!

thanks for stopping by and congrats on
your debut release, rhonda!!!

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

i’ll have my iphone for the first
time while abroad this year. so i hope
to take random fotos and make tweets
while gone. check for my updates on
my twitter page. also if you are on twitter,
please add me! and happy holidays!

2010. wow.

http://twitter.com/cindypon

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

Cobbled Streets and gray skies
The smell of roasted chestnuts
Rubbing my mittened hands for warmth
as it pours from the café and shop windows
like sunshine on a summer day
But London is muted, dark too soon
beneath dense clouds
The Christmas decorations shimmer bright
colors: reds, golds and brilliant greens
Silver tinsel glitter like iced stars
I want a hot scone slathered in triple-clotted
cream and strawberry jam

-cwp 11/09

i have an email pen pal who is in elementary
school, and in our exchanges, i like to write
impromptu poems for her. i really enjoy it,
actually, because when i started writing, i began
with poetry. back then, i worried over each word,
each turn of phrase, recited them aloud hundreds
of times. (true story, i got a speeding ticket driving
home from college because i was too preoccupied
reciting a poem i had recently written.)

this one, of course, is just on a lark,
whatever came to mind as i thought about
my annual upcoming trip back to my favorite
city, london. =) but without my pen pal friend,
i wouldn’t have bothered writing poetry again.
it’s been…over a decade! so i always enjoy
our exchanges.

one funny thing about my household is
that we never watch dvds. but on black friday,
i saw The Tudors were on sale (marked down $50 for
the two seasons) and i could not resist. i have
a serious love and fascination for that time period.
of course, i see these people as “characters” in
a story, and it truly is a case of stranger than fiction.
could you concoct anything that could be so
wild and passionate and crazy as that time period?

if i could choose to go back and spy on anyone,
it would be on anne boleyn and
henry 8 together. as much as i admire and love
elizabeth I, it’s her mother that fascinates me
completely. i’m nearing the part where things
turn for her, and we all know her fate. i’ve read
it so many times. but watching it is different.
i’m anxious for her.

last night

me : what if i had sweet pea and
everyone wasn’t happy about it. then i have
another sweet pea and you chop my head off.
can you imagine that?

hub : laughing.

it sounds ridiculous right? but that was
what life and death hinged on for anne,
her ability to make babies and to make male ones.
even up to princess diana’s time, the sentiment
was the same. despite so many women who have
reigned over england so well, i think there is a
collective sigh when a boy is born.

how different history would have been if anne
boleyn had a healthy baby boy. but i can’t
imagine england’s past without elizabeth I.
her path to the throne and reign over england
couldn’t have made a better story!

now i have a huge crush on jonathan rhys meyers.
i mean just look at him! he’s absolutely dynamic
on screen. the writing isn’t to die for nor does the
story stay completely true to history, but seeing it unfold
is utterly compelling. you wonder why so many
fantasy stories feature kings and queens and those
in power, because they’re forced to make choices
and decisions commoners would never have to–
ones that can change history.
what would you be like if you believed you were
chosen by god to rule a country?
honestly, i don’t think you could pay me enough. ha!

we’re off to england on wednesday.
very excited but also anxious, as i always am
when i travel such long distances with the bubs.
i hope you all have a wonderful holiday break.
i couldn’t have had a more stupendous amazing year.
it’s a huge learning curve as a debut author, but a
hell of a fantastic ride.

wishing you much joyful surprises
in 2010! =D /bootay shake!

it’s the last chance for you to win
an awesome debs goodie bag from the
feast of awesome. =D just comment
to enter!

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

in the final 30 hours to raise 10k for
a new press that focuses on publishing multicultural
children and YA sf/fantasy novels.

what a wonderful focus.

fantasy is and will always be my first
love genre. you can tell if you read my
debut. but i can honestly say, growing up,
i can't recall ever reading about an
asian character in any of my favorite books,
much less see them featured on the cover.

baby steps forward, there is more out there.
but simply not enough.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1586632165/tu-publishing-a-small-independent-multicultural

consider donating just $5 if you can.
stacy told me she will get none of the
congributions at all if the 10k goal is not met. =(
of course, i'm hoping i can still donate some other
way, but wouldn't it be lovely and amazing if she
met her goal?

thank you!! xo
back to addressing holiday cards. =D

as i understand it, these are limited
hardback copies! buy three and get free shipping? =D
ha!

http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Phoenix-Beyond-Kingdom-Xia/dp/B002VPE7JW/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0

feel free to email me for signed
bookplates as well. preferably before
i leave for london next wednesday. =D
if you want to gift for the holidays...

pon.cindy@gmail.com

happy holidays, LJ friends!!

i’m very excited to share the indonesia
cover for Silver Phoenix! the publisher let me
know that my book went on sale last week
abroad! so exciting!

do you love the cover?
i think it’s gorgeous in a mysterious
quiet way. i was shown the cover before
the books went into print and i only had
two comments. one was suggesting the
chinese characters (they had stand ins
that actually said “chinese word”,
now it says “silver phoenix”)
and the fact that ai ling didn’t wear a single
braid–as she does throughout most of the novel.

both these changes were incorporated!
i think the dragon hints to the fantasy
elements, but the feel of it is definitely very
different from the american version.
of course, i love both covers! i couldn’t feel
more fortunate–the cover gods smile down
upon me.

*scurries to light more incense* =D

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

i had two events this past saturday.
the first was with the rolling readers at
the women’s head to toe expo at del mar
fairgrounds. when i originally signed up for
it, i thought it was a reading event. apparently,
it was the first time they decided to try and
do this book/author component with the expo,
and i suspected it might not have worked too well.

the moms that went most definitely left
their tween/teens behind. the kids that were
there were preschooler age. so i wound up not
doing a reading because the age bracket just wasn’t
right. i had actually told megan whalen turner
about the event and she came with. so i felt
a little bad, but we both took it in stride, still
sold a few copies of books, and had oodles of
fun strolling the exhibit hall looking at “womanly”
things. =D not only is megan a fantastic author, she’s
just plain fun to hang out with.

got home around
2pm, had a late lunch, then got ready for the
mysterious galaxy holiday party. this was
so much fun. the eleven authors invited
(including me!) were very eclectic in genres.
nancy holder (wicked, possesions) and
kami garcia and margie stohl (beautiful creatures)
and i composed the YA authors.

we also had a few YA bloggers show, which
is always loads of fun!

vania, me, kiersten ( debut PARANORMALCY out with
harperteen fall 2010!), khy, and nancy!
i had the pleasure of meeting vania at scbwi this summer.
and khy in my pocket is my Original Stalker, who drove over two hours
to attend my san diego book launch! nancy came to my san francisco
signing. it was so great to see everyone there again and feel the
YA book love! =DD

pamela, a fellow fantasy writer and
aspiring author!

kami garcia, margie stohl, nancy holder, me
and megan whalen turner.

look at these fotos? how could i not have
had fun? i always have a great time at
mysterious galaxy events!!

and of course, i have an interesting story
behind my purple velvet dress. it actually
has long sweeping sleeves, quite renaissance
like! no fotos of sleeves, alas. =( i was probably all
of twenty or so when i went to the citadel in
los angeles (an outlets place) to shop. wandered
into a betsy johnson shop (had no clue who
she was) and fell in love with this dress.

purple was my favorite color at the time. i’m pretty sure
the dress was discounted to $150 or $100.
either which way, more than i had ever paid for
a dress. but i loved it so much i bought it. so yes,
it’s nearly two decades old. haha! and i’ve worn
it only a handful of times. so i was happy to show
it off at the holiday party. =D
the necklace i bought from etsy.com!
the large crystal pieces were actually part of
chandeliers and reused by the jeweler. i love it!

finally, there are signed copies of Silver Phoenix
available through mysterious galaxy for holiday
gift giving! if you’d like it personalized with a name
inscription, just email me! it’s something i can
definitely do! thanks to all of you who have been
so supportive of my debut! <3 <3 <3

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

*lily nestled in rock.

i had a fabulous time with my
brush artist friends on tuesday night.
ate great food, then proceeded to paint.
our teacher had been encouraging us
to paint rocks (which can also turn into
mountains for landscape paintings) and
i finally tackled the subject.

the hardest component in this painting
for me was the rock. it’s definitely more
challenging as i love painting flowers
and using color. rocks, when done wrong,
turn into lumps of dough. i think what is
so essential about good chinese brush painting
isn’t so much as painting something that looks
exactly like the subject, but rather, catching
its spirit, its qi.

the most difficult parts when painting rock
are its shape and its shading. using black
and gradations of gray, it’s too easy
to over paint making a black lifeless blob instead.
what is the spirit of the rock?

the leaves are like orchid leaves. and oh, how
i’ve got the sweep of those down. they
are such a wonderful dance of the brush.
press–lift–press the brush down again.
i make my own green with yellow and
indigo–so you get the various shades for
the leaves.

as for the lily itself, i’d have to say that
orange is probably one of my favorite colors
to use in painting. i never wear orange, but
i’m an orange painter! to me, it is the essence
of joy, has such pop on the rice paper. i tipped
the brush in chinese red for the petals.

painting for me is very much like writing in
a way. in those rare moments when everything
comes together perfectly, i’m literally aglow with
the magic hours, even days after. there are more
ways to ruin a painting than you can know. ha! and
this one makes my heart sing because all the components
juxtaposed within the expanse of white is absolute
loveliness. <3 i’ll be showing this at our chinese brush
painting society’s show in march 2010! =DD

also, i’m auctioning off a signed copy
of Silver Phoenix along with three cards featuring
my brushpaintings at an auction for bridget zinn.
bridget is a fellow librarian and author who is battling
colon cancer and this is a fundraiser to help with
medical costs. there are many other items at auction
as well!

click on link, then enter “bridget” and “rules”
to view the auction!

don’t forget the 25 book give away
(many copies signed!) along with a $25 gc to
powell’s over at the enchanted inkpot! simply
answer a reading question to enter!

and last but not least, Silver Phoenix has made
the TAYSHAS 2010 list! these are books
recommended to teens chosen by texas
librarians. hoorah and thank you!!

currently reading :

a stranger to command by sherwood smith

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

About Struts & Frets

More than anything, Sammy wants to play guitar in
a famous indie rock band. The problem is that his
front man is a jerk who can’t sing, his bassist is a burn-out
who can’t remember the songs, and his drummer is just out
to lunch. But Sammy needs this band because it’s the only
good thing he’s got going. His father skipped out before he
was born, his mother is an overworked therapist with a
drinking problem, his grandfather is slowly losing his mind to
Alzheimer’s, and the girl of his dreams is dating his jerk lead singer.

Now that jerk lead singer has entered them in a Battle of the
Bands contest to win free studio time and guaranteed radio play.
Sammy has two weeks to get them to sound like a real band, or
face public humiliation in front of the entire local indie music scene.

About Jon Skovron

Jon Skovron is an insatiable music geek who can play eight
instruments, but none of them well. He was born in Columbus,
Ohio, has lived all over the US, and now resides with his wife and
two sons in Washington, DC. His short stories and reviews have
appeared in publications like Jim Baen’s Universe and Internet
Review of Science Fiction. Struts and Frets is his first novel.

and the cindy interview!

1. who is your literary character crush?

Probably a tie between Becky Sharp from William
Thackeray’s Vanity Fair and Rosa Saks from Michael
Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

2. who is your author crush? (does not have to
be romantic!)

Oh, god, I have so many…my current top five are
Michael Chabon, Neil Gaiman, Kelly Link, China Mieville,
and Cory Doctorow.

3. what is your favorite pastry?

Is a bagel a pastry? I don’t like sweets…

*blinks* WHAT?!

4. what is the favorite scene from your novel?

There are a lot of scenes that I really love. The one
that gets me every friggin’ time I read it is toward
the end when Sammy gets a new guitar.

congrats on your debut, jon. i can’t wait to
read it! even if you are nutters and don’t like sweets! =)

to learn more about jon : jonnyskov.com

and indiebound book love!!

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.