*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.

my mom is making a trek back to her
village in the province of guangxi next spring–
her first time back since leaving china at age five
or so. she’s been back to china since, but never
to her home village.

guangxi is where the famous and gorgeous
guilin mountains are located, immortalized by
brush painters, then tourists and their fotographs.

how i wish i can make this trek with
my mom in the spring! but it’s just not my
time yet to visit china. it’s certainly something
i’m looking forward to–especially if i can do
the month long program in hangzhou to
study chinese brush painting! the bubs are
still too little to leave for an entire month.
(and i’m not worried for the bublets, it’s the
love that would suffer, ha!)

one day… =)

did you have a good thanksgiving?
we did! we had take out thai and shanghainese
(think delicious breads and dumplings and
buns!) and i had some mini desserts catered
by extraordinary desserts which was a hit!

i watched new moon (better than twilight? but
still made me giggle and almost-snort in places
i wasn’t supposed to) and ninja assassin–not
knowing how violent it would be. yikes!

i consoled myself by trying to enjoy the non-violent
scenes where rain (yes, that’s his name!)
trains alone as raizo, the ninja assassin. i’m sorry
i couldn’t find a non-bare-torsoed foto.
okay, you’re right. i’m not sorry. haha!

i also read LIAR by justine larbalestier
and HUSH, HUSH by becca fitzpatrick during
the long weekend.

it’s my last quiet one as i have book events
the next two weekends before i fly off to
england to spend christmas with the love’s
family!

on saturday 12/5 i’ll be at the Head to Toe
Women’s Expo where the Rolling Readers
will be hosting some author readings and
signings. i’ll be reading at noon followed by
megan whalen turner at 12.30. that’s right–
i will be the OPENING ACT for MWT! =DD
haha! okay, only *i’ve* billed myself as that
but don’t tell me it’s not all sorts of awesome. =D
yahooooo! i’m so excited!!!

then on the same saturday at 5pm, i’ll be
at mysterious galaxy as one of their invited
authors for the annual holiday party. it’s my
first and i’m really looking forward to celebrating
with fellow writers and book lovers at this
fantastic bookstore!

throw in a parent teacher conference, an art
class holiday party, a playgroup holiday party,
and a date night with the love–and we’ll call it
a very full week!

before i go, two important links!
the enchanted inkpot (which i’m part of)
is giving away twenty-five YA and MG fantasy
novels (many of them signed) with a $25
powell’s giftcard thrown inf or the grand
prize winner. all you need to
do is answer a question to enter! contest ends
wednesday, december 9th.

also, tu publishing is trying to raise $10k
so it can begin buying manuscripts. the
press is focused on multicultural children’s
and young adult science fiction and fantasy.
for all those who want to support this wonderful
endeavor, you can bid at the auction or simply
donate directly.

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

*especially low tide this past sunday.
so much so that the mossy green rocks
furthest out were revealed along with its
tidepools. munchkin is clinging to the love
like a rabid monkey and the sweet pea is a
smudge of red. i feel much blessed to live so
close to this beauty.

i haven’t seen my wild canyon bunny for near
two months. =( i still throw out my carrot each
day and in the mornings, they are gone. i’m hoping
that the bunny is still coming to nibble and it’s not
a skunk or possum or giant palm tree rat stealing the
carrots! (yes, there are giant palm tree rats! they kept
eating our heirloom tomatoes the second they became
ripe one summer!)

i remember last year my bunny disappeared for a good
three months at least and i was worried then, but i’m
hoping it’s just what bunnies do as the weather becomes
cooler.

i’ve also been pining for a tortoise. so much so that
i looked into the san diego rescue and adoption center
for tortoises. but they are very strict about landscaping
and enclosures, and i’d have to do too much work in the
garden to qualify. i don’t want a tortoise in a glass tank thing,
i want to look out the window and see a tortoise dozing
in the grass. =)

my mom was telling me about her trip to china
next spring–back to the hometown in guang xi
that she hasn’t seen since she was maybe three years
old. guang xi is the province with the famous tall
jaded peaks and misty lakes. i’m jealous and wish i
could go with her! but i’m happy she’s taking this trip
next spring (which is really so close!) and i hope i
can make that trek one day.

i’ve never been to china and have wanted to for a while–
ever since beginning my studies as a chinese brush
art student in 2001. there is a one month program
in hangzhou (another beautiful city) of intensive brush
painting–like 9 hours a day. taught by chinese art faculty.
how cool would that be?

i think i’ll have to wait at least five years
before i can manage that–perhaps seven.
when the bubs are a bit older. i told my mom
i wished i could go to china and she said i am
still young. yeah. but impatient too. 8)

i have also been pining for victorian corsets
and bustle skirts. yes. i must have! where i can
wear this, i don’t know–maybe while picking up
toys around the house or buying milk at the market? ha!

i can’t believe thanksgiving is NEXT week!
this year has gone by sofast it’s crazy!

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

the hub and i were able to go out on
a date night and have some delicious
izakaya. i had had it only twice maybe while
living in los angeles and k found this awesome
tucked away restaurant that is absolutely
delicious and quaint.

the place was nearly full at 6pm!
i was glad we made a reservation. also
love sitting at the bar–near the food. ha!

burdock (sort of like bamboo but tougher?
we still don’t know what it is!), japanese seaweed
(which i liked. and i don’t usually like seaweed much),
cold mackerel pickled in vinager (only the love ate
this and he says it’s just like the english stuff. gah!)
and a rice ball with salted salmon in the middle. yum!

a favorite of mine. daikon (like white carrots) w actual
carrots, yam cakes and tofu. the yam cakes scare me.
i thought they would be chewy like mochi, which i love.
but they have a crunchy consistency and are savory!

grilled yellowtail. again, mostly eaten by the
love. i did have two bites. delicious!

chino’s grilled sweet corn. SO GOOD!
chino’s is a fancy organic farm in san diego.
we also ordered “kama” for the first time. i was
completely wrong in thinking it’d be like rice
porridge. instead, it was seven grain rice cooked
with chestnuts dry, so the bottom is a little
bit burned. so yummy! they change the kama
featured ingredients each day. the chestnuts and
sweet corn made me feel very autumnal.

one of my favorite dishes! agedashi tofu.
if it’s on the menu, i’ll most likely get it.
interestingly, to “eat tofu” in mandarin means
to flirt.

i decided to try the green tea (love green tea!)
panna cotta and it wasn’t at all what i expected.
it was like a green tea mousse with a dollop of red
bean on it. SO GOOD! you see i ate a few bites before
i remembered i had to take a foto. ha!

we then watched 2012 which we both enjoyed.
i was sort of meh at another end of the world
film but i liked this one. everyone says you need
to suspend your disbelief but i had no trouble.
the visuals were amazing. i also liked the small
ways they tried to tell you something about each
character–it’s harder with film. do we expect as
much characterization from films as we do from
the books we read?

some silver phoenix fun!

a super fun and cute review by twelve
year old gwen. i LOVE the foto!

and sarah rees brennan’s [The Demon's
Lexicon] hilarious take on Silver Phoenix. =D

currently reading :

the demon’s lexicon by sarah rees brennan

ETA : and the lucky winner of hannah’s debut
BREAK is kiersten! thanks for sharing your terrible
injuries with me guys!

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

About The Espressologist

What’s your drink of choice? Is it a small pumpkin
spice latte? Then you’re lots of fun and a bit sassy.
Or a medium americano? You prefer simplicity in life.
Or perhaps it’s a small decaf soy sugar-free hazelnut
caffe latte? Some might call you a yuppie.
Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory
that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular
coffee drink. She scribbles it all down in a notebook
and calls it Espressology. So it’s not a totally crazy idea
when Jane starts hooking up some of her friends based
on their coffee orders. Like her best friend, Em, a
medium hot chocolate, and Cam, a toffee nut latte.
But when her boss, Derek, gets wind of Jane’s Espressology,
he makes it an in-store holiday promotion, promising
customers their perfect matches for the price of their
favorite coffee. Things are going better than Derek could
ever have hoped, so why is Jane so freaked out? Does
it have anything to do with Em dating Cam? She’s the
one who set them up! She should be happy for them, right?

About Kristina Springer

Kristina Springer has a Bachelor of Arts in English Education
from Illinois State University and a Master of Arts in Writing
from DePaul University. Her first novel, THE ESPRESSOLOGIST,
was published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux on October 27, 2009.
Her second novel, MY FAKE BOYFRIEND IS BETTER THAN YOURS,
also from FSG, will be published in the fall of 2010. She lives in
a suburb of Chicago, IL with her husband Athens and their four
small children Teegan, Maya, London, and Gavin.

and onto the cindy interview!

1. who is your literary character crush?

Usually whoever I’m writing about at the time.
For The Espressologist, it was Cam.

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

I can’t recall ever having an “author crush” but Meg
Cabot and Lauren Myracle are my all-time fav YA authors!

3. what is your favorite pastry?

Pain au chocolat

mm! one of my favorites too! great
w an americano or latte! =D

4. what is the favorite scene from your novel?

The last one. I loooooooove the ending.

Thanks for having me Cindy!

thanks for stopping by, tina! and congratulations
on your debut!!

to learn more about kristina : kristinaspringer.com

and indiebound book love!

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

*summer picnic in the back garden. sweet pea
around seven months here.

my sweet pea is six years old today!
i sent her to school with some brownie bites
and mini chocolate chip cookies (purchased)
and she got to open her pressies this morning.
she chose both, one a sort of bejeweled sticker
by numbers and another paper beading bracelets
or some such. i also bought her a nice stack of
books–which she always loves. =D

i bought a carvel ice cream cake for the family
and she chose THAI food tonight to celebrate.
(how many six year olds would choose thai? she
loves the vegetarian meat dish, ha!)

munchkin was in hysterics this morning despite
a “pity gift” i got for him. (again, books.) his sister
got two real presents from us and another thing
to open from grandma in england. and he tantrummed
all morning. of course, i was entirely unsympathetic.
NO MORE “pity gifts” for munchkin.

my mom says you always have to reason or talk
sense to the bublets. and i do. but munchkin is
so stubborn. (like i am.) he knows i’m right but
he’s very angry that i am and has to have a show
of rebelling against my rightness. ha!

it was munchkin’s big bday party year, in fact.
i decided a while back that the bubs would only
have “big birthdays” every 4 years. so when they
turn 4, 8, 12, 16…
simply because i find them very stressful and
also quite extravagant in this day and age.
it used to be you got a cake, some balloons and
a pin the tail on the donkey and that’s that.

how times have changed.

so she’s only celebrating with her immediate
family. and she is fine with that, because those
are the rules. =)

i love you, sweet pea!
you are such a good student
and reader and artist. and you
are a kind big sister, even if you
tend toward bossiness. but i know
you are only trying to be like me. =D

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

i’m so thrilled to have hannah here with me today.
her debut, BREAK, was just released in september :

Jonah is on a mission to break every bone in his
body. Everyone knows that broken bones grow back
stronger than they were before. And Jonah wants to
be stronger—needs to be stronger—because everything
around him is falling apart. Breaking, and then healing,
is Jonah’s only way to cope with the stresses of home,
girls, and the world on his shoulders.

When Jonah’s self-destructive spiral accelerates and he
hits rock bottom, will he find true strength or surrender
to his breaking point?

*cynthea liu, lisa schroeder, me, and tammi sauer!

i was very happy to pick up an ARC of BREAK
at the ala chicago conference in july. i know hannah
originally from a writing forum and went up to
one of the editor’s manning the booth.

me : did you know that hannah just turned eighteen?
editor, surprised : no, i didn’t know that!

that’s right. hannah sold her debut novel at 17 and it
published right after she turned 18. if that isn’t amazing
and inspiring, how about this? her writing and the story
is excellent. i recommend BREAK!

and without further ado, a chat with hannah.

hannah, tell us how long you’ve been writing creatively
and how long it took you to write BREAK.

I’ve been writing little stories for as long as I can
remember. I finished my first long thing (about 100 pages)
when I was in sixth grade. Finished the first novel–horrible
though it was–at the end of eighth grade. Since then it’s been
non-stop. For BREAK, first draft was 6 days, all the drafts
together about 2 months

i cannot believe you wrote a first draft in less than a week.
that is incredible! were there any songs that inspired you
as you wrote this novel? or songs that make you think of this novel?

I’m so glad you asked this question! There are a few songs
that were huge–”The Trouble with Jonah” by Gersey, “How
Far We’ve Come” by Matchbox 20, and “I’ve Seen Better Days”
by The Sublime. The song that had the most to do with creating
the book, though, is called “Time Turned Fragile” by Motion
City Soundtrack. The song was actually written about a father
and a son, but it works so well for Jonah and Jesse’s dynamic,
of one brother looking after the other–”You used to say that
you’re just fine, but I still wonder all the time,” and later in the
song–”I know I say that I’m just fine, but I hope you wonder
from time to time.” Beautiful song.

i’m totally searching for these songs online!
what is a young adult book you read this year that really
struck you?

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. I’ve already read it twice.
Damn, that book is good. I also fell hard for Someday This Pain
Will be Useful to You by Peter Cameron.

if you could follow in the footsteps of another author
career wise, who would it be?

Oh hey, I just mentioned her–Laurie Halse Anderson. I mean,
my God, that woman is amazing. Everything she writes is just
fantastic, and she keeps producing these books that are just
total sensations, one right after the other. What I love about her
is that she has a niche to the extent that you have a vague idea
what to expect from her books, but she gives herself enough
freedom so you’re still surprised. But you get the heartbreaking
heroines, well-researched scenarios, and tough family situations
you want from one of her books. She’s great. And I love how
prolific she is. I want to crank out one book after another after another.

BREAK floored me not only due to the wonderful and strong
writing, but for the depth of emotions that we see living through
jonah’s eyes. how did you relate to your hero? did you draw upon
your own emotional journeys?

Aw, thank you! Honestly, very little of what Jonah goes through
is anything I’ve personally experienced. I’ve had my own tangos
with self-destruction, I suppose, and I absolutely know a lot of
the emotions Jonah has when he’s in the hospital–particularly
the combination of feeling incredibly guilty for disappointing
people who love you and simultaneously angry with them for
making your struggles about them. That frustration was a
cornerstone for Jonah, and I think it was important to know that.
But most of Jonah’s stuff is foreign to me. Everything with siblings
is imagined; I have one sister, and our relationship is quite
different from Jonah’s and Jesse’s.

i love that you were able to channel jonah so truly.
and finally what is your favorite pastry? =D

Blueberry muffins.

in celebration of hannah’s debut release, i’m
giving away one copy of BREAK to the lucky
winner who leaves a comment answering this
question :

have you ever broken a bone? if so which?
if not, what is one of the most memorable
ouch injuries that you’ve endured?

winner will be randomly chosen some
time on friday night, 11/13! =D

to learn more about hannah : untilhannah.com

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

it’s top model wednesday!
i’m thrilled to share the newest
ALAN Review cover which features
several YA novel covers including many
debs such as :

ASH by malinda lo
HATE LIST by jennifer brown
STRUTS and FRETS by jon skovron

other covers also featured :

AMERICAN BORN CHINESE by gene luen yang
FIRE by kristin cashore
I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want
to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb
Troy High by Shana Norris
(last two titles sussed out by steph. thanks, steph!)

no one knows what book cover is supposed to
be on the laptop yet?

also check out my interview with debra
on Old People Writing for Teens. =D

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

i can hardly believe it’s november.
my sweet pea is turning six in a week or
so! this marks six years since i’ve had a
regular 9 to 5 job. if you told me i’d be
a published author back then, i wouldn’t
have believed it! =)

another crazy full very social weekend
seeing my old uni friends. d and n are
ex-roomies and were in town with their
three adorable children. they rented a fantastic
tudor cottage steps from the beach and we had an
all day halloween bbq extravaganza. it was
wonderful hanging out with them, their friends
and family. the bubs (and the love, who dressed
up as a knight, ha!) had so much fun! of
course, so did i.

*d, n, and me!

we used to watch x-files
together on friday nights. =D
i didn’t have a costume and didn’t
want to dress as chun li again so put on
my nyc wig from circa 1999.

*melody’s friend, melody, me and
melody’s dad.

and thank goodness for facebook,
i found out that melody was starring in
a two person show at the san diego lyceum
called long story short. i was able to buy a
ticket for her last show on sunday.

the show MADE ME CRY! and how i hate
crying. but it was wonderfully touching and
poignant and her voice is as stunning as i
remember from back in college.

melody’s dad was so sweet and bursting
with pride. you could just see it in his face.
he was exuberant. he said melody loved to
sing since she was a child–what a fitting name
for my friend, no?

*i didn’t photoshop this painting so you can
see the wrinkles of the rice paper when it’s not
yet mounted / backed.

we painted pomegranates recently.
i love it when we have the actual subject
to study. these fruits were so rough around
the edges (irregular) but beautiful with their
ragged “crowns”. i used chinese red and indigo
for the colors. the actual fruit is a gloriously deep
dark red. look next time.

i’ve been keeping busy doing all the things
i put off while writing the sequel. now, i’m working
on an “extras” section for the paperback edition
of silver phoenix. fun!

also, i finally chose a winner for my silver phoenix
released contest from six months back! annie king,
a librarian and fellow writer, won a signed copy
of silver phoenix! she also chose an original framed
brush painting as her prize. (i’m not sure what she’ll
get–i may not have painted it yet. =)
congratulations, annie! and thanks to nearly 150
entrants sharing the news of Silver Phoenix release!! <3

i hope you had as lovely a weekend as i did,
dear readers! =D

currently listening to :

all these things that i’ve done by the killers

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

today, deb lauren bjorkman stops by!

About My Invented Life

Roz and Eva are sisters, close friends, and fierce rivals.
Roz fantasizes about snagging the lead in the school play
and sexy skate god Bryan as her boyfriend. Sadly a few
obstacles stand between her and her dreams. For one,
Eva is the more talented actress. And Bryan happens to be
Eva’s boyfriend. But is Eva having a secret love affair with
a girl? Enquiring minds need to know.

Roz prides herself on random acts of insanity. In
one such act, she invents a girlfriend of her own to
encourage Eva to open up. The plan backfires, and Roz
finds herself neck deep in her invented life. When Roz
meets a mercurial boy with a big problem, she begins to
understand the complex feelings beneath the labels. And
she gets a second chance to earn Eva’s trust.

My Invented Life is set in a small California high school
during rehearsals for a Shakespeare comedy.

About Lauren Bjorkman

Lauren Bjorkman grew up on a sailboat, sharing the
forecastle with her sister and the sail bags. Against all
odds, they are still friends. She enjoys making things up,
chocolate in large quantities, and anything that makes her laugh.
She lives in Taos, New Mexico with her husband, two sons, and
a cat that plays fetch.

the cindy interview!

1. who is your literary character crush?

Arg! I can’t make up my mind!!!. When I was little
(six, maybe?) I had a crush on the Beast from Beauty
and the Beast. I don’t know what that says about me.
Nothing good, I’m sure.

haha! beast is very manly, or er beastly, no?

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

Shakespeare. That guy can flirt! Even from the grave.

3. what is your favorite pastry?

Croissants. mmmmmm. Especially the ones filled
with sweet almond paste.

that’s also a favorite of mine. tho often, i can
be diverted by chocolate croissants. (and i’m not
a chocolate fiend but the combo is so divine.)
imagine my cross-eyed surprise when i found a
chocolate AND almond paste croissant recently.

4. what is the favorite scene from your novel?

I love the romantic scenes best. But describing
one will spoil the story. I like the part where Roz
works in her high school cafeteria. The cafeteria lady’s
cantankerous behavior makes the experience all the
more demeaning…and funny. (I hope)

Thanks, Cindy!

thanks for stopping by, lauren.
and many congrats on your debut!!!
can’t wait to read it!

to learn more about lauren : laurenbjorkman.com
indiebound love!

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

*i squish those cheeks!

munchkin is 4.5 years old now, but one
year old in the above foto, making a blanket
tent with sweet pea! he constantly amuses me
with the things that he says.

these related to me by his preschool teacher,
mrs.p.

munchkin : i won’t see you tomorrow!
i’m going on a long weekend to new york city!
(we were going a few miles up to carlsbad. =)

and when mrs.p asked why i hadn’t gone
to the preschool open house along with
daddy. (i was at our annual autumn potluck
for brush art class.)

munchkin : she’s got a book signing. it’s
sooo boooooring.

at home

munchkin : why is mommy reading books
all the time? they’re only words!
(despite this, he does enjoy stories, ha! =)

helping sweet pea read winnie the pooh.
she’s having issue sounding out “tea”.

me, giving a clue : it’s what daddy drinks.
munchkin : BOOZE!

a preschool mom died very young and
unexpectedly recently. so i’ve mentioned
death a few times, and how sad it was to the
bublets.

munchkin : we have to do everything we want
before we die.

me : =O that’s right! where did you hear that from?

munchkin : nowhere. i thought it myself.

today after reading starwars easy reader

munchkin : i wonder what droids eat?

me : i don’t think they eat anything.

munchkin : yeah. neither do aliens.

me : no. i think aliens do eat.

munchkin : what if they ate their buggers?
(”boogers” in munchkin speak.) that’d be
disgusting!

haha!

sweet pea is the epitome of nerdette.
we have homework every night (including
weekend homework) usually involving math
and book reports and daily reading. she also
needs to memorize addition tables (like 1+1,
2+2, etc). each day, she is thrilled to do her
homework and says how much she loves it.
i bought her some flash cards and she loves
“playing” with those too!

hope this nerdiness lasts! =D

in exciting Silver Phoenix news, i’m thrilled to
announce that foreign rights have been sold
to indonesia! =D i hope to share a cover soon
once it’s finalized! hoorah!

also, stacy whitman interviews me for the new
small press, tu publishing, focused on multicultural
fantasy and science fiction for children and young
adults. i really enjoyed this interview!

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

i had an incredibly wonderful saturday this
past weekend, dear readers! as you may know,
it was the first time i’d give an official speech
at my old college, revelle at ucsd! on friday night,
i had a YA panel at the santee library with barrie
summy and laura preble and it was so much fun.
marisa, the librarian there, did such a wonderful job
of putting the event together. (no fotos, alas. hope
to steal from barrie? ha!)

so i didn’t have time to dwell or be too nervous
about the following morning. well. saturday morning
rolls around and i had a little anxiety dream about
the speech. then i started to get nervous an hour
before the speech at home! my heart was racing just
thinking about it.

i got onto campus and it was another gorgeous
day in san diego (a running joke among us locals,
as they almost always are gorgeous) and i found
liora, the acting dean of students and my mentor,
who had convinced me to give the talk. she introduced
me to all these fabulous current revelle students
and i had a great time chatting to them! it made
me feel like i was twenty all over again. =D

i have lots of fotos to share!!

liora chatting with some of the parents
and students waiting for the program to start.

talking with dr.don wayne, the new provost
at revelle. he’s from the department of literature
which is truly exciting as it is the first time in
revelle’s history that we’ve had a faculty from
the humanities lead the college. what are we talking
about? neil gaiman, of course. haha! first thing
dr.wayne asked was if i knew about the clarion west
program at ucsd. know about it?

when i heard about it, i was so excited to learn
that neil would be part of the faculty. at the time,
i was just beginning to query for Silver Phoenix and
wasn’t writing short stories (the program is specifically
for short story writers in speculative fiction) so i
was really sad i couldn’t apply.

it was really nice to chat to the new provost,
especially given his interest in writing and literature!

my speech was fifteen minutes which
included a short excerpt reading. that really
made me feel in my element, to be able to read
from Silver Phoenix. i read from one of my favorite
scenes–in the bamboo forest. it was also one of
the last scenes i wrote for the novel.

i asked for advice about the speech giving and
got great feed back. the most important thing
was to practice, which made me feel familiar and
comfortable. i wonder if i still spoke a little too
fast going in?

but honestly, i wasn’t at all as nervous as i thought
i would be before the fact. i said in my speech that
returning to campus was like going home. and it’s
true. i felt welcomed and comfortable immediately.

dr.ernest mort spoke after me. he was the provost
of our collge for more than two decades.

“the beat” an a capella group on campus.
they were really good! they’re singing the triton
(our mascot) song here! =D

the wu shu is another student group who perform
chinese martial arts which is fantastic to watch.
i loved it when they incorporated weapons too.

the hula girls from the hawaii group.
also a great performance!

i was given a revelle gift, which was a
complete surprise! love revelle goodies!!

the revelle students who helped out at the
parents weekend event. they were great and it
really makes me miss my college years to hang
out with them. =D (we laugh at the RESTROOM sign
above us.) the table was where i had a signing!

javier was my personal assistant!! talk
about feeling VIP. hee! he held my purse,
got me water, handled cash transactions during
my book signing, and toted my junk around
while escorting me to the cafe to buy a french
toast meal. =D javier rocked as personal assistant!

liora! we put four semi-formals together,
worked on one summer orientation and
graduation committee plus many other fun events
on campus! and got me to give my first official
speech. =D

after the parent weekend event, i went
straight to del mar for a signing by a fellow
brush artist friend. jann is a music professor
at ucsd and her newest book (over twenty
years of research!) COMPOSING THE CITIZEN
is out with uc press.

she had the san diego symphony quartet
play at her signing. a debussy piece from
the late 1800’s. it was absolutely gorgeous.
i don’t listen or know much about classical
music–tho i have started to listen to it more
while writing the sequel.

some of my brush artist friends!
jann, the author, is in the navy dress
in the middle.

after the signing, we took the bublets
to the pumpkin patch to enjoy some rides,
jumpy houses, giant slides, and to pick
out two overpriced pumpkins. =D

it was a very full day of great company,
celebration and fun.

currently reading :

crown duel by sherwood smith

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

To celebrate Teens Read Week, the YA and MG
authors of Debut 2009 are giving away a 46 book
set of their debut novels to ONE lucky library,
anywhere in the world! From October 18th until
December 31st, 2009 we’ll be taking entries from
librarians only- public and school libraries are eligible.

It’s incredibly easy to enter. Take a picture of yourself,
your patrons, or your library cat* with ONE Debut 2009
novel**. Send that picture to debslibrary09@gmail.com,
from your institutional e-mail address. Please include
your name, the name of your library, your library’s
mailing address, and your photo.

That’s all there is to it! We will be posting your
photos throughout the rest of the year on our
website, www.feastofawesome.com. On January 1st,
2010, we’ll pick a winner from all entrants. The authors
of Debut 2009 thank you for being the keepers of the
books, and wish you good luck!

The Debut 2009 Library Collection Includes

As You Wish – Jackson Pearce
Ash – Malinda Lo
Bedeviled: Daddy’s Little Angel – Shani Petroff
The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. – Kate Messner

Breathing – Cheryl Renée Herbsman
Candor – Pam Bachorz
The Demon’s Lexicon – Sarah Rees Brennan
Dull Boy – Sarah Cross
The Espressologist – Kristina Springer
Eyes Like Stars – Lisa Mantchev

Exclusively Chloe – J.A. Yang
Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter – R.J. Anderson
Fairy Tale – Cyn Balog
The Forest of Hands and Teeth – Carrie Ryan
Flash Burnout – L.K. Madigan
Fortune’s Folly – Deva Fagan

The Geek Girl’s Guide to Cheerleading – Charity Tahmaseb and
Darcy Vance
Give Up the Ghost – Megan Crewe
The Great Call of China – Cynthea Liu
The Hollow – Jessica Verday
Jungle Crossing – Sydney Salter
Lipstick Apology – Jennifer Jabaley

Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies – Erin Dionne
My Big Nose And Other Natural Disasters – Sydney Salter
My Invented Life – Lauren Bjorkman
One Wish – Leigh Brescia
Paris Pan Takes the Dare – Cynthea Liu
Prada and Prejudice – Mandy Hubbard

Prophecy of the Sisters – Michelle Zink
The Season – Sarah MacLean
Secrets of Truth & Beauty – Megan Frazer
Shadowed Summer – Saundra Mitchell
Shine, Coconut Moon – Neesha Meminger
Shrinking Violet – Danielle Joseph

Sliding on the Edge – C. Lee MacKenzie
Struts and Frets – Jon Skovron
Stupid Cupid – Rhonda Stapleton
Hate List – Jennifer Brown
Silver Phoenix – Cindy Pon
The Sky Always Hears Me (and the Hills Don’t Mind) – Kirstin
Cronn-Mills

TMI – Sarah Quigley
Twenty Boy Summer – Sarah Ockler
Waiting to Score – J.E. MacLeod
Wings – Aprilynne Pike
Winnie’s War – Jenny Moss
You Are So Undead to Me – Stacey Jay

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

*a foto i stole from mary pearson of our encinitas
library panel! (l to r : barrie summy, me, laura preble,
marlene perez, and mary pearson.)

i went to a teen book club today
in solana beach, but it was middle grade
students! their school is right next to the
library and they brought their lunches over
and we had half an hour to talk about
Silver Phoenix. i always enjoy these visits
so much.

i guess i’m giddy when i meet actual
teen readers who LOVE to read. they are
just all so smart and cute and i always
want to hug them and stuff them with
cupcakes. pat, the librarian, actually did
bring delicious cupcakes for us. =D

and there were three BOYS
in the book club and they read silver
phoenix and asked great questions too.
i had so much fun!

i have one final library YA panel with
laura preble and barrie summy at the
santee library this friday at 5.30pm.
there will be pizza!!

santee library YA panel
san diego county library, santee
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2009 @5.30pm
9225 Carlton Hills Blvd # 17
Santee, CA 92071-7902
(619) 448-1863

i spent all of yesterday writing my speech.
and trying not to think about the actual
giving of this speech because then i start
feeling nervous. then i decided that instead
of feeling nervous, i will feel EXCITED for
my speech instead. and it’s worked so far. =)
and if i begin to feel panicky again, i just
push it aside. i guess i’m good at denial. ha!

and here’s a foto from the love’s
belated birthday weekend. we got to play
croquet! munchkin was really just batting
the balls around and being nutty. i played
one round but i sucked. it was sort of fun
tho. better if we had tea and scones and finger
sannies after. WISH ME LUCK ON SATURDAY.

*pukey* oh no, wait. i’m EXCITED! >.<

currently reading :

crown duel by sherwood smith

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

today, lk, the author of flash burnout
is stopping by for her debs 09 tour!
i had the pleasure of reading her debut
and i really absolutely loved it. and i usually
am particular about my contemporary YA
novels. but this was one of my top five
favorite reads of the year and will probably
make it on the final list year end. very likely.
blake is a fantastic protagonist and i truly
fell in love with his voice!

About Flash Burnout

Fifteen-year-old Blake has a girlfriend and
a friend who’s a girl. One of them loves him,
the other one needs him.
When he snapped a picture of a street person
for his photography homework, Blake never
dreamed that the woman in the photo was his
friend Marissa’s long-lost meth addicted mom.

In a tangle of life, death, and love, Blake will
emerge with a more sharply defined snapshot of loyalty.

About L.K. Madigan

L.K. Madigan is a writer living in Portland, Oregon,
who finds it odd to speak in the third person. Therefore:

Hi. I am married with one son, two big black dogs,
hundreds of books, and a couple of beaters, I mean vintage cars.

and onto the cindy interview!

1. who is your literary character crush?

I have a big crush on Shrimp, from Rachel Cohn’s
Cyd Charisse books.

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

Cynthia Rylant! She can do anything.

3. what is your favorite pastry?

Pie! (Don’t make me choose just one! I love all pie!)
(Except coconut.)

i am the exact same with coconut and baked goodies.
hate it. i love it as a flavor for ice cream and fro yo tho!
i also love macroons, but preferably the almond kind,
which is not as easy to find as coconut.

4. what is the favorite scene from your novel?

Whoa. What a hard question! But I must admit to a
special fondness for the scene when Blake’s dad talks
to him about birth control. Neither one of them wants
to have that conversation. ☺

that one was pretty darned funny. i loved blake’s
dad. but you had some great scenes in you debut,
lk. i’d be hard pressed to choose myself.

congrats on writing such a fantastic book!!
i’m team blake all the way. =D

to learn more about lk madigan : lkmadigan.com

and indiebound love!

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

*megan whalen turner and me! =D

last friday i had the pleasure of having
brunch with one of my favorite authors,
megan whalen turner! my editor had mentioned
megan’s books a few times while i was revising
silver phoenix with her, but i didn’t have the
time to pick up the queen’s thief series until
early this year. eugenides is hands down one of
the best heroes i’ve ever read. and wouldn’t you
know it, megan and i talked for the longest time about
everything but i didn’t get a proper chance to
fangirl gen! megan, if you are reading this, next
time! =D

*i love my vanity fotos because i never look
like this in real life. refer to first foto for real
life cindy. ha! macbook cam magic!!!
squeezed in a much needed hair cut on
saturday and asked for my hair to be blown straight.
i don’t think i look like me with straight hair!

this past thursday, my old assistant dean of
students convinced me to give a speech at
my old college for parents weekend. i have never
written a speech or given one. *gulps*
and like the befuddled writer that i am who
has no concept of the calendar (the only date
i knew was 10/12, when my sequel was due),
i thought i had TWO weeks to prepare.

but um, it’s sort of this coming saturday. ha!
throw in the library visits and i think i’m stretched
just a bit thin. i’m excited to do this for my old
college, i am so fond of my university and my
uni days. but i’m also terrified!
i asked for some advice and many people have
said to include humor in the speech.

here’s the thing. it’s not hard for me to
feel at ease about being funny or goofy or dorky
among a group of people. but me on stage?
i’ve discovered that the audience doesn’t laugh
when i try to be funny and do when i’m not! ouch.
i still remember giving the admissions speech at
nyu and someone in the audience asked if the dorms
had air conditioning. no, i replied. but it does have
heat! people laughed and laughed!

*scratches head*

yeah, i don’t know why either.
maybe it was in the delivery.
but i don’t think i’ll try and be funny
on saturday. =O i have a library visit
the night before too. wish me luck!!

the two library panels i have already had
were a lot of fun! it’s the first year the county
is running the event so everyone is learning
along the way. they did a fantastic job.
there was even a “green room”
for the authors which made me puff up with
importance! ha! really tho, they treated
the authors so well and it’s much appreciated.
i was on panels with : barrie summy, mary pearson,
laura preble, andrew smith, and marlene perez.

two more library visits and the rest of the time
will be spent writing a speech and practicing,
along with quelling any and all sorts of anxiety
attacks. =O

currently reading :

the glassblower of murano
by marina fiorato

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

i turned in my brave little imperfect
sequel late sunday night. i don’t think
any novel can be perfect, tho editor and
author always strive for it. i believe in
writing novels i love and can stand by. you
have to–once it goes out to the big bad
world of readers. 8)
i really wanted to read and revise
yesterday. feeling slightly bereft shut out from
the world and characters in my head.

but i think a little distance is good.
i’m definitely going to be *thinking* about
the novel. percolating for sure.
i do have many things to keep me
occupied in the meantime! including
four library visits in the upcoming weeks!

but first, i wanted to finally post the
banquet dinner at ala chicago this past july.
probably the most memorable night for me
this year, if not many years!

since neil won the newbery, harpercollins had
some prime real estate at the huge banquet.
(i believe there were at least one thousand people
in attendance?) tho he looks small here, i was
pretty close to the stage and a puddle of fangirl
squee. ha!

of course, i had to take fotos of our three
course dinner. it was pretty good, altho there
were some mixture of flavors that were…
interesting. =)

you get a recording of all the speeches
given that night to take away with you.
there’s a glimpse of it in the salad foto.

i bought this on sale from anthropologie!
it’s anna sui (?) and was the first time i wore
it. i got compliments but really, it makes me
look pregnant doesn’t it? (perhaps poofy
is a better word?) haha! i think it’s the
cut of the waistline.

i asked neil how he felt the speech went and
he said really well. (and it was!) he then said
that he hadn’t looked at the speech until that day,
because he was afraid he’d feel compelled to change
things, and he had already recorded it.
also, he wanted it to be fresh.
he did a fantastic job! everyone who received
an award greeted all guests who were willing to
stand in line and give their congratulations.

i had fotos with others but can’t find them
on my computer now. =(

i was lucky enough to sit at the same table
with neil’s publicist and he handed her his
“important stuff” before getting into the reception
line. the important stuff happens to include
his newbery medal!!!!

posted with permission from the winner. =)

and here are my upcoming library panels :

encinitas library YA panel / discussion
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 @ 3.30pm
Encinitas Branch Library
540 Cornish Drive
Encinitas, CA 92024
(760) 753-7376

poway library YA panel / discussion
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 @ 2pm
Poway Branch Library
13137 Poway Road
Poway, CA 92064
(858) 513-2900

teen book club discussion
san diego county library, solana beach
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2009 @ 11am
157 Stevens Ave
Solana Beach, CA 92075-2038
(858) 755-1404

santee library YA panel / discussion
san diego county library, santee
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2009 @5.30pm
9225 Carlton Hills Blvd # 17
Santee, CA 92071-7902
(619) 448-1863

currently thinking of re-reading megan
whalen turner!

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

today, deb megan crewe is here to
talk about her debut, which i had
found honest and compelling.

About Give Up the Ghost

Cass McKenna much prefers the company of
ghosts over “breathers.” Ghosts are uncomplicated
and dependable, and they know the dirt on everybody…
and Cass loves dirt. She’s on a mission to expose the
dirty secrets of the poseurs in her school.

But when the vice president of the student council discovers
her secret, Cass’s whole scheme hangs in the balance.
Tim wants her to help him contact his recently deceased
mother, and Cass reluctantly agrees.

As Cass becomes increasingly entwined in Tim’s life, she’s
surprised to realize he’s not so bad–and he needs help more
desperately than anyone else suspects. Maybe it’s time to give
the living another chance…

About Megan Crewe

Like many fiction authors, Megan Crewe finds writing about
herself much more difficult than making things up. A few definite
facts: she lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband and two cats
(and does on occasion say “eh”), she tutors children and teens with
special needs, and she has yet to make friends with a ghost, though
she welcomes the opportunity.

and the cindy interview!

1. who is your literary crush?

I have a total crush on Gen/Eugenides from
Megan Whalen Turner’s Attolia books.

most definitely a huge gen crusher myself!
who can help herself?

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

I deeply admire Roald Dahl, for writing such funny,
clever stories that still have a ton of emotional resonance.

3. what is your favorite pastry?

Butter tarts–with pecans, not raisins!

i’m not sure i know what butter tarts
are?! *gasps*

4. what is the favorite scene from your novel?

I can’t pick just one! In the interests of not being
spoilery, I’ll say the one where Cass and Tim first talk,
by the beach. It’s the first time in the story she’s really
off balance, and was a lot of fun to write.

definitely a great scene!

to learn more about megan : megancrewe.com

and indiebound love!

congrats on your debut, megan!

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.

and so, this is my third and final post on
my nyc trip! i started sunday morning with
brunch at five points in noho with an old friend.
(one i’ve known for over twenty years–who also
came to attend my friend’s wedding!)

the view across from the restaurant.
i thought it was interesting–space is so
limited in manhattan.

arshi told me i must get the churros.
and oh, is it a must. SO SO GOOD. freshly
fried–i skipped on the chocolate dip.

my eggs dish with veggies and cheese
was baked and delicious.

after brunch, i met up with k at books of
wonder. then i signed stock at union square
barnes and noble and walked through a great
art fair. i bought some things!

this man does sock puppet portraits!
here is his website : martystuff.com

i loved the colors this artist used
in the paintings.

it was fantastic weather!
this foto makes me wonder how many
random tourists shots i’ve wandered
into unknowingly?

sunday night was my friend’s wedding
in brooklyn at bubby’s. it was a perfect venue
on a beautiful day! the taxi driver from manhattan
couldn’t really figure out the directions and *i* had
to try and do it. and i’m awful with directions. ugh.
thankfully, i wasn’t late!

a blurry foto of the bride and groom.
her friend made the wedding cake as well
as cupcakes for all the guests!

on monday, i met with agent bill for
the first time and he took me to the
artisenal for lunch. it was a really nice
restaurant, one that the love would enjoy
very much! (he loves wine and cheese!)

the french onion soup was superb.

agent bill got some sort of cheese and
meat sandwich with a fried egg on top!
it had a crazy french name.

i tried this simple platter. and it came
with a basket of bread. very yummy! i
actually didn’t begin to eat or appreciate
cheese until i lived in london with the love.
growing up, i never ate cheese in my chinese
food only family.

it’s a good thing i ate light as my taxi ride to
jfk had me nearly hurling. ha! i think i tweeted
for my life much during that lurchy ride.

nyc regrets :

1. not eating a nyc bagel. all my
meals were planned and i couldn’t squeeze
one in!

2. not buying a bagel or coffee or donut
from one of those carts. i used to be faithful
to a man on the corner of astor. then i cheated
on him w a bagel shop near apartment and would
actually cross the street to avoid seeing him. =|

3. not walking around washington square park
and nyu. esp now that gossip girl is there! nyu
wouldn’t allow felicity to use uni name while i was
there. they must have had a change of heart on
such policies since then!

4. not meeting and hanging out with my friends
longer. again, lack of time. boo.

5. not getting to eat at some favorite restaurants.

currently immersed in revising and snot. 8)

Mirrored from Cindy Pon.