Tag Archives: Lydia

The Next Big Thing

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Today’s post is part of The Next Big Thing blog hop that’s been going on among writers for a few weeks now (I’m a little late to the game, been kind of busy with Thanksgiving and work and getting engaged and all). I was invited to participate by a Twitter friend and author, Kendra C. Highley, who I met through the fundraiser Crits for Water. Kendra’s Matt Archer: Monster Hunter is a fast-paced, action-filled, spooky adventure, and I’m looking forward to her Next Big Thing, the sequel Matt Archer: Blade’s Edge, at the end of the month.

My own Next Big Thing is the upcoming release in March 2013 of my first novel. My first novel. That sounds fantastic.

What is the working title of your book? From the Tea Village

Where did you get the idea for the book? A few years back, after reading Twilight in a 24-hour period and lamenting the loss of a day of my life reading such a poorly written book (sorry, Twilight fanatics, facts are facts), it occured to me that I could write YA lit just as well as some of the best-selling authors out there. I’m embarrassed to admit such an exceedingly arrogant yet naive sentiment now, though at the time it was just the impetus I needed to start writing a longer work than a blog post. Around the same time, I began interviewing my friend Lydia about her childhood in a Bulang village, and the idea for a series of books with her as the main character was born.

What genre does your book fall under? Young Adult (middle grade) multi-cultural set in Yunnan, China

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Well, the book takes place in rural Yunnan, so the actors would need to be Southeast Asian for the characters who are Bulang or other ethnic groups, with a few Chinese actors for the Han characters. I don’t watch a lot of Asian film, but I’ve admired Chow Yun Fat in a couple of movies — he would make a good Jiang Lao Shi. Beyond that, I’m at a loss!

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? A Bulang girl, Ye Sun, struggles to reconcile her village background with the desire of her heart to study at a Chinese school, where she learns both her academic subjects and the depth of friendship in the face of tragic circumstances.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? Self-published, baby!

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? I interviewed Lydia and transcribed and organized the notes of her biography from October 2009 to March 2010. I wrote the outline for this one-year segment of her story and began writing the first draft in July 2010 and finished it in October 2010.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? I’m nervous about comparing Tea Village to other books, but before and during the writing and revising process, I read and was inspired by Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins, Shabanu by Suzanne Fisher Staples, and Tangled Threads: A Hmong Girl’s Story by Pegi Deitz Shea.

Who or what inspired you to write this book? My main inspiration was Lydia, the Bulang girl who lived in my home during her senior year of high school and became my dearest friend in China. As I wrote, I had young American girls in mind as readers, in particular my nieces Patience and Haley.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? This isn’t the book for someone looking for intense action or romance. It’s a glimpse into the heart of a girl in a land so different from the U.S. and other places in the Western world, yet the people of Yunnan have the same goals and desires of anyone anywhere in the world.

The point of this blog hop was to tag other authors who have upcoming book projects that they’d like to promote, but I honestly don’t know anyone else to tag who hasn’t already been tagged. Instead, I’m going to mention a few of my blog-writing friends who I love dearly and believe could write books of their own that would be well worth the read. These bloggers might not have any books in the works right now, but each of us has our own Next Big Thing — and I just want to acknowledge a few ladies who inspire me with their writing.

My good friend Jen Anderson blogged throughout last year on Jen’s Journey to 40 about her pursuit of a healthier lifestyle leading up to a milestone birthday, but lately she’s written more for the website Single Roots than for her own blog. I particularly enjoyed her recent article about transitioning into her new life as the single foster mother of four teenagers (and foster grandmother to a one-year-old!).

Roxie McCutcheon (who I met working in Yunnan many years back) started a fantastic new blog called Crunchy in the Panhandle where she shares tips with folks in her corner of West Virginia who are trying to eat local, organic, and whole foods. I like to call Roxie my whole foods guru — I call and text her with random questions about coconut oil and gluten-free recipes, and she’s always able to answer right away like the pro that she is, or at the very least point me to an online resource where I can find answers. Even though I live in Texas, her West Virgina blog has been a help to me.

Another Yunnan friend, Erin Kimsey, recently began blogging about her experiences transitioning from non-profit work in a small border town to working for the U.S. Foreign Service in Shanghai — what a change! Erin is insightful and intelligent, and I appreciate her perspective on a variety of subjects.

Last but not least, Gillian Schweighardt is a friend I met in Washington who is now living in Vienna. I absolutely love reading about her family’s adventures and her thoughts on life. Her stories and reflections challenge and encourage me while making me chuckle — a great combination.

So, there you have it. Thanks for playing along and letting me ramble about my Next Big Thing.

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Two Book Launches in March!!

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I’ve never used an exclamation mark in the title of a blog post, but this news is pretty darn exciting.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not just one, but two books will be ready for release in March 2013 — my middle grade novel From the Tea Village and the cookbook Simply Yunnan. Both books sprang forth from my years of living in Yunnan, China, and though they each stand alone, they also complement each other.

From the Tea Village

Ye Sun grew up in an ethnic Bulang village in Yunnan Province, but she now lives in the Chinese world of her boarding school. While other students decide to stay home after sixth grade, Ye Sun sticks with it and moves to middle school in the market town. Her friendships broaden, but she also faces more difficult subjects, an abusive teacher, and taunts over her faltering Mandarin. Just as she thinks the situation is at its worst, a harrowing accident turns her family — and her life — upside-down.

Simply Yunnan

Ten years of eating in Yunnan led to this cookbook. I want to share the simple recipes I’ve collected from friends and from trial-and-error recreating dishes from favorite restaurants. These are the dishes I like to cook to remind myself of towns where I lived, of people I miss — to remind me of places and moments wrapped up in flavors and textures. Simple ingredients. Simple technique. Simply Yunnan.

Look for more news on where to find print and e-book versions of both books to come in the days ahead. Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter (using the form in the left sidebar) to be the first to hear about upcoming dates, releases, and special offers.

Thank you, friends!

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Trip to Yunnan

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Fall of 2006, Yunnan, China. My niece in Connecticut was 18 months old, and I couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing her again until she was almost 3. I missed the rest of my family, too — I was feeling the strain of being away for so many months on end. Part of being a sojourner on this earth (going where God leads when He leads, because nowhere on this earth is my home so much as His kingdom is) means going long stretches separated from dear ones.

It was inconvenient timing for a trip to the U.S. — work was busy, it’s expensive to travel at the holidays, and I was tired just thinking of adding another trip to my work travel schedule. But I needed to see family, to spend time together reconnecting and being rejuvenated in the bonds of love.

Fall of 2011, Kennewick, Washington. I’ve been away from Yunnan for 18 months. I can’t bear the thought of it being two or three years since I’ve seen friends in Xishuangbanna, since I’ve walked with them on the Mountain, since I’ve sat and had a good laugh and a cry with Lydia. It’s an inconvenient time to go — work is busy, it’s expensive to travel to China, and I’m tired just thinking of adding another trip to my work travel schedule. But I need to see my Yunnan family, to spend time with them reconnecting and being rejuvenated in the bonds of love.

So I’m going to China for a two week visit. Internet monitoring and blocked websites in China being what they are, I won’t post here or on Facebook until I return the week before Christmas.

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Book Writing Recap

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Since I started this blog in the summer of 2008, the focus and the audience has changed somewhat.  What started as a way for me to keep my friends and family posted on life and work in China has evolved into a combination of my travel diary for this year of transition, a chronicle of my progress in writing my first novel, and just a general outlet for musings on books I’m reading or anything else that is on my mind.  The stats page for my site tells me that the number of readers has gone up a bit over the months (with a huge spike last week when two of the artists from the Love Tells the Story tour tweeted a link to my review on Twitter)—though, don’t get me wrong, this is still a rather small-time blog.  I’m OK with that.  Slowly and steadily I’m finding an audience for what I write, and I’m enjoying the time I have to focus more on writing than I ever have in my life.

Now that I’ve finished my first draft (you can read about that in “Happy but not Satisfied”), I thought it would be good to post links to a few past blog entries to recap what I’m doing during this year and how that came about.  Some of you have read these before, but others may have missed them or may be new to the blog.  Rather than rewriting a new summary of it all, it’s easier to point you in the direction of what’s already out there.

Recent Silence First mention of my wanting to write a series of books on Lydia’s life growing up in Yunnan.

Finishing Well The best explanation I’ve posted about how I came to the decision to leave China and start writing full time.

What to do with our talents A personal favorite essay, about glorifying God by using and enjoying our talents, which is my hope for this year and all my years.

The End of Idle Chatter How I stopped talking about writing and started (gasp!) writing.

Things I’ve Learned So Far About Networking A list of ways online networking has helped me (or not) in the process of telling Lydia’s story.

Texas to Alaska Why I went to the arctic to work on my book this summer, and why I am going to Washington in January.

Other People’s Thoughts: Rewriting Writing vs Having Written.

Alaska to Texas A summary of my two months writing in the arctic.

About Changes A clarification of my purpose in this year of travel and writing.

Happy but not Satisfied Celebrating the finish of my very rough first draft.  Or my very first rough draft.

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Things I’ve Learned So Far About Networking

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I wrote a few weeks back about how I was joining Twitter so that I could connect with other writers and begin learning more about the publishing biz.  I’ve also tried to be more involved in other people’s blogs, the blogs of strangers, as a way of supporting fellow writers and interacting with and learning from people who’ve walked further down this path than I have.

I’ve tweeted.  I’ve left comments.  I’ve retweeted and been retweeted.  I’ve learned how to use hashtags to let people know that I #amwriting and #amreading.  I’ve been mentioned on #FollowFriday.  I’ve participated in a weekly Twitter chat about literature.  And I now have more followers who I’ve never met than ones I know in person (though I still hate the term “follower” because I’ve never wanted to be a cult leader).

Thus far, it’s been a positive experience, and I really have learned a few things, some of which I suspected beforehand, some of which I wouldn’t have guessed.

I’ve learned that online networking is a good thing in moderation.  I’m just beginning to write, and I enjoy the moral support of reading what other writers are experiencing.

I’ve learned that information overload comes quickly.

I’ve learned that time spent on Twitter is time not spent writing or doing whatever other work I need to be doing.  Duh.  But it’s true.  And physically setting a timer to limit myself, as so many people have suggested, really is the way to go.

I’ve learned that certain people tweet constantly.  I sort of don’t get it.  Unless someone’s paying them to tweet, how do they get anything done and earn a living?

I’ve learned that, when commenting on the blog of a best-selling author, I shouldn’t check the box for “send me an e-mail when other people comment” unless I want to be receiving dozens of e-mails for the next two weeks.

I’ve learned some of the current trends in young adult novels from agents and publishers.

I’ve learned what age group would be most interested in Lydia’s story, if written from the perspective of certain times in her childhood.

I’ve also learned what ages would not be interested.

I’ve learned that no matter what is popular right now and what looks to be gaining in popularity in the years to come, I really just want to tell Lydia’s story.  I can’t say that I don’t completely care whether anybody ever picks it up for publication.  I do care.  But I know that I don’t want to quit trying to write her story the best way I possibly can because I’ve read online buzz that indicates one thing or another about the young adult book industry.  I want to remain dedicated to Lydia’s story, to writing what’s on my heart, to getting her story out there in the purest form possible, untainted by the expectations of others.

I’ve learned that I want to be informed and educated as I enter this business, but I also just want to write.

I’ll continue to check in on Twitter a few times a week (look for me, I’m @rebeccadiann), and I’ll continue reading and commenting on other blogs every couple of days.  But mainly, I’m going to write.

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Finishing Well

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Around this time last year, I read Twilight, partly because it was recommended by a couple of friends, partly because I wanted to know what all the hoopla was about back in the States. In about 36 hours of a mind-numbing reading binge, I finished it. I skimmed parts of it, I must admit. And I also must admit, I long to have those 36 hours of my life back. But what was done, was done.

The one redeeming thing I took away from that reading experience was the thought, “I could have written something better than that when I was about 14.” I don’t want to get into Stephenie Meyer’s writing abilities or the content of her stories in this blog, but I can’t help but think, surely there are young adult readers in America who are hungry for something better than this.

Two days later, a sage friend of mine who has encouraged me as a closet writer, unaware of my Twilight experience, told me that he thought I should write a book for young girls about Lydia’s life. That’s nice, I thought. If I had an advance check for every time someone told me, “You oughtta write a book,” well, then I’d write a book.

But this time, the idea wouldn’t let me go. For days I was consumed with the nagging question, “If you’re so arrogant as to say you could do a better job than someone who’s a best-selling author, then why don’t you? Why haven’t you?”

Combine this with a promise I made to myself in early 2005. I longed to take the time to develop as a writer, to explore experiences and ideas and stories that were being stockpiled inside me. But I also knew that right then wasn’t the time. I had a different task at hand, one to which I was sure God had led me. I felt deep within me that some time in the next five to ten years, I would take a year off to write, but I needed to be fully focused on working among the B people in the meantime. So, I committed my desire to write into the hands of God, asking Him to make it happen when it was right.

Stay with me here…early 2009, Twilight experience, the idea of writing Lydia’s story for young readers. And I’m four years into a promise to myself that “five to ten years from now I’ll take a year off to write.” Isn’t it clear what’s shaping up here?

I have a one-way ticket to DFW on March 29. After about three months visiting family and friends, I’m starting that year of writing full-time—in a location still being finalized, though I can almost guarantee it will be colder than south Yunnan or Fort Worth.

The counter on my computer tells me that’s only 63 days from now. 63 days to wrap up the past decade of my life, since I first visited China and knew that I would move here within a few months’ time. I’m both excited and apprehensive about what lies ahead (though, honestly, I’m more excited than apprehensive right now). I’m trying to rightly handle the emotions of bringing this chapter of my life to a close, and one way I’m doing that is by compiling a list of ways I’ve seen growth and change in myself over the past few years. Not all of those ways are things that I would care to share through this outlet, but many of them are. As I work through these ideas, I’ll be posting them here. Expect entries ranging from “living as an introvert in a country of 1.3 billion people who are all staring at me right now” to “balancing work and rest” to “learning to cook from scratch.”

I don’t know how often I’ll post—I’m posting this particular entry now to force myself to be accountable to write with some form of regularity over the next several weeks. Though, in reality, saying “force myself” to write makes it sound unenjoyable, and I’m actually quite looking forward to working out these entries.

Next in the “Finishing Well” series:  ”Out of the Limelight“

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Recent Silence

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In the past few weeks my blog has taken the back burner, and without any explanations on my part. I don’t pretend to myself at all that there are great numbers of people anxiously awaiting my next entry—but I do want to acknowledge the four of you reading this right now, to thank you for checking in, and give a bit of an update on where I’ve been and where I’m going.

I didn’t make any posts in December because I spent most of the month away from my computer. A wonderful way to spend a month, I must say. After a few days of meetings (the best I’ve ever attended, I should point out), I traveled in Laos for a couple of weeks with a friend. It was one of those memorable trips in life with one experience after another that I will cherish for years to come—Taking a slow boat down the Mekong for two days and arriving by glorious sunset in Luang Prabang on Christmas Eve (see photo above). Having a Buddhist monk ask us on Christmas about the meaning of the day. Hiking in the jungle for three days, staying in an Akha village that doesn’t have electricity or running water, being given the best food our host family had on such short notice. Touring the countryside by motorbike on a sun-soaked afternoon.

I have these memories, along with some that I will think on and laugh about in years to come even though they weren’t exactly funny at the time. Being ripped off by a tour company with false information on visas and hidden hotel fees. Having our guesthouse owner unexpectedly pack up and go on vacation for a week—with my friend’s laptop locked in storage in the room behind her restaurant. Sitting on the roadside in numerous buses with broken gear shifts, flat tires, and other unexplainable ailments. Awaking in the night in the village because an old man pulled back the covers from my face, just to see what the white lady looks like.

I could easily write full blog entries about each of the memories. But time is short, and ideas for writing abound. One day I’ll flesh out these stories into a book, along with others from the past few years of living and traveling in Asia. One day, when I have the time and an advance check from my (imaginary) publisher.

But that won’t be the first book I write. The first one will be about Lydia, and she and I are working on the research for it now. Think the Little House series meets girl growing up in a village in Yunnan.

So, while we focus on this research, the time I can dedicate to writing for my blog will be limited. I don’t want to give it up completely, but I’m trying to be realistic about what is possible in the time I have.

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Lydia’s Version

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This is Lydia’s version of the bat events, as told to the waitresses at the café:

“Yi Bei Cha woke me up this morning, while it was still dark, saying something about a bird or a bat.  I don’t know, it was early.  So I went in there, and a bat was flying around but wouldn’t go out the window—so I waved my arms like this, thinking it would sense me there and fly the other way.  But that didn’t work, and I was getting all sweaty.  So I decided to knock it unconscious.  I got a broom and hit it four times before it finally landed on the night stand.  I found a plastic bag to pick it up, and it tried to bite me through the plastic.  I threw it out the window, and it flew away.”

If Lydia hadn’t been here, I probably would have had to close the door with the bat in there and never go back in that room.

(For my version of the events, refer to previous blog entry.)


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Bat

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Pitch black.  Water dripping from the air-con hose.  Now water splashing.  Inside my room, or outside the window?  Hard to tell this early in the morning.

Squinting into the dark, I swat a mosquito directly over my face, roll over, and bury my head in the pillow.

Now I’m sitting up ramrod straight. That is too big to be a mosquito. Swoop. It flies over my bed again.  Bird or bat? Swoop. I’m not waiting for a positive i.d.  I’m out the bedroom door and poking my head into Lydia’s room.

“Lydia…Lydia.”

“Mmmmm?”

“There’s something flying around in my room.  I think it’s a bird.  Or a gecko.” (bi fu)

“What?”

“There may be a gecko flying around my room.”

“You mean a bat?” (bian fu)

“Yes.  Are you scared of them?”

“No.”

“I am.”

Ever loyal, she follows me in the room and opens the window screen while I’m fumbling to turn on the lamp.  And there it is, still darting from wall to wall.  Clearly a bat.

I’m not ashamed to admit it—I hit the floor when it heads back towards my corner.  At Lydia’s suggestion, I leave the room, closing the door behind me.  My last glimpse is of her standing there waving her arms at the bat as if she were trying to alert a passing plane to her presence on a desert island.

Moments later she emerges, walking past me wordlessly.  She comes back from the bathroom with a broom and reenters the room, once again shutting me out.

When the door opens again, she returns the broom to its place of rest.  “You can go back in now.”

Wide awake.  Sleep is as far away as that desert island.

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10k Race

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In all of the holiday frenzy last month, I didn’t write anything about the 10k race the café sponsored on Easter weekend.  We had more local participation than our previous two events, probably due to the fact that this time we offered prizes for the top three placers among men and women.  We’re still learning some of the details involved in planning races, but overall it was a successful event.

One of the problems we had was marking the race course in a way that would be obvious to all of the participants.  We clearly marked the four major turns on the route, but we failed to mark one place where you shouldn’t turn.  A few runners got slightly off course, but they recovered quickly enough not to affect their times too much.  One poor guy from out of town, though—he wasn’t so fortunate.  Somehow he missed a turn and ended up running halfway across town before he realized he was lost.

Another puzzling problem came up when one runner arrived late at the starting line, half an hour after the rest of us had begun running.  He went ahead and ran the course, and his actual running time would have put him in first place if he had started on time.  He was disappointed, however, when we didn’t give him the café gift certificate he thought he should have won.  Somehow he didn’t understand that everyone starts at the same time during a race.  Now, when that guy comes to the café, the staff refers to him as “Eight-thirty,” in honor of the time he showed up for our 8am race.

Lydia trained with me part of the time in the weeks leading up to the race, and she was able to finish the whole 10k, even though she had previously only run 3 1/2 miles as her longest distance.  Adam made a good showing by getting second place among the men, despite having shoe issues before the race.  He didn’t have shoes appropriate for running, so a teammate gave him a pair of his runners that were a couple of sizes too big.  Obviously, those weren’t ideal, so another teammate let him try a pair of hers that ended up being a half size too small.  I gave him a pair of mine to test out before the race, and Goldilocks/Adam decided that pair fit him just right.

On race day, I didn’t come close to finishing in the top three among the women, but my shoes placed second among the men.  (For the record, I wear a size 8, which is average for an American woman.  Apparently, it’s also average for village men in SE Asia.)

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