I'm back in Hong Kong just in time for my favorite part of the year: Mid-Autumn Festival. This was the first holiday I experienced when I moved to Hong Kong four years ago, and I'm very happy to be marking the beginning of my fifth year here in Asia's World City.
As you know, I spent the month of August in Arizona writing with my mom and getting in plenty of quality family time. We enjoyed some nice afternoons working in local restaurants and coffee shops (including Liberty Market and Coffee Rush, where I used to spend a lot of time grading essays). We visited a local writers' group and attended a talk with Southwest novelist Jo-Ann Mapson. I even got to check out First Draft Book Bar with my sister, which is literally a bar inside a bookstore.
The trip was reasonably productive, too. I wrapped up a draft of the sequel to my forthcoming post-apocalyptic novel, worked on a new group of articles for Modern Love Long Distance, and reread the entire Harry Potter series. My mom wrote 500 words a day and she's getting ready to launch a cool new blog that I'll tell you about as soon as she lets me!
Perhaps one of the best things that happened while I was out of town was that I got to see some cover designs for my memoir that is being published by Blacksmith Books later this fall. It's called Year of Fire Dragons: An American Woman's Story of Coming of Age in Hong Kong. The story begins and ends at the Mid-Autumn Fire Dragon Dance in Tai Hang (video above from 2011). It's hard to believe that my dream of having this book published will be coming true very soon. The cover we settled on is so beautiful and I can't wait to show you guys the final version!
For the first time, I'm not returning to school as the autumn begins. I'm giving my dream job a chance, and so far, I'm absolutely loving this writing life. Thank you all so much for your continuing support and enthusiasm. If you're in Hong Kong, I hope you have a safe and happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! I can't believe it's your fifth in Hong Kong! It's like an anniversary. How exciting about your mom's blog. I look forward to checking it out. And you know I'm on the edge of my chair waiting for your cover reveal. I know it will be well worth the wait for us fans! How great that you've been able to see different covers. I bet that's one of the most exciting parts of the process.
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