My first six months as a full-time writer

I recently posted a video update on my first six months working as a full-time writer here in Hong Kong. Some of the milestones I mention in the video were four years in the making, but it has still been an amazing ride over the past few months!

If you missed the video when I announced my decision to quit my day job, here it is. This is by far my most-viewed video, by the way.

I recently appeared on RTHK's State of the Art program. As soon as I get the links sorted out I'll post those too. Did anyone in HK hear it live?

29 Things

At the beginning of last year I wrote a post with 13 things I did in 2013 and 14 plans for 2014. I prefer lists and planning to making resolutions. 2014 was kind of a banner year, so I figured I should start this year with a similar post. First, here are the 14 things I planned to do in 2014, and their results:

1. Launch the expat women in Asia anthology (with the help of the amazing contributors). Done! Here is How Does One Dress to Buy Dragonfruit? 

2. Finish polishing Seabound, book 1 in my post-apocalyptic adventure series. Done!

3. Write and revise the second draft of Seaswept (book 2). Done!

4. Write the rough draft of book 3 in the Seabound series. Done! (This was my 2014 NaNoWriMo project)

5. Write the second draft of the Seabound prequel, Burnt Sea. Nope. I ended up doing draft 3 of Seaswept instead. Burnt Sea is on my to-do list for January.

6. Polish and submit essay/e-book about paying off student debt. Done! Published as a Kindle Single called Pay Off: How One Millennial Eliminated Nearly $80,000 in Student Debt in Less Than Five Years

7. Publish third secret pen name e-book. Nope. The secret pen name shorts fell by the wayside. I wrote the beginning, but haven't been back to it in a while.

8. Write and publish fourth secret pen name e-book and publish a 4-book compilation. Nope. See above.

9. Submit my Hong Kong travel memoir to traditional publishers. Done! Now published by Blacksmith Books as Year of Fire Dragons: An American Woman's Story of Coming of Age in Hong Kong. It's available in Hong Kong bookstores and online. The e-book is coming soon!

10. Choose a new pen name to use for Seabound and distinguish my SFF writing from my creative non-fiction/Hong Kong/expat-related work as Shannon Young. Done! Meet my alter ego Jordan Rivet here.

11. Begin publishing my Seabound series (publishing path TBD). Done! I decided to self-publish Seabound (as an e-book and paperback) without ever submitting it the traditional way. I think it's the way forward for fast-paced genre fiction.

12. Build up savings now that I am debt free. Done! I quit my job to write full-time starting in August. I should make it another six months before I'll need an income again.

13. Learn to ski (in Canada at Chinese New Year). Done, but it was completely terrifying. I need a lot more practice.

14. Decide how to proceed with A Kindle in Hong Kong. Sort of. I've been posting a lot less, and I've decided not to accept books for review anymore. I like being able to read without as much pressure to review. I'm also bookspotting less often since I no longer commute to work. I'll continue to post whenever I have something to say. I also now have a column called Diary of an Expat Writer on The Displaced Nation where I post monthly updates.

I didn't carry out my secret pen name plans and I ended up working on a different Seabound Chronicles draft than the one I planned to do in #5. Overall, though, I'd say 2014 was a pretty successful year. I also spoke at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival and got an audiobook deal for Pay Off, so I'd say that makes up for #7 and #8.

Now it's time to make plans for 2015! Here are 15 things I plan to do this year. My primary goal is to complete and publish the remaining three books in the Seabound Chronicles by the end of the year. Let's break that down a bit.

1. Rewrite Burnt Sea (the Seabound prequel).
2. Finish revising Seaswept (Seabound Chronicles 2).
3. Publish Seaswept in e-book and paperback.
4. Rewrite Seabound Chronicles 3.
5. Finish revising Burnt Sea.
6. Publish Burnt Sea in e-book and paperback.
7. Finish revising Seabound Chronicles 3.
8. Publish Seabound Chronicles 3 in e-book and paperback.
9. Write a memoir about growing up in a homeschooling family of nine kids, possibly of Kindle Single length, under the Shannon Young name.
10. Promote Year of Fire Dragons in Hong Kong and during the US/e-book launch.
11. Write a brand-new novel for NaNoWriMo, probably under the Jordan Rivet name.
12. Begin production of a Seabound audiobook.
13. Write one more secret pen name short, just for fun.
14. Read Infinite Jest (which has been on my Kindle for a long time) and all the paperbacks I have purchased or been given this year.
15. Make enough money from writing to avoid returning to my day job.

Thank you for all your support this year. I'm looking forward to a great (and busy!) 2015.

What are your plans or goals for the year?

A Tale of Two Book Launches

Available for pre-order on Amazon

In a strange turn of events, I am in the process of launching two books this month. One is the Hong Kong travel memoir I have been talking about since this blog began, now titled Year of Fire Dragons: An American Woman's Story of Coming of Age in Hong Kong. Though I haven't yet held the book in my hands, it has been printed and will be appearing in Hong Kong bookstores any day now. I've written a bit more about this book's journey in my new column on The Displaced Nation.

If you are in Hong Kong, I would be honored if you would attend the launch event, which is part of the Hong Kong International Literary Festival. It will take place at 10 am this Sunday at the Duke of Windsor Building on Hennessy Road in Wan Chai. You can buy tickets here. The event will feature two other wonderful Hong Kong-based authors, Jason Y. Ng (No City for Slow Men) and Maria Chaudhuri (Beloved Strangers). I hope you can be there!

The other book I am launching this week is totally different. It's a post-apocalyptic adventure set at

$2.99 on Amazon

sea that began life as my NaNoWriMo project in 2012. It's available as an e-book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo, and the paperback will be for sale by the end of the month. This book is so different from my other work that I am publishing under a pen name, Jordan Rivet, for which I maintain a separate blog. If you happen to enjoy dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction, please check out Seabound. To celebrate this launch, I am digging into another NaNoWriMo project: writing Book 3 in the Seabound Chronicles by Jordan Rivet.

Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement. I'll have more to say about Year of Fire Dragons soon, but in the meantime I just wanted to let you know about this surreal moment in my publishing life. 

A Book Blog

Welcome to my brand new book blog! "A Kindle in Hong Kong" will feature short and sweet reviews of whatever I happen to be reading. I'm an English major living in Hong Kong, so I read a lot of classics and travel memoirs. I also read contemporary novels, interesting non-fiction, and anything else that jumps out at me. I always have a list of books in my head that I've been meaning to read, and this year I'm doing my best to read as many of them as possible.

So here's my plan: I'll try to post at least two reviews per week, and I'll only post about books I've finished very recently. I'll also include bits and pieces about Hong Kong. I think it's always better to talk with people about the books you read, so I would appreciate comments, too!

Here's my review format:

The Gist: What is it about? The quick and dirty details that identify the book.

The Verdict: What do I think? My opinion of the book, with comments on the author's style.

The Link: Who is the author? I love reading authors' websites, so wherever possible I'll include links to their blogs and websites.

The Cost: What did I pay for the book? English books in Hong Kong are very expensive (and so is space), which is what makes my e-reader so wonderful. I'll try to give you an idea of which books I can read for free, which ones I have to buy, and which ones I can still only find in good old paper book format.

The Question: What do you think? As a former Humane Letters teacher, I'll have to include a discussion question or two for each book.

Let me know if there are any books you want me to review!