Adventures On the Air

This month I had a chance to appear on RTHK, the English radio station in Hong Kong. In the first program, State of the Art with Reenita Malhotra Hora, I talk about balancing writing for two different pen names and about my personal journey in Hong Kong. I also got to share three of my favorite songs!

Listen to State of the Art here

On the other program, Morning Brew with Phil Whelan, I talked about my Hong Kong travel memoir, Year of Fire Dragons, and had some very interesting conversations with Phil about writing, Hong Kong, and even homeschooling!

Listen to Morning Brew here

I just finished a new memoir piece about growing up in a homeschooling family. I'm having some people read it and give me some feedback and then I hope to tell you all about!

PAY OFF, my student debt Kindle Single, is now an audiobook! (+ a giveaway)

I'm in Arizona preparing for my little sister's wedding tomorrow, but I wanted to make a quick announcement: Pay Off is now an audiobook! It has been so exciting to work with the lovely people at Audible and a very talented narrator.

This is my first audiobook, so I wasn't sure what to expect. After signing the deal, I was asked to listen to a bunch of samples on Audible.com and let the production team know if there were any narrators I particularly liked. Sandy Rustin was my first choice--and she was available!

Sandy Rustin has performed audiobooks for the likes of Meg Cabot, Barbara Freethy, and Cameron Diaz, but the sample that made me certain she would be the best narrator for Pay Off was for Jenna Miscavige Hill's Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape. She has just the right balance of youth, humility, and earnestness in her voice for this book for Millennials struggling with student debt.

You can listen to the free sample of Sandy's rendition of Pay Off here.

Giveaway!

I also have the opportunity to give away a free copy of the audiobook, which goes for $6.95. (If you are already an Audible member you can listen for free anyway.) You can enter the drawing one of two ways:

1) Join my email list. I only use it to announce new releases, so you don't need to worry about spam from me.

2) Comment below with the three words you think of when you hear the words "student loans." Use this option if you're already on my email list, don't want to join, or want a second entry :).

The giveaway will run until Sunday, January 25th.

P.S. If you are an audiobook reviewer and would like a complimentary copy of Pay Off: How One Millennial Eliminated Nearly $80,000 in Student Debt in Less Than Five Years please email me at snyoung88 @ gmail.com!

Ideal Gifts for my Ideal Readers

Last week, Jocelyn Eikenburg of the Speaking of China blog posted a list of book recommendations that would make good gifts for people interested in China, Hong Kong, and life in Asia. The list includes Year of Fire Dragons and How Does One Dress to Buy Dragonfruit. Thank you, Jocelyn!

It's a great idea, but as many of my China/HK/Asia book recommendations are already on Jocelyn's list, I wanted to do something a little different. I thought about four kinds of people who might have read my books and what else I'd like to get them for the holidays (in addition to more books, of course).

The Newbie Expat

They read: How Does One Dress to Buy Dragonfruit? True Stories of Expat Women in Asia

I'd get them. . .

Books:
Home Leave by Brittani Sonnenberg (TCK novel, worth it for the beautiful hardcover alone)
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (another take on displacement)
Foreign Babes in Beijing by Rachel DeWoskin (fast times in New China)

Other stuff:
Kindle or other e-reader (my very favorite thing)
Pimsleur language course (for conversation, not writing)
A nice scarf (you can never have too many scarves)

The English Teacher in Hong Kong

They read: Year of Fire Dragons: An American Woman's Story of Coming of Age in Hong Kong

I'd get them . . .

Books:
No City for Slow Men by Jason Y. Ng (the insider's perspective on our city)
Gweilo by Martin Booth (required background reading)
The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee (beach read for Christmas in Thailand)

Other stuff:
Goods of Desire swag (especially those stacking mugs)
Octopus card key chain (got one from my MIL; best practical item ever)
Sote Gourmet Popcorn (newly opened on Robinson Road; they have candy cane popcorn!)

The Modern Romantic

They read: Year of Fire Dragons: An American Woman's Story of Coming of Age in Hong Kong

I'd get them . . .

Books:
Love with a Chance of Drowning by Torre DeRoche (love at sea)
Made for You and Me by Caitlin Shetterly (love and life in America)
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (love and mortal peril and superpowers)

Other stuff:
ModCloth dresses (so many pretty choices)
The new Taylor Swift album (I love her)
Dinner and a movie (I recommend The Hundred-Foot Journey)

The Determined Millennial

They read: Pay Off: How One Millennial Eliminated Nearly $80,000 in Student Debt in Less Than Five Years

I'd get them . . .

Books:
Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey (inspiration for creatives and self-employed entrepreneurs)
Quiet by Susan Cain (introverts unite!)
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (little things make a big difference)

Other stuff:
A blazer (makes you feel confident)
Amazon gift cards (use it for everything, but especially for books)
Spiral bound notebooks and erasable pens for checklists (checklists make everything better)



I wish I could go shopping for everyone who has read and enjoyed my books. Thanks for a great year, you guys! I've been holed up in the Starbucks on Queen's Road for most of the past two months working on the Seabound Chronicles. In the meantime, I've been spotting Year of Fire Dragons in more and more bookstores. You can also order it directly from the Blacksmith Books website. They offer free shipping within Asia!

I'm off to the US in a little over a week for my first Christmas at home in five years, the birth of my first nephew, and my little sister's wedding. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!



Bonus: Have a science fiction and fantasy fan in your life? I put a list of book recommendations on my Jordan Rivet blog that would all make awesome gifts!

Cover Reveal for Year of Fire Dragons: An American Woman's Story of Coming of Age in Hong Kong

Drumroll, please! I'm so excited to reveal the cover of my new travel memoir Year of Fire Dragons: An American Woman's Story of Coming of Age in Hong Kong. This is the first book I started writing, and it will be published by Blacksmith Books, an excellent Hong Kong-based publisher, at the end of October.

Cara the designer did a wonderful job of capturing the story, which is about my first year in Hong Kong. The main drama of the book follows my thwarted long distance romance, but it's also about my love affair with the city of Hong Kong and I think the cover captures that beautifully. The illustration reminds me of Love with a Chance of Drowning (UK edition), a book sharing similar themes of love, travel and self discovery.

The book should hit the shelves, virtual and literal, at the end of October, just in time for the Hong Kong International Literary Festival. This is probably a good time to announce that I'll be speaking at the festival this year! I'll visit a school as part of the Young Readers program and be a speaker at one of the big events. I'll share more details about that soon!

Kindle Single - Pay Off: How One Millennial Eliminated Nearly $80,000 in Student Debt in Less Than Five Years

I'm excited to announce that my Kindle Single on student debt was released on Friday. Naturally, this means I've been refreshing my Amazon ranking on an hourly basis. Over the weekend, the book reached the Top 10 on several best seller lists, including Kindle Singles: Essays & Ideas and Kindle Singles: Memoir.

I'm also a little nervous about this book. It's a sensitive topic. While I hope people will find my analysis fair, I know it has the potential to attract negative comments as well. It will be interesting to see what happens as the reviews come in (so far so good)!

The other reason I'm nervous is that I write exactly how much money I made over the last five years, what my rent has been, and my SAT scores (among other things). It's scary to reveal so much personal information, but I felt it was necessary if this book is to be a candid portrait of a student debtor and a useful resource.

It has been great to work with the folks at Kindle Singles, including my editor--who recognized the appeal of a student debt success story and helped me with the tone--and the cover designer--who does amazing work. I hope that the story will be both encouraging and informative for graduates and their parents. I'd appreciate it if you could share this with any of your friends who are struggling with student debt, especially in the US.

Cover design by Hannah Perrine Mode

Pay Off: How One Millennial Eliminated Nearly $80,000 in Student Debt in Less Than Five Years
By Shannon Young

In 2009, amid the global financial crisis, 21-year-old Shannon Young graduated from college with a degree in English and more than $80,000 in student debt. Less than five years later, she was completely debt-free. This is her story – a cautionary tale with a surprisingly hopeful outcome. Filled with practical advice and personal experience, Pay Off is an invaluable resource for anyone coming into or out of student debt.

$1.99 on Amazon