I'm giving a talk/demonstration tomorrow...

...on how to make an e-book. I'll format a manuscript (in a Word doc) and upload it to Amazon for the HK Women in Publishing Society--live. I've done this multiple times now because I've been writing a series of tongue-in-cheek essays under a secret pen name. Perhaps I'll tell you about them one day, but right now I'm enjoying the anonymity. My mom doesn't even know about this ;).

Anyway, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the internet and projector will work properly and that KDP won't go on the fritz while I'm speaking to a packed house.

The book I'll be uploading is a short novel (almost a novella) I wrote for the HKWiPS Saphira competition. It's wildly niche (almost all the action takes place on and around the Mid-levels Escalator in Hong Kong), so I probably wouldn't submit it to a traditional publisher anyway. I was either going to retire it to a digital drawer or have to add another 30,000 words. I'm more excited about writing new projects at the moment, but this way a few people can read it--and hopefully enjoy it. I won't be doing a lot of promotion, but I'll post the link when the e-book goes live.

Wish me luck!

Here's the event link if you want to attend

Just a quick update on Nanowrimo: in addition to polishing the aforementioned manuscript, I've written 22,000 words this November! If you have been waiting for an email from me this is why... I'll be back in touch with everyone next week.

Bookspotting and Nanowrimo

Over the weekend, I spotted a friend reading Philippa Gregory's The White Queen (I think it was the white one). Yesterday, a woman got on the train at Kowloon Bay with a battered copy of The Great Gatsby. I also spotted a schoolboy with Murakami's 1Q84. At a glance, it looked like a Chinese translation, but it could have been the original Japanese version. As usual, I spotted a smattering of Chinese books and e-readers around town. What are people reading in your general vicinity?

I'm about 10,000 words into National Novel Writing Month. I'm working on a prequel to my post-apocalyptic series-in-progress. I've had a chance to meet up with groups of writers from around HK and even had some of them over to my place for a write-in after party. Are you participating in Nano? How is it going so far?

Apocalyptic Bookspotting

It may have been a while since my last bookspotting post (no excuses here), but I have been keeping track. Each time I see someone reading on the train or in a coffee shop while I'm writing, I note it in a document on my phone. To get you up to speed: I've seen school kids reading The Last Olympian, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I've spotted textbooks on psychology, math and English. Fellow commuters have been reading Girl with a Dragon Tattoo and My Sister's Keeper. I saw a girl with a Kindle and a boy reading Frindle. I have one note on my phone that simply says north, and to be honest I have no idea what book that's referring to. Just yesterday I saw a man reading Thinking Fast and Slow while he rode an escalator in Central station--not an hour after I'd downloaded the same book on my Kindle. I spotted The Alchemists on the train and Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats in Mong Kok station. In short, reading is alive and well in Hong Kong.

For my part, I've been binging on apocalyptic fiction in preparation for National Novel Writing Month. As a direct result, I now find myself buying extra gallons of water at the grocery store and assessing my neighborhood for possible fortified locations. I have decent visibility from our apartment and there's only one entrance to the building. However, the best spot has to be the old police complex on Hollywood Road. In the event of zombies, look for me there ;).

My Nano novel will be a prequel to the series I started last year. It doesn't have any zombies. The series takes place sixteen years after the apocalyptic event, so the prequel will happen right in the middle of the disaster. Oh, and the whole thing is set at sea! I'm really enjoying the research process and looking forward to meeting up with fellow HK-based writers.

What are you reading? How about the people around you? Are you doing Nanowrimo this year?

UNSAVORY ELEMENTS edited by Tom Carter

THE GIST:

An anthology of non-fiction by foreigners living in China.

THE VERDICT:

Unsavory Elements features a diverse selection of stories about what it's like to live in China as a foreigner. All sorts of people move to China, though the balance of this particular collection tipped toward young, unattached males (at least when their unsavory adventures took place). The writers illustrate moments that will likely resonate with many: being offered large amounts of money to write someone's college admissions essay; finding unexpected camaraderie with locals through sports, drinks and food; getting lost; finding love. In truth, most of the writers are not especially unsavory. This collection could actually debunk a myth or two about expats in China. Most of them are just normal people navigating normal life issues in somewhat abnormal circumstances.

Naturally, some of the stories are better than others--or at least I connect with some more than others. Particular standouts for me were the contributions by Aminta Arrington, Michael Levy and, of course, Peter Hessler. The collection includes stories by two writers, Jocelyn Eikenburg and Kaitlin Solimine, who will also appear in the forthcoming expat women in Asia anthology I am editing for Signal 8 Press. Most of the writers have books out or in the works. Unsavory Elements is a terrific way to sample their writing style so you'll know what to buy next time you're in the China section of your local bookstore/Amazon.

I read Unsavory Elements while I was compiling the final manuscript of my own anthology. It was useful to see how editor Tom Carter (of China: Portrait of a People fame) decided to organize the stories. The collection progresses much like the life cycle of an expat, from arrivals and first impressions to deciding to go home--or stay. I particularly appreciated how he'd often pair stories, so that one tale would be met with a contrasting impression of a related event. For example, one person receives special treatment as a foreigner in one story, whereas the next experiences negative discrimination. The give-and-take of the structure reminded me of the constant search for balance that expats experience, both in China and abroad.

THE LINK:

Unsavory Elements has an active Facebook page.

THE COST:

I bought the paperback at the Hong Kong launch event (I tried to insert a picture from the launch, but Blogger isn't cooperating; here are some random pictures from Shanghai instead). The Kindle edition is $14.40, making it only slightly cheaper than the paperback.

THE QUESTION:

What do you think about collections that deal with the "foreigner's experience" in China and other expat hotbeds? Do you think they reinforce division and stereotypes? Enhance understanding? Both?

Bookspotting and Moving

This is before we moved in. We're not quite that neat.

My husband and I spent last weekend moving into our new apartment. Naturally, my books were the first things I carried up from the old place on Hollywood Road. I'm still rearranging my bookshelves and trying to decide how to organize everything. Books by people I know together? Travel memoirs together? Hong Kong books together? What about Hong Kong travel memoirs by people I know?! I do have a prominent spot for books that I haven't read yet, including Elegance of a Hedgehog, Love in the Time of Cholera, About a Boy and Petals from the Sky. My goal is to work through them and then move them to the appropriate shelf. Of course that would be easier if I would quit buying books faster than I can read them on my Kindle...

Speaking of Kindles, I spotted a man reading a 2nd generation white Kindle on the train this morning. Yesterday, a woman was reading a Chinese book with an eagle on one side and traditional red stamp on the other. I spotted a schoolgirl with Shopoholic Abroad by Sophie Kinsella and a Western woman with an Amy Tan novel. Best of all, I saw a young woman on the MTR with a tattoo of an open book on her shoulder. She was reading Mr. Palomar by Italo Calvino.

What are people reading in your town this week? How do you organize your bookshelves?

Bookspotting in Hawaii

I didn't keep official Bookspotting notes during our honeymoon on the island of Kauai, but there were plenty of people reading on the beach and by the hotel pool. I spotted titles by Sophie Kinsella, Tom Clancy, Nora Roberts, George R. R. Martin, and Gillian Flynn. I also saw a woman reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See and a teen reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Non-fiction books of any kind were noticeably absent on the beach. Surprisingly, I only saw one person reading a Kindle (besides myself).

On our way back from a drive to Waimea Canyon, we stopped in a little town called Hanapepe for lunch. We found a great little bookstore, Talk Story, which is billed as the westernmost bookstore in the United States. It has a mixture of used and new (mostly local interest) books. The most interesting title I spotted was Da Jesus Book, a translation of the New Testament and Psalms in Hawaiian Pidgin. Here's part of the 23rd Psalm quoted from the book's website: 

Da Boss Above, he take care me,
  Jalike da sheep farma take care his sheeps.
  He goin give me everyting I need.

He let me lie down wea da sweet an soft grass stay.
  He lead me by da water wea I can rest.

He give me new kine life.

  He lead me in da road dat stay right,
  Cuz I his guy.

Have you spotted any interesting books lately? What kind of books do you like to read by the pool?

I'm wedded, honeymooned, and back in business!

Hello everyone! I'm back in Hong Kong, back at my day job, back to writing, and back to blogging. I'm also newly married and will very soon be moving out of the lovely little apartment that has been my home since I moved to Hong Kong three years ago. You've seen glimpses of it, but please indulge me for a moment...

Isn't it adorable?

I can't say I'll miss the tiny kitchen though.

Of course the best part is the view of the old Central Police Station (this picture was taken before it was covered is scaffolding for the renovation).

Incidentally, the landlord hasn't found a new tenant yet, so if you are looking for the perfect single's apartment, you should get in touch with Edwin the agent at 9010 2962. The good news is that my husband and I have found a terrific starter apartment to rent very close by. I'll be posting pictures of that as soon as we sign on the dotted line. By the way, if you are interested in wedding pictures, my husband would prefer not to appear on my blog, but here's one of me by Cardas Photography :). I may post more when I get the rest of them.

Although I've been caught up with non-writing and reading life lately, some of my work appeared this summer on the new Modern Love Long Distance website. As some of you know, my husband and I did not live in the same country for three and a half years of our nearly six-year relationship. Here's a Q&A about our relationship and an article I wrote about moving abroad for a partner. I will continue to write about the lessons I learned at MLLD over the next few months.

I have decided to take my husband's last name, but I plan to continue using Shannon Young as my writing, professional, and social media name. To that end, I've set up a new Facebook page as Shannon Young, the writer. If you are interested in my writing, feel free to like the page for updates. If you are only interested in the matters discussed on A Kindle in Hong Kong (bookspotting, reviews, Hong Kong, literary events) that Facebook page will remain active. In fact, I hope it will be a bit more active as I get back into the swing of things.

What's new with you? Any major life events to report? What have you been reading lately? I'm almost finished with Mad Ship by Robin Hobb.