upcoming cupcakes

Recently, I was a bit dismayed when I was told that the bookstore would prefer that I not serve any food at my book launch. It was understandable (they had had some messy mishaps) but I was distressed. How could I have a book party without cupcakes? I couldn't do that!

So, after much thought, I decided that my book party WOULD have cupcakes, but they would be favors to bring home in the goody bag. To make it more fun, I am thinking about baking a coin inside one of them and whoever gets the cupcake with the coin will win a prize.

But even without the prize, I want each cupcake to be a treat. As you may know, cupcake decorating is a little dream of mine so I've been trying to think of some themed cupcakes that fit my book (a Chinese-folktale fantasy, not a lot of cupcakes in it). After searching the internet, I decided I would go for something like this:


But, now I needed the decorating skills to do it! (Enthusiasm does not equal skill, unfortunately). So enter in last night's CUPCAKE CLASS!

This is a class I signed up for long ago, and even though it came at a horrible deadline time, I still (guiltily) went. But it was a blast. I learned the basics of pastry bags and cake tips.


Experimenting with each tip, we made fun designs:

and I finally learned how to make a frosting rose!



By the end of the class, I felt like I would be able to make some pretty decent cupcakes for the launch. That means you'll come, right?

on my desk monday

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon posters!


Did I mention, my publisher made these beautiful posters for my new book! I'm going to give these away at my book launch, both in person or virtual!

famous friends

If you're as good as the company you keep, then I must be really good; my friends are famous!

Most recently, Anna Alter (remember she did the April painting for small graces?) was featured in USA Today. Well, her AND her book. Pretty neat, huh?

fortune cookie friday

"A book holds a house of gold. "
-Chinese Proverb

seeing stars

Guess what?

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon has already received TWO STARRED REVIEWS!

This news took me by complete surprise, considering the final books have not even been printed yet (and I think the final book with its full-color illustrations will be even better). But it's true! Both Kirkus and Booklist have given the great honor of a starred review. Booklist says:

“In this enchanted and enchanting adventure, Minli, whose name means ‘quick thinking,’ lives with her desperately poor parents at the confluence of Fruitless Mountain and the Jade River… With beautiful language, Lin creates a strong, memorable heroine and a mystical land. Stories, drawn from a rich history of Chinese folktales, weave throughout her narrative, deepening the sense of both the characters and the setting and smoothly furthering the plot. Children will embrace this accessible, timeless story about the evil of green and the joy of gratitude.”

I am truly, truly thankful and grateful that the book is already being well received and only hope that is it a sign of how the rest of the readers will feel.

on my desk monday

Robert's Snow remainders:

Yes, sadly, Robert's Snow is going out of print, so I have purchased some of the remainders. I guess another casualty of the economy, sigh.

fortune cookie friday

“Men trip not on mountains, they trip on molehills.”
-Chinese Proverb

teaser URLs

I forgot that some readers can't see the embedded youtube clips, so here are the teasers' urls:

Teaser I

Teaser II

As I mentioned before, these are just fast little clips to introduce the book-- a more extended trailer (with sneak peaks) will be posted in a couple of weeks!

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Teaser II

This is the 2nd teaser (see the first one is on the right there) for my upcoming trailer and book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon out in June! The border on the cover of the book holds elements of the story--the teasers we've made are just to call attention (and hopefully pique interest) on what is to come!

Next month, I'll post a more extended trailer and then after that the ACTUAL BOOK will be released! I am so excited!

on my desk monday

Work for Ling and Ting finally underway!

fortune cookie friday

"There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same."
-Chinese Proverb

small graces: April's Guest Artist

I've been so bogged with traveling and deadlines that April's small graces painting is done by guest artist. Great friend and fellow author/illustrator Anna Alter has wonderfully filled in!

Anna Alter is the author and illustrator of many books for children, including What Can You Do with an Old Red Shoe? A Green Activity Book about Reuse and Abigail Spells. A former teacher, Anna makes books for young children that inspire them to be creative and love learning. She works out of her home in the Boston area, where she often visits schools to speak about her work. Visit her website here.

Isn't this painting so sweet? Stay tuned for auction dates!

libraries I have seen

One of the fun things about going to so many different schools is seeing how each library has its own character. The schools, librarians and the PTA are always so creative in making the library space have its own personality. It's always like a little surprise to see! I forgot to document most of them (I'm going to make a special effort to so in the future), but did manage to capture a few.

Some just exuded happiness:


Or just made my inner-6thgrade-i-heart-unicorns-girl happy:

Others were more elaborate. This one had a library tree nook:complete with library-tree-themed murals


And this one had a cow/pasture theme mural on one side:
and a "reading porch" on the other:


So, what will the next library look like? Can't wait to see!

on my desk monday

I'm not at my desk (in NJ for a school visit) but this is what it had on it before I left:


Color proofs for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon! Getting closer to the actual book, I'm so excited!

fortune cookie friday

"The palest ink is better than the best memory."
-Chinese Proverb

the magic of facebook

During my tour through the Frisco schools, I randomly typed "I'm in Frisco, TX!" on my facebook status. Within moments, I was contacted by a friend whom I had not seen in over 16 years. She lived in Frisco and faster than it took me to get on the airplane (slight exaggeration) we had set up dinner plans. Wow, the glory of the internet.

I can still remember when I graduating college and learning about this crazy new thing called "e-mail." Now, I have a website, ablog, a facebook books group (hey, please join!) and I never use the phone if I can type. I must be getting old because I am saying to myself the same things I heard adults say when I was a kid--"things change so fast!"

Still, it was a blast catching up with a old high school friend. Makes me nostalgic for my hometown...maybe I should try to set up a booksigning or something there so I can get back there.