on my desk monday

Sketch for December small graces (the last one!)

fortune cookie friday

"The best cure for drunkenness is, whilst sober, to observe a drunken man."
-Chinese Proverb

giving thanks

Thanks everyone for helping me choose my TODAY Show outfit! Which one will I wear? Well, you'll just have to tune in to see! Ha ha. But, I will announce the jam winner next week--I want to wait until then as some might be too consumed by the holiday right now to claim their prize (though it's really good jam!).

And Thanksgiving is a very appropriate holiday. For those of you who have read Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, you know that thankfulness is one of the themes. To me, knowing and remembering how truly lucky I am is perhaps my greatest fortune. And hopefully, yours too.

This Thanksgiving:

I am grateful for the the typical but very, very important: health(except for some bad teeth), great friends, and family.
I am grateful that the work that I have tried my best with has been well received.
I am grateful that I finally got to go to PEI
I am grateful for tolerant sasquatches
I am grateful that I finally learned how to make a frosting rose
I am grateful that Al Roker chose my book
I am grateful that my books have such lovely and supportive fans!

I have many more things than that to be thankful for, but those are some of the big ones. What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

and I'll be live at...

When is my TODAY Show Appearance? Well, I finally got the details! See me interviewed by Al Roker at:


9:45 AM on Friday, Dec. 4th
The TODAY Show on NBC

For those of you who miss it, don't have a TV, despise jovial weathermen, etc., I also have some new events on the schedule! There's a couple in NYC, right before and after my interview and there is a newly scheduled booksigning at the Newtonville Books (Newtonville, MA). So come see me in person at:

•Thursday, Dec. 3rd 3:00 pm
Presentation and Q&A
New York Public Library Jefferson Branch
425 Sixth Ave (at W. 10th St)
New York, NY 10011
more info: 212-243-4334
(books will NOT be for sale at this event, but feel free to bring your own)

•Friday, Dec. 4th, 4:00 PM
Presentation, Q&A & Signing
New York Public Library
Children’s Center at 42nd Street
(a.k.a. Stephen A. Schwarzman Building w/ the lions!)
455 Fifth Ave (between 40th and 42nd Streets)
New York, NY 10018
for more info: 212-621-0208
(books will be available for purchase at the library's store)

•Saturday, Dec. 12th, 10am-5pm
RISD ALUMNI HOLIDAY ART SALE 2009
Booth 311
Rhode Island Convention Center
One Sabin Street, Providence
admission: $7; children under 14 + current RISD students (with ID): free
http://www.risd.edu/alumni_sale.cfm

•Sunday, Dec. 13th 2pm
Newtonville Books
296 Walnut St.
Newtonville, MA 02460
http://www.newtonvillebooks.com
local but can't make it? Reserve an autographed copy and pick it up later! Call:617-244-6619

•Saturday, Dec. 19th, 11:30-1pm
Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center
38 Ash Street
Boston, MA, 02111
Phone: (617) 635-5129 x1070
Email: Giles.Li@bcnc.net
http://www.bcnc.net/news.php?newsID=183

on my desk monday

books by some of the authors I met at National Council of Teachers of English Convention this past weekend

fortune cookie friday

"Keep your broken arm inside your sleeve."
-Chinese Proverb

choose my Today Show outfit!

Sooo, my search for the red dress and my Today show outfit is winding down. While there were many, many gorgeous (and expensive) red dress/top combos I have narrowed it down to 2! Yes, 2! Aren't you proud of me?

But I can't decide between the 2...and this is where YOU come in! Tell me which one you think I should wear, PLEASE:

outfit A (an ebay found anthropologie dress):
or B (a preloved--my favorite store--sweater and gray skirt):

Both have been chosen for their color (you know how I insisted on lucky red) and appropriateness (I looked at what other authors wore and tried not to go toooo overboard) in mind.

Let me know what you think! Leave a comment here with your choice and your reason why! To one random commenter I will send a jar of Very Berry Cherry PEI preserves, fresh from my recent PEI vacation (it's really good jam, you HAVE to try it. soooo yummy!).

Books with flair!

I've joined Books with flair; a program that partners me with my closest independent bookseller, the Porter Square Bookstore, to offer personally autographed books for the holidays! How does it work?

Simply call the Porter Square Bookstore at 617-491-2220 and ask for a signed or personalized copy of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.

You pay for the book(s), shipping, and handling, and the bookstore will ship signed stock in time for the occasion, even gift-wrapped if requested. If you want the books personalized, provide the name of recipient to bookseller. I will be going in to sign once a week until Dec. 21st, so this is a great opportunity to get books specially signed for the holidays!


Books with Flair (dreamed up by the marketing genius Mitali Perkins--remember she was the one who helped me plan my online launch?) is a wonderful way to get unique and meaningful gifts for the people on your holiday list! Since this year I'm not able to offer free autographed bookplates (so sorry!), this still enables those of you who were looking to give my books as gifts a personalized touch.

If you are an author or illustrator, you should consider joining Books with Flair, yourself!

small graces painting AND prints!

It's time for the November auction of Small Graces: A Painting a Month for the FCB!

Not only is this painting on auction RIGHT NOW (there is only one painting left after this!); there are now PRINTS available! The FCB in coordination with The Child at Heart Gallery have made the paintings of Jan., May and Sept. into affordable prints! Perfect holiday gifts for any teachers on your list.

And don't forget to bid now on the October original painting!

on my desk monday

I finished painting the likenesses of all the winners! See them next fall in "Thanking the Moon," my upcoming picture book about the Moon Festival.

fortune cookie friday

"If you must bow, bow low."
-Chinese Proverb

red balloons

red balloons

whereas i return the red dress and the search continues

So, even though my social interaction has slowed, I am still very busy. Not working, silly! Shopping!

Because my red dress search continues. Unfortunately, the dress I splurged on, the lovely dress I posted about HERE, was alas not the one. When I received it (order it from jcrew.com) I was disappointed to see that is was not red. Not even close to red. It was a pretty grayish-pink--delicate and quaint--but NOT RED. I insist on red. So I returned it (actually it relieved my guilt as it was a bit more than I had wanted to spend) and I am continuing my search.

A part of my is wondering if I should just wear the red Chinese dress that I already own and wear in my author photos. But this is one of the few times I will be in front of a national audience and while I like my red Chinese dress, I somehow think I want to emphasize the American part of my Asian-American identity...oh, who am I trying to kid? I just want to buy a new dress!

suprisingly social

I lead a pretty quiet life. As I said in an interview at jama rattigan's alphabet soup blog my average day goes like:

I wake up, eat, check my email and surf the net under the guise of "industry research," which usually meanders its way to "book idea research." Then, when I am horrified at the amount of time I have spent sitting on my bum "researching" (probably while eating at the same time), I go outside and ride my bike or go to the gym for an hour or two. Then I return home and either write, draw or paint -- trying all the while not to get sucked back into "researching." Of course I inevitably do, and the rest of the day is filled with the back and forth battles of concrete work vs. pretend work. This usually goes on until I go to sleep at night, unless I am seeing friends for dinner or someone comes over. Depending on deadlines and/or the next day's schedule, I go to bed at around 11 p.m. - 2 a.m. Of course everyday errands such as cleaning, groceries, etc., get jumbled in, but all in all, I have a pretty quiet life. I hope that wasn't too disillusioning!

But recently, I have been surprisingly social. Meeting rock star illustrators like Melissa Sweet:
who gave an inspiring talk at the North Shore Reading Council meeting. Other than oozing with envy over her studio (it's a whole separate house!), I loved when she talked about taking a risk with each book that she does.

But before I could ponder too much on that, I went to a school visit at the Gordon School in RI, where they treated ME like a rock star:
They even made a little photo essay about the day. Thanks, Gordon School! You were great!

But no sooner had I recuperated from the visit, that I took off for VT to have lunch with rock star author An Na (and her beautiful daughter):
and then an event at the rock star bookstore The Flying Pig:
which is a celebrity to me because I am a regular reader of the Shelftalker blog. Here I am with rockstar blogger Josie Leavitt:



And from there...I went to bed and slept for 10 hours before I returned to my quiet life. I was tired. I'm not used to all this excitement!

on my desk monday

The winners of my book launch cupcake contest & the FB photo contest are now sketches (soon to be painted) in the art for my upcoming book!

fortune cookie friday

"If heaven made him, the earth can find use for him."
-Chinese Proverb

Saturday at the Flying Pig!

Celebrate National Bookstore Day this Saturday with me at the Flying Pig Bookstore!

Saturday, Nov. 7th, 1 pm
Flying Pig Bookstore
5247 Shelburne Rd.
Shelburne, VT

local but can't make it? Reserve an autographed copy and pick it up later! Call: 802-985-3999

Hope to see you!!

red dress

I was going to do a post about the Smith College event that Anna & I attended, but fellow author Jeannine Atkins did such a nice write-up on her blog I thought I'd just link there!

So since I'm not writing about that, I can spend more time doing my most present distraction: SHOPPING!

Okay, even when I was young there were two things I loved reading about in books. Food (which is why I loved Farmer Boy) and clothes (which is why I loved Ballet Shoes). I loved reading the descriptions of what the characters wore, their imaginings of the perfect party dress, and pretty clothes that they sighed over.

Which is why I claim that as one of the excuses for my current preoccupation: looking for a new dress. I have to admit, just like the girls in the books I read, I love pretty clothes and looking at them (trying them on is a different story--sometimes a bit disheartening--which is why I love online shopping).

So, even though I have plenty of time to look with my Today Show appearance scheduled for Dec. 4th, I've been hunting relentlessly. Some suggested the blue dress but I think I would like something red, something that will be bright and lucky...something like this:

which is my recent splurge (though I can still return it). It's a bit dressy compared to what other authors have worn, but I feel like it's unlikely I'll be on the Today Show again so might as well go in my nicest duds! What do you think?

on my desk monday

Sketch for November's small graces auction (only 1 more left after this!). Auction on Nov. 16th!

Barbara O'Connor Interview

As well as my article, there's a lovely interview of my friend & excellent author Barbara O'Connor and her charming book The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis in School Library Journal(this issue is a good one!).