I recently went to Hong Kong by myself for a few days (for the Hong Kong Literary Festival) and had some extra time on my hands, so I got to play the tourist a bit, something I haven’t done in years even though I lived only half an hour from the city for three years Read More
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One Year of Baby Daze
Last week was the one year anniversary of the day we met our little girl. It has been an amazing year. Our adoption journey was so long, and there were times I doubted I’d ever become a mother. But now, I can’t hardly imagine a time when our little girl wasn’t with us. She has Read More
Christmas With Chinese Characteristics
Last year at this time, we were only focused on bringing our little girl home, and we’ve never been big Christmas people, so we had just a pitiful little tree and bought some gifts for our little girl at the last minute. So this year I decided to put a lot more effort into the holiday to Read More
Who Writes History – Conversations With Jung Chang
I have written and spoken many times about how wonderful her book is, but I am often met with skepticism. Cixi has a reputation, in the East and the West, of being a controlling, manipulative, traditionalist who held China back and is blamed for many of China’s problems during the 19th century. Yet in Empress Read More
Where The Past Begins – A Conversation With Amy Tan
I was so excited for the chance to meet Amy Tan last week at the Hong Kong Literary Festival! It really was a dream come true. She has such an elegant presence. As soon as she walks into a room, you know she is someone worth listening to. The moderator at the gala dinner said, Read More
The Racist Reason You Think MSG Is Bad For You
When you think of MSG, what are the first thoughts that come to mind? Probably that MSG is bad for you and that it is used in Chinese food. But have you ever wondered where this belief came from? Have you ever really researched MSG and its relation to Chinese food? A recent episode of Read More
Two Americans in China in Hurricane Irma!
When we go back to the States, our home base is in Florida. We arrived at the beginning of September, the height of hurricane season! And we quickly found ourselves in the path of three hurricanes: Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Jose, and Hurricane Maria. Irma was the biggest and baddest one headed our way. Irma was Read More
Hostel Review – Mountain Escape Yangshuo
My family was recently invited to stay the night at Mountain Escape Yangshuo. The property was amazing and we would highly recommend staying here. Mountain Escape is a refurbished countryside house about 20 minutes by car outside of Yangshuo town. The family who owns it (Gary and Fiona) spared no expense in the renovations, but Read More
Behind the Story – Empress Cixi
If you have read any of my books, it’s pretty easy to see that China’s last empress, the Dowager Empress Cixi, is a recurring character. Who was Empress Cixi and why do I write about her? Empress Cixi was born in 1835 to a poor and unimportant Manchu family, but she didn’t remain in obscurity for Read More
Threads of Silk Now Available As An Audiobook!
I’m excited to announce that Threads of Silk is now available as an audiobook! The book was narrated by Leanne Yau. You can download the book from Amazon here. You can open a free 30-day trial account and get a copy of my book for FREE by going to http://www.audible.com/offers/30free?asin=B074F3SDW1 This feels like a big step Read More