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Filed in: blog | friends and family | slice of life Tags: mother's day
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 It was hard to find pics of mum and me together. Probably because Mom is usually wielding the camera. Reminder: I’ll have to get pictures with her when I head to California for my niece’s graduation in a month.
This is us on a boat in Halong Bay during our trip to China and Vietnam. Mum’s a looker, isn’t she? Unfortunately, I got my Dad’s round face. And if I look a bit frazzled, it’s because it’s really muggy and hot in Halong Bay in the summer. Gorgeous place for pictures though.
In honor of Mother’s Day, I vacuumed. A friend is coming to visit for a night, which pulled hubby and I out of our hermit-like existence. I vacuumed and dusted and cleaned out my office and then I hit the guest bedroom with a once over. Quite a feat for me.
I could just hear mum saying, “Now try to keep it clean, so you don’t have to work so hard next time.”
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Filed in: blog | friends and family | slice of life Tags: chinese new year | red envelopes | year of the tiger
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 Not a great picture, but I wanted to show the actual envelopes I’ll be giving out this year.
2010 is the Year of the Tiger. Last year, hubby and I spent New Year’s in California at Mum’s. She always reads us our horoscope or fortunes for the year. For 2009, she said I was supposed to get good news in July. Mum was hoping that would mean baby news, but I’m counting The Call and the Golden Heart win as that happy news. She’s quite disappointed.
Unfortunately, she told hubby he’d have money troubles and to watch out for health issues. Those predictions came true as well. He insists that we never go to Mum’s again for New Year’s. Or, if he does go, he won’t get his fortune read. To that, Mum sniffed and insisted this stuff is going to happen anyway. Knowing it helps you prepare.
I’m not superstitious, but I do like when good predictions come true. No fortunes this year. Just a brunch date with my cousin Kimmy and her husband who happen to be in town. I’ll get to hand out some more red envelopes. I do believe karmically that your year will be better if you are open and giving from the start. I chalk it up to psychology and personal outlook and not to cosmic forces.
Oh, and is anyone else quite delighted that Valentine’s and New Year’s are on the same day this year? Both have traditions of handing out red envelopes. What’s better than receiving valentines with money inside?
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Filed in: blog | friends and family | publishing Tags: motivational
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What if you took that elusive thing called “talent” off the table? What if you didn’t believe there wasn’t anything that any Stephen King or Nora Roberts had that you couldn’t have if you just wrote and wrote and wrote?
I’m not debating whether this is true or not. I’m just saying, if you believed there was no such thing as “gift” and that agent, that contract, that call was within anyone’s grasp, would you be able to stick it out until you got it?
Gwen Hayes, another one of my writing buddies just got the Call and I’m nearly in tears about it because it’s right at the end of the year and this has been such a fabulous year for so many people I’ve been working with. I can be egotistical and say it’s because we have so much talent bouncing off of each other.
But I think when I look at the people I know who’ve gotten agented or contracted or both this year, I think it’s more uplifting to think there is no such thing as talent. We just all started trying for that gold star about the same time and never stopped.
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Filed in: friends and family | slice of life | travel Tags: bed and breakfasts | bridal party | getaways | weddings
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 Little Sis’ wedding is coming up and my sisterly duties are starting to kick in. Tonight I fly out to NorCal and then I’ll whisk her away to the Napa Bed and Breakfast Inn for our girly slumber party weekend. It was voted Napa Valley’s Most Romantic Inn, you know. The rooms look so cute!
I’m quite fond of bed and breakfasts, especially the thought of writing in one. Okay, so my dream life is Nora Roberts’ life. Nothing wrong with that. 
Little Sis has generously agreed to help me brainstorm Across the Silk Road. But I’m sure she’s occupied with her wedding. I can’t exploit her just because I’m trapping her in a pink room and feeding her scones, can I?
Oh yes, yes I can.
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Filed in: Announcements | book reviews | friends and family | interviews | The Bookshelf | writing Tags: agent stories | author interview | butterfly swords | golden heart | publishing journey | romance writers on the journey | success stories | the call
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 Keli hosts the "Romance Writers on the Journey" blog My interview is featured today on Keli Gwyn’s “Romance Writers on the Journey” blog. The blog features unpublished and debut authors on the road to publication. I like to read the blog for inspiration and Keli caught me when I was hanging around to find out more about some of my fellow Ruby Slippered sisters from the Golden Heart® 09 tour.
I think she does a fabulous job researching these interviews. It’s all the dirty details on my contest warpath and the roller coaster I’ve been on since March. (Never before revealed online…shhh!!!) To put things into perspective, when I volunteered to do the interview in June, I had received the GH@ nomination and was thinking the Call would never come.
Hop on over and take a look.
http://romancewritersonthejourney.wordpress.com/2009/09/02/meet-debut-author-jeannie-lin/
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Filed in: friends and family | slice of life Tags: Los Angeles | social life | workaholic
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For the next week I’m going to be operating in limbo time. I always try to squeeze in too much when I’m back in my old haunt. My body is on central time so it’s 4:30am PST and I’m up and about. I didn’t get to bed until 12:00am last night because I was catching up with my BFF. I’ll be nodding off in the afternoon which is awful since I actually have to go into “The Office” this week and be corporate and everything.
I’ll be seeing a couple of friends! The ones I’m most looking forward to are my first critique group. I thanked them in my GH® acceptance speech and I can’t wait to give them the biggest hug possible for little ol’ me. I’ll also be visiting the charter school that I helped start three years ago. They’re going into their senior year! We’ll be having our first graduating class and I’m already planning to fly out in July. I can’t wait to see my fellow teachers and the students. Go Gryphons!
I never had much of a social calendar while I was living here. There’s something about moving away that makes you more popular….hmmm….
I do find the dual time zone is good for one thing. I do have a bunch to get done and it stretches out the day. Yes, the all nighter was always a bad habit of mine in school. I know it’s not a sustainable work habit, but I find a good binge once in a while gets me caught up. My hubby would be so mad to see this right now, but he doesn’t read the blog.
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Filed in: friends and family | slice of life | travel Tags: California | getaway | traveling
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 July/August has really been putting me through the wringer. The Real Life job has been ramping up and I’ve been resorting to junk food to get through my day. I need someone to wag their finger at me and tell me that nachos are not a delicious, nutritious meal to be had twice a week. 
The same thing needs to be said about cookies.
Things are about to become more hectic as I have to start hopping on planes again. California in two weeks to meet with some “minions”. Mwahahaha…. And then Mid-September, another trip to California for my sister’s wedding festivities. Ugh, and then Boston in November. For Little Sis’ second wedding — spoiled brat.
I’ve planned a sleepover in Napa at the Napa Inn – voted the most romantic inn in California – for me and Little Sis. I’m supposed to be handling the bridal shower activities and providing her some R & R before the big event, which means I need to be the calm one. Calm blue ocean….Calm blue ocean.
I’m looking forward to Napa. For some reason, I think nachos will be a little harder to come by. Maybe seeing sunshine and having fresh produce nearby will help me detox finally.
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Filed in: friends and family | miscellaneous Tags: food network | reality shows | stress relief
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I wrestled the TV away from hubby today and flipped to the Food Network. The winner of The Next Food Network Star was already been crowned, and I missed it! I also missed nearly all of Top Chef Masters. Grrrr….
Hubby has been spending a lot more time in front of the TV since he’s been at home. It means my TV viewing has whittled down to episodes of Robot Chicken and Cardinals baseball games. I run away when the news is on and I told hubby he’s lucky I like baseball.
One of my sister’s friends who’s a television junkie told me that studies have shown that your brain waves go beta when you watch television and they use that as an argument not to do it. For her, that’s exactly why she watches television. Karen’s a smart gal — I’m going with her argument.
I might need to put my foot down as Top Chef Las Vegas starts. What do they say? Cheaper than therapy.
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Filed in: friends and family | slice of life | writing Tags: harry potter movie | motivation | random musings | revision | the dragon and the pearl | writing
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Poking my head out for a minute…
Is the Harry Potter movie still out? I lost track of it after mum stood me up in Vegas to play the penny slots instead of going on a movie date with her dear daughter.
“Bah!” I could hear her saying. “You can watch Harry Potter anywhere.”
Back to the cave. I’m supposed to start fast drafting a novella today and I need to ship the D&P manuscript to Little Sis along with some form of bribe. Nothing edible. The last bribe was a disaster when the squeezable bottle of condensed milk busted open in the box. Don’t ask. Little Sis likes condensed milk — just not all over manuscript pages when she’s critiquing them. Maybe that’s why she panned everything from Chapter 12 on…
I think I’ll go see Harry Potter this weekend if I can get this novella drafted.
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Filed in: friends and family | slice of life | writing Tags: butterfly swords | post-conference | revising process | the dragon and the pearl | writing karma
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Little Sis just bought her house and is now going through the cycle of painting, carpeting and cleaning. She called me because she was feeling a little bit hum-drum and didn’t know why. Well, she actually did know why because we always have theories for everything. I suppose that’s why we write.
She likened it to how you always get depressed after finishing a big project. The house is finally hers, now what?
I know these things about me. I knew there would be a post-conference crash. I used up all the adrenaline stores by not sleeping, gushing over seeing and meeting so many people, and crying in the bathroom every morning because I couldn’t believe everything that was happening.
I’m finally writing again. I have no room for excuses. Little Sis says the revised 15 chapters of The Dragon and the Pearl are better, but she won’t start doing line edits until I send her the whole thing. Probably she’ll be reading it between fixing the house and settling in. What a slave driver. Love her.
Oh yeah, karma moment! I got to meet Hilary Sares who sat in front of me at the RITA/GH® awards ceremony. She was there for my chapter-mate Kimberly Killion, who was up for a Rita award. I thanked her in person for placing Silk and Seduction (aka The Dragon and the Pearl) first in the Gateway contest and requesting the full. I never got to send it to her, but it was the first time my writing got any notice from an agent or editor. And the manuscript was so very rough back then. If that’s not motivation to get these revisions done, what is?
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