My Talk on Jin Yong on the China History Podcast

 

I had the privilege of being invited on the renowned China History Podcast to talk with the host, Laszlo Montgomery, about Jin Yong's life, his works, their influence on pop culture, the history and evolvement of the wuxia genre and other interesting tidbits.

 

The talk was recorded on April 9, the release date of The Earthly Blaze, the concluding sequel to The Heavenly Sword! This wuxia-myth duology was written in the first place to celebrate Jin Yong's 100th birthday. So it was like a double celebration!

 

The generous host also allowed me time to introduce my four published novels to his world-wide audience, for which I'm most thankful.

 

Author Panel Discussion - 2023 TBRCon - Wuxia & Xianxia

Yesterday (January 26, 2023) I had the honor and pleasure of participating in an enjoyable and thought-provoking panel discussion with several other brilliant authors in the Wuxia & Xianxia genre at the 2023 Virtual TBRCon. Huge thanks to the SFF Addicts Podcast for hosting the event!

I have posted the Youtube video of the entire panel discussion below. Please check it out if you're into diverse reading!

It looks like the highly cultural-specific Wuxia & Xianxia fiction genre is gaining traction in mainstream English publishing. I, for one, am super excited about the recent developments in this unique genre.
 

Moderator - Xueting C. Ni

Panelists - Wesley Chu, Nghi Vo, Amelie Wen Zhao, Tao Wong, Alice Poon 

 

 

Link to Youtube

Me and My Author Copies of The Heavenly Sword

 

 

 

Korean Edition of Land and the Ruling Class in Hong Kong

 

 

 

 Sixteen years after I first self-published Land and the Ruling Class in Hong Kong, the Korean Edition has now been released.

Here's a little publishing history of my book:-

2005 - I self-published the book in English in Canada.

2007 - Canadian Book Review Annual selected it as Editor's Choice: Scholarly in the Sept./Oct. issue.

2010 - The Chinese Edition "地產霸權" was jointly published by Enrich Publishing and Hong Kong Economic Journal.

2010 - It became a bestseller and was awarded the 4th Year Hong Kong Book Prize.

2010 - Yazhou Zhoukan (Asia Weekly) named it One of Ten Best Books (Non-fiction) in Greater China.

2011 - A Second English Edition was published by Enrich Professional Publishing.

2021 - Korean Edition published.

 

 

Tales of Ming Courtesans - Print Copies Available in Hong Kong

 My author friend in Hong Kong, Les Bird, sent this photo to me! It was taken at the Bookazine IFC store. Bless him! He's the author of A Small Band of Men and will be featured at the upcoming Hong Kong International Literary Festival. Congrats, Les!

 

Why Are Historical Novels Important?

Close friends of mine will already be aware that as a writer and an avid reader, I have a pet peeve, which is that the historical fiction genre is way too Euro-centric and that fiction based on Asian history is grossly under-represented.

So it came as a pleasant surprise that I recently found my new novel Tales of Ming Courtesans on a list of 30 most anticipated historical novels which is curated by the Michigan community-driven book blog Paperback Paris! I was quite pleased to see that 4 (mine included) out of the 30 are set in Asia. It's hardly a satisfactory number but hopefully this will be the start of a new trend. 

With racism rearing its ugly head and other forms of bigotry and oppression like sexism and power abuse still to be addressed in many parts of the world, we as global citizens all need to learn our own histories as well as learn, understand and respect cultures and histories that are foreign to us if we want a better world for our future generations. I do believe that immersive historical fiction is not only an entertaining learning aid in the study of history, but also, in the form of human stories traversing the spectrum of time and space and touching on every aspect of humanity, it has the potential to help us understand better our present human condition and turn us into more empathetic persons.

As well, it was quite heartening to note that my book, published by an Asia-based small press, runs alongside those heavyweights published by imprints of the all-powerful Big Five publishers. Incidentally, the name "Paris" is the first name of the book blog founding editor, Paris Close, who is a person of color. Perhaps that explains why the list is so inclusive.

"Whether you’re looking for a history lesson or simply want to dive into a new book (or genre!), we’ve rounded up some of our most anticipated history-inspired reads of 2020, blending hard historical fiction with romance, fantasy, and mystery to hit something for every reader....."

Link to the Article and List


[NOTE: Physical copies of Tales of Ming Courtesans will hit shelves of Hong Kong bookstores in early August.]

 

An Interesting Question at the Book Launch

I was asked an interesting question by the moderator of the book launch for "The Green Phoenix". Note the response from the audience!

More Book Launch Photos

I was pleased to meet the other new book author at the joint book launch: John Saeki, author of The Tiger Hunters of Tai O.

Grateful for a Nice Turnout at the Book Launch!

Book Launch on November 15, 2017 - Joint Event at Bookazine Exchange Square

The book launch for The Green Phoenix: A Novel of the Woman Who Re-made Asia, Empress Xiaozhuang will be a joint event with John Saeki, author of The Tiger Hunters of Tai O.

Bookazine Display of "The Green Phoenix"

Bookazine IFC

Bookazine Exchange Square

Bookazine Pacific Place

Bookazine Prince's Building

Book Launch Date & Venue - The Green Phoenix

I am happy to announce that the book launch for my new historical novel The Green Phoenix: A Novel of the Woman Who Re-made Asia, Empress Xiaozhuang, will take place on Wednesday, November 15 , 2017 at 6:30 p.m. at Bookazine, One Exchange Square (Shop 305-07), in Hong Kong. All are welcome! I will be signing books, chatting with readers and distributing beautiful bookmarks!

Whether you are a fan of Chinese history or not, chances are you will enjoy reading the colorful story of one of the most influential women in China’s history. Her efforts and ultimate victory at promoting peace and cultural diversity and tolerance in an afflicted China are significant not only in a historic sense, but are also an inspiration in our empathy-deficient times.

For readers’ easy reference, there is a complete List of Characters and a Chronology at the back of the novel. A physical book is much easier for flipping back and forth (versus an e-book). Plus you can get it signed by me at the book launch!

Looking forward to seeing you on November 15!