As a pig fears getting fat, so a man fears renown. 




Pigs eat anything that's put into their trough. (In fact, when I worked in my family restaurant, we used to donate the scraps to farmers.) Like our pot-bellied friends, authors crave media attention.

One of the best ways to get coverage is through the traditional press release. Here are my top five tips for creating an enticing press release:

1. Focus on the smaller outlets first. Often, local media successes will lead to bigger opportunities down the road.
2. Research the specific contact person for the radio station/TV channel/newspaper/magazine that you're contacting.
3. Tailor the release to the media contact you've selected.
4. Angle your story. The media want stories (flaunt your expertise), not a bland news article about another writer releasing a book.
5. Provide great quotes; make it easy to reuse memorable lines, either from yourself or a well-known figure. 
  
p.s. I've started working on my author e-newsletter. Please sign up for my mailing list below. I'll be sending out the first issue in the next few weeks!

Yam balls: deep fried balls of sweetness 



These are simple snacks that offer a hint of sweetness. Despite being deep-fried, the outside should be dry and not oily. They're best when freshly made, with a soft but chewy interior and a crispy exterior. They often come with skewers, so that you don't burn your hands by touching their hot goodness.
 

The cunning hare has three burrows.


August 1st, the release date for my forthcoming novel, is fast approaching. As I plan for its arrival, I'm contemplating setting up a mailing list. I've read that newsletters are informative and fun ways to keep readers up to speed on your work. As a bonus, some mail management sites, like MailChimp and Constant Contact, offer free services if the number of subscribers is under a certain amount.
   
A newsletter sounded like a great idea until I found the CAN-SPAM Act. Apparently, sending out any type of commercial email requires providing a physical address. Like the rabbit mentioned in the above proverb, I wonder if I should have multiple burrows. Rather than using my actual home address, would it be wiser to rent a P.O. Box or obtain a different street address through a company like Mail Boxes Etc.?

Is it even worthwhile to send a newsletter? Any thoughts or experience on the matter would be very helpful.  

Green tea mousse: a smooth, tea-flavored dessert  


The picture says it all. Green tea mousse is the Asian version of the mousse dessert. It has a sweet taste with a touch of the earthy bitterness of green tea to counterbalance the sugar. The white chocolate rectangle and fresh fruit also serve to round out the taste. 

Flowers look different to different eyes.


Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. How do you catch someone's attention? Right now, I'm working on the cover art portion for my forthcoming novel. The nice thing about a small press is that they value your input, so I get to voice my opinions on what I'm looking for and collaborate with the designer. On the other hand, I have a steep learning curve to figure out how covers work.

Two websites that are helpful for viewing stock photos and getting inspired are http://www.istockphoto.com/ and http://www.dreamstime.com/.

Here are my three objectives for the cover:

1) Simplicity. A lot of covers will be seen as thumbnail images online, and they need to be uncluttered to show up well on the screen.

2) Distinctive. With so many books vying for attention, the cover art must be unique.

3) Reflective. The cover is the first impression the reader gets of the work, so the image picked needs to convey the genre, tone, and a hint of the story at one glance.

It's both interesting and informative to research lists of the best book covers. Which would you vote for, and what's the best cover you've ever seen?
 

Taiwanese sausage: a plump and tender sausage


Unlike the dried and harder Cantonese version, Taiwanese sausages are juicier (probably because they use fatty pork). They hold a sweet flavor and may be called "fragrant" sausages. Fresh pork is used, and in Taiwan, local butchers will sell them. They can also be made directly at home. Taiwanese night markets also boast a special variety, known as the double sausage. This is a "small sausage wrapped in a big sausage," which consists of a smaller pork sausage inside a grilled sticky rice bun.  

Tok Daaihgeuk: to flatter (lit. to carry on one's shoulders a pair of big feet)

In the Tang dynasty, an empress called Mouh Jak Tin (A.D. 625-705) had a favorite lover called Sit Waaih Yih. A low ranking official named Jeung Kap always followed Sit Waaih Yih to serve as his attendant. Whenever Sit wanted to mount his horse, Jeung Kap prostrated himself on the ground to serve as a stepping stool for his master. This may be the origin of the phrase tok daaihgeuk.

Big feet, little feet.

I've been working on getting blurbs for several weeks now. Most of it is a waiting game. After sending out the requests, I suffered the same nail-biting nervousness that accompanies sending out submissions. Once you send out the query and writers respond, they have the opportunity to look at your manuscript and refuse to blurb (or commend) it.

To my relief, I received a positive reply last week with some encouraging comments. Getting praise from a published author gives me validation for my hard work. A huge thank you to established authors for continuing to support and encourage newer writers. 

p.s. Next week, I'll be changing the format of my blog. Instead of using Cantonese phrases at the start of each post, I'll be providing Chinese proverbs in English (courtesy of Chinese Proverbs, collected by Ruthanne Lum McCunn).