Cindy Pon's Blog, page 4

What I Ate and What I Saw 2: Taipei, May ‘13

What I Ate and What I Saw: Taipei, May ‘13

changing landscapes

*the rocks need more shading and texture

in this painting. i really enjoyed drawing the little

houses and the boats. the trees were a challenge–because

i’m painting on a very small scale to start. otherwise i

get lost and feel intimidated.

*water and clouds are hard. ha! that was the

challenge in this painting. i love the misty tall mountains

effect of many classic landscapes in chinese painting but

have a feeling it’d take years to master.

hello lovely readers,

i’ve been trying my hand at landscapes

in these last months in my chinese brush painting

classes. some time was spent finding the right paper

to paint on. i’m not convinced i’ve found the right

one yet–but i’ll have to look into that after my taipei

trip…

which i leave for on saturday!

i absolutely do plan on tweeting fotos of my

eating and research adventures, so please check

out my twitter account. i will endeavor to use #BlueSkies

hash tag for the taipei trip. if you don’t know what i’m

talking about, don’t worry, never mind. ha!

currently reading:

Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson

Ai Ling and Chen Yong by Wendy

i love fan art! and i also commission art

of my characters when i can to support

fellow artists–but also because it is just so

much fun. =D

i was very happy to see Wendy of Angry Girl Comics

opening up for commissions starting at just $10.

how fabulous! and this was her portrait of Ai Ling

and Chen Yong–which i love!

it’s been a long while since i’ve blogged here.

april was a bust for me writing wise–alas. and

i was hoping to add a lot more wordage to the sequel

in my new serpent demon duology. very tiny progress

was made.

tomorrow is may and a better month, i’m hoping.

i’ll be going to taipei to eat, i mean, to do research

on my 5th novel–an expansion of my short story

“Blue Skies” in Diverse Energies. VERY excited for this

trip. it’s been five years since i’ve been back.

i will most definitely be taking loads of fotos and

updating on twitter as well. =D

currently reading:

Project: Boy Next Door by L. K. Madigan

lifetime

hello dear readers!

last saturday, i was still in san miguel de

allende at a writing retreat–a trip of a lifetime.

we were upgraded last minute to a magnificent

villa–the casa was more beautiful than i can

properly describe. and i also got to spend the

week with so many authors i admire and people

i simply adore.

i am essentially, at heart, a boring home body

that loves the monotony of my daily schedules.

at the same time, before the bubs, i loved traveling

abroad, visiting different countries and experiencing

the culture, language, and foods (!!) from all across the world.

since having the bubs, we visit england yearly to

see the family, and taiwan on rare occasion. but

any parent can tell you that traveling with two kids

is *never* a relaxing trip.

so these retreats are a doubly treat for me–as it

is my only time spent doing writerly things by myself

and just for fun. not an author event. not a con. simply

converging on a great place with great people to talk

writing and books. how could i NOT love this and look

forward to it? (and thank you to cassie for having me!)

so this month, i got an incredible seven days at

this retreat in a gorgeous villa, and i am sharing

some photos for my own happy memories–but

also so you might enjoy them as well.

*a view from the little plane while we fly

over the mountains of central mexico before landing.

*just one example of the beautiful decor

throughout our villa.

*one of two ponds in the lush courtyard garden.

*the corridor directly outside my cactus room.

*alcove tucked near my bedroom with steps leading

up to the rooftop. sarah and steph were often perched

on the highest point of the casa.

*a view of the town (including the most well

known cathedral) from one of the verandas of casa.

*a walk into town for starbucks! this is a street

off the main square where starbucks is situatated.

*on the weekend, the giant frightening poppets

come out to play!

*a walk through the flower market near our casa

with the lovely delia sherman.

*i turn FORTY (yes, caps necessary) this

august and cannot stop finding excuses to buy

myself presents. ha! i am of the mindset that one

should treat herself because it is deserved! i fell in

love with this ring in antiqued silver with carvings on

the side and set with rubies, an emerald and white topaz.

*the chef at the casa was *amazing*. these

were the huevos rancheros. so delicious!

*i joked that i was the sterotypical Asian Tourist

making everyone gather for fotos. but no way i was

going to pass the week without one with our group.

holly is the matriarch in this foto. =D (from L to R:

sarah, robin, delia, holly, steph, me, josh & cassie.)

i love this foto!

*there were several pretty birds in cages at the

casa. i tried to get a few fotos but i made them nervous

when i got too close. this was the best i could do. with a

view into the garden courtyard.

*wait. did you buy a second ring for yourself, cindy?

why yes, yes i did. remember, i am turning FORTY. it

is like birthing twins. GIVE ME ALL THE PRESENTS! =)

i decided to go back to that wonderful jeweler to pick up

a present for my BFF who also is turning FORTY this year.

well, i couldn’t resist this black and white mexican fire opal

ring. *happy*

*walking into town.

*this foto was taken almost exactly a week ago at dusk.

i rounded up the lovely ladies that helped to plot talk

the second part of my “serpent demon” sequel–and boy

did they throw out a lot of stuff and gave me much to chew

and be excited for. i love these women. thank you so much,

holly, sarah and delia!!

i hope you enjoyed the #mexicoretreat blog post!

(more on my twitter page under that hash tag.)

until the next!

currently reading:

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

by phillip k. dick

how now, cindy pon?

okay. it’d be much cooler and rhymey

if my last name was POW, but alas, it was not

to be. 8)

happy friday, lovely readers!

just a brief update to let you know what i’ve

been up to!

greg van eekhout (Norse Code, The Boy at the End

of the World) and i had a fantastic signing at Mysterious

Galaxy in redondo beach a few weekends back. thank

you so much for all of you who came out on a summer

like day to support us! it was my first time at the redondo

location–what a fabulous store. with a nice cafe and food

and coffee, too!

*jenn reese, me and greg!

*blurry foto courtesy of brian y. =)

greg is reading his short story from our

Diverse Energies anthology.

if you’d like to order copies signed by greg and

myself, click to Mysterious Galaxy here!

also happy happy news! i finished my second

chinese classic beauty last night. it has been a

over two month endeavor–and i love her a lot.

*she isn’t backed yet so there are ripples in

the rice paper, causing all the shadows. i can’t

wait to get her backed and framed. =D

have a wonderful weekend!

currently reading:

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

top reads of 2012

hello lovely readers! for the sixth

year in a row, i’m listing my top favorite

reads of the year. you can find all my previous

favorites near the bottom of my about page here.

i won’t go into too much detail about these books

that made my favorites list–only know that i think

they are stories amazingly written and amazingly told.

and the majority also happen to be inclusive of PoC characters

and/or LGBT characters. whipped cream on the mocha

for me. (i don’t like icing. =)

in the order i read them in 2012:

*who isn’t fascinated by serial killers?

but what if the killer was your own father?

intense, at times funny and scary, and fabulously

written. i loved this book so much i made sure

*i* hunted barry lyga down at comic con to tell him

so in person.

*wow. just wow.

this was the first book i read by butler

and it floored me. historical, multicultural,

with hints of gods and demons and shape shifters.

it really doesn’t get better than this. i bought Kindred

immediately after and look forward to the read this

year, in 2013.

*i picked this arc up at ALA and also met kirstin

for the first time–even though we have been deb friends

for years now. gabe, born as elizabeth, tells his story so

honestly, and the voice is spot on, the story relateable,

funny, tender, heart wrenching all at once. kudos to kirstin

as i found this read utterly inspiring.

*i was spying on twitter. (as i always do.)

and heard holly black talk about this book with another

tweep. curiosity piqued, i read the description and

bought it straight away. hackers mixed with middle

eastern jinn and mythos. utterly original and fantastic!

*the last book to round off the quartet in chima’s

series–one of my favorite fantasy series of all time.

it was bittersweet to read–but cinda did not let us down.

*e. m. kokie is a friend and i’d been waiting for her

debut for ages! it was the only one that brought me to

tears this year. so well done–the story about the journey

of a boy and his growth after losing his older brother in Iraq.

a complex and hard story, ultimately about acceptance and love.

Celebrating Prophecy release by Ellen Oh!

Kira’s the only female in the king’s army, and the prince’s bodyguard. She’s a demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her home city of Hansong. And, she’s their only hope…

Murdered kings and discovered traitors point to a demon invasion, sending Kira on the run with the young prince. He may be the savior predicted in the Dragon King Prophecy, but the missing treasure of myth may be the true key. With only the guidance of the cryptic prophecy, Kira must battle demon soldiers, evil shaman, and the Demon Lord himself to find what was once lost and raise a prince into a king.

Intrigue and mystery, ancient lore and action-packed fantasy come together in this heart-stopping first book in a trilogy.

…

i’m so excited that my friend ellen oh’s fantastic debut, Prophecy,

a korean inspired young adult fantasy, is finally OUT today!

in order to celebrate, i’ll be giving away two signed hardcovers

of Prophecy (with swag included by the lovely author herself!)

as well as two $25 Powell’s bookstore gift cards to two lucky winners!

to enter, simply tweet, blog, fb status, etc, about this giveaway with

a link to this blog post and be sure you share that link in the

comments of this post. this will give you ONE entry to win.

if you share the Prophecy book cover on your blog or

facebook or tumblr, etc, with the book blurb above, that will

give you FIVE entries to win.

if you include the fantastic trailer for Prophecy on your

blog or fb or tumblr, etc, that will give you an additional FIVE

entries to win.

please be certain to share your direct links in this post

via comments!

i will choose two lucky winners next friday, 1/11 and

each will win a signed copy of Prophecy with swag and a

$25 gift card to Powell’s Bookstore. US addresses only for

winners, please.

good luck!!

art in progress: chinese beauty 2

hello lovely readers!

i thought i’d share another in progress

image of my second chinese beauty. i really

love her a lot–and this is a rarity for me in

the things i paint. i spent most of last class

coloring in her skirt, very lightly because i wanted

more of a gauze effect. i will go in and darken more

this coming week. have also been contemplating

what i should paint for her as background. can’t wait!

today’s link:

agent joe monti talks Diverse Energies, Diversity in YA

and covers over at scalzi’s The Big Idea here.

currently reading:

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

sneak peek monday!

hello lovely readers!

can you believe it is the week of thanksgiving

already? i cannot! i’ve been kept busy with

many fun events and other activities, and wanted

to update here with some sneak peeks.

first off, my san diego writing friends and i hosted

YA in the Sun which was months in the organizing!

thank you so much for san diego county library for letting

us use the encinitas (ocean views!) library and for

jennifer and anna for helping out to make the event

so fantastic!

we invited twenty southern cali middle grade and young

adult authors and had over one hundred attendees. here’s

a foto of the group (or as much as we could get of the group

by the end of the day). please like our facebook page and

check out the album with almost eighty rad fotos from authors

to readers and fans!

also, i have been called back by chinese beauties

and started another one. i really love this one and

am in the process of painting her in–hoping i don’t

ruin anything. i think that readers enjoy seeing the work

in progress with my art work. and it’s fun to see the

painting evolve to the final, too. she is holding a covered

pipa, a four stringed chinese lute.

and finally, Diverse Energies is stocked on amazon,

bn.com (also in some bn stores), and some indies as

well. you can order the anthology into your local bn

or indie if it is not stocked there. just in time for the

holidays. =D as a teaser, here is a sneak peek at the

beginning of my short story “Blue Skies”.

a wonderful, cozy and warm thanksgiving for all

those that celebrate! hope you eat and celebrate well!

currently reading:

The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson