Jennifer J. Chow's Blog, page 6

ICYMI: NYT

This is what nobody tells you about release week: you get very tired. It’s exhausting riding the wave of needing to respond to every comment and tag. (Apologies to anyone I missed!) That plus guesting on blogs and doing multiple book events.

In the meantime, you’re biting your fingernails, hoping that all of this work actually translates into sales—or more accurately, readers. Is someone out there really enjoying your work?

But there are times when the unbelievable happens. I was floored when my publicist told me I’d be in the New York Times. Yes, that NYT. I had to re-read the email (a lot).

It didn’t truly hit me until friends began messaging me and showing me pictures. I’m even getting a print copy from one of them!

My favorite lines? Besides the idea that Death By Bubble Tea is a palate cleanser, it’s: 
“the first in a fizzy new series…Yale and Celine’s growing loyalty to each other, coupled with the warmth of Chow’s prose, adds extra depth, just like the tapioca balls nestled in a glass of bubble tea.”

Share something unbelievable that’s happened to you!  

At the Grocery Store

I like grocery shopping. Really, I do. I cherish it even more now than I did before. Having used grocery pick-up services back in 2020, I appreciate the chance to actually hold produce in my hands.

Maybe food selecting is also enjoyable for me because it reminds me of past times with my mom. I’d tag along with her, pick fruit from the bin and maybe even weigh them on those nifty silver scales.

If I was really good and well-behaved, I’d get a treat from the bakery (usually a roll). Or Tic Tacs. Something about the color of those brightly colored orange ones really enhanced their flavor. Plus, the entire box made for a great percussion shaker.

Next to the candy section in the checkout aisle was also some forbidden fruit. (Not literally.) The glossy magazines and papers in their wire racks always caught my eye. For sure, I’d scan the headlines. If my mom was super occupied, I could even take a quick peek inside.

One of those alluring publications was Woman’s World. It’s actually been a dream of mine to have my book featured in their book club roundup (week of July 18th publication; should be on sale now). And yay, it finally happened! On Death by Bubble Tea’s release week no less!

I’m extremely grateful for this publishing journey that has taken me to unexpected and happy places. 

Happy Book Birthday to Me!

That’s right. It’s time for me to do a happy dance because DEATH BY BUBBLE TEA has been released into the world!

Synopsis:

Two cousins who start a food stall at their local night market get a serving of murder in this first novel of a delicious new cozy mystery series by Jennifer J. Chow, author of Mimi Lee Gets a Clue.

When Yale Yee discovers her cousin Celine is visiting from Hong Kong, she is obliged to play tour guide to a relative she hasn’t seen in twenty years. Not only that, but her father thinks it’s a wonderful idea for them to bond by running a food stall together at the Eastwood Village Night Market. Yale hasn’t cooked in years, and she hardly considers Celine’s career as a social media influencer as adequate experience, but because she’s just lost her job at her local bookstore, she feels she has no choice.
 
Yale and Celine serve small dishes and refreshing drinks, and while business is slow, it eventually picks up thanks to Celine’s surprisingly useful marketing ideas. They’re quite shocked that their bubble tea, in particular, is a hit—literally—when one of their customers turns up dead. Yale and Celine are prime suspects due to the gold flakes that Celine added to the sweet drink as a garnish. Though the two cousins are polar opposites in every way, they must work together to find out what really happened to the victim or the only thing they’ll be serving is time.

Some praise:

“Chow’s choice to set the mystery in a night market is a stroke of genius.”—BookPage

“A delicious exploration into family, culture, and above all, food…Chow gets so much right in this book, from the exploration of Asian cultures in L.A. to the growing relationship between the cousins. A fun start to a wonderful new series.”—First Clue

Buy link:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/673133/death-by-bubble-tea-by-jennifer-j-chow/

The Great Unboxing

This festivity happens (hopefully) once a year—or maybe more if you’re lucky. It’s the celebration known as The Great Unboxing. Authors finally get to hold their literary lovelies in their hands, right before it reaches the rest of the public.

Almost every writer I know does an unboxing video on this occasion. Check out my Instagram reel for the unboxing of Death by Bubble Tea (out July 5).

There are a few things that I’ve learned along the way about receiving and unboxing author copies. Here they are:

The postman doesn’t ring twice. Instead, you just stumble upon an unannounced shipment of books on your porch. On the bright side, it adds a pleasant surprise to your day!

Try to wear something matchy. I coordinated with a cat-drinking-boba shirt this time around. It makes the reveal more fun (and amps up internal excitement).

Find a sharp knife/scissors. The worst is being unable to open the box. Not that I’m skilled at opening even with this tip. Whether from nerves or something else, it takes extra wrangling to open up those box flaps.

Be prepared for spur-of-the-moment remarks. I record in real time, and I’m often unaware that I like to narrate my findings. I mean, what could be in the box besides my books? (Okay, there was some bubble wrap…)

Carve out a location for your stash. Depending on your publisher, you might get a lot of books in your home. Make sure that there’s space to put them somewhere safe from the elements. This is why I now have a Tower of Books in the corner of one room.

And after all that manual labor, go and reward yourself!

Who Wants Cookies?

I’ve always been fond of cookies. Maybe because they were a rare treat we got from the local bakery only once in a while. We didn’t actually bake any cookies growing up. Our oven was used mostly for roasts.

Somehow, though, we did have a cookie cookbook in our household. I can’t remember how young I was, but I was still too small to “touch the oven” when I had my first baking adventure. I decided to microwave the cookie batter (not sure if you’d call it that since the dough was mostly flour and water). Suffice it to say that those cookies were not a hit—unless you actually wanted to use them to hit somebody for real…

Fast forward to my days haunting the local library and devouring books: I eventually was enticed to read Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen series, probably because of those yummy dessert covers. I soon realized that I enjoyed the mysteries, too. I think I even looked at the recipes (but some were too complex for me to try).

Baking requires almost scientific precision in securing and combining ingredients. Whenever I’ve tried to take a short cut (I’m thinking of you, chocolate silk pie), it’s never worked. So I find it a little funny that I’m writing a culinary cozy series: L.A. Night Market Mysteries. Although I haven’t included any baking recipes in the back of the books…yet. If you want to learn more about my book and other great novels, I’m doing a virtual Summer Mystery Panel with Hannah Mary McKinnon and Alex Segura, moderated by Hank Phillippi Ryan, and hosted by Belmont Books. It’s happening tomorrow, June 15, at 7:30pm EDT and the registration link is here.

I’ve gotten better at baking over time—I rely on easy instructions and follow all the directions carefully. Sometimes, though, I still go out and celebrate with a cookie. For a recent event, someone brought over this batch of cookies:

Cookie dough cookies

They were the biggest cookies I’ve ever seen! And I love that Crumbl Cookies rotates their menu weekly so fresh flavors can be introduced. Crumbl has stores in a lot of different locations, so feel free to check if there’s one near you!

Happy cookie [or whatever treat you enjoy] eating!       

The Countdown Begins

It’s panic time. Less than one month before my next book launches. Even though I’ve done it several times now (Bookshop link to all my books), I’m still nervous. I have a checklist of places and people to contact: bloggers, bookstores, fellow authors. Yet I still wonder, Am I forgetting someone?

My next release is Death By Bubble Tea, and it comes out July 5 (preorder here). Interesting timing. Will it launch with fireworks or fizzle out? If you want to know more about my new culinary cozy mystery, I’ve been profiled on Murder & Mayhem.           

Of course, a lot of the marketing push is done way before now—about four to six months prior. That’s how I got fabulous author endorsements (known as blurbs in the industry), like this one…

Bookstore and library events also require advanced planning. What things can I do right now as the deadline creeps closer? Well, I’m trying to make fun Instagram Reels, especially with trending songs and sounds. Here’s my recent coffee-and-currently-reading video.

I’ve also been hard at (yummy) work taking bubble tea selfies, such as this:

Plus, I’m collecting swag for in-person appearances, things like boba crackers, bubble tea-themed stationery, and personalized bookmarks.

Wish me launch luck! What are you excited about for this coming July?

Book Review: Like A Sister

5 stars

Genre: Mystery/ Domestic suspense

Like A Sister by Kellye Garrett

This book left me guessing with its myriad twists and turns. Lena is clearly the star of the book, and I appreciated her observations and dry wit. I also enjoyed getting to know NYC a little more and all the insider tips and details.

The family dynamics are done really well in this story—the complicated relationships we have with dear ones around us. Technology is interwoven in a smart way throughout this entire book.

Kudos to Garrett for creating a unique, page turner of a mystery.

Find more of my book ratings and reviews here.

FAB Long Beach

This past Saturday, Long Beach held its first-ever FAB (Festival of AAPI Books) Long Beach event! I happily and heartily participated in it. Thank you, Long Beach Public Library and Bel Canto Books!!

May has a special place in my heart because this month (AANHPI Heritage Month) is when I first discovered I could be a mystery writer. I stumbled onto Dale Furutani’s samurai series at the library because of a special book display and realized that an Asian American could be a strong protagonist in a mystery story.

FAB Long Beach also happened at a library: the Billie Jean King Main Library. I knew I was in a special place even before I walked in because…check out this amazing artwork at the corner of the street intersection in front of the library:

The half day was filled with activity. This included cultural performances, like taiko drumming:

I was scheduled for the afternoon panel about AAPI Heroines & Heroes. Moderated by Naomi Hirahara, fellow author guests included Elle Cruz, Emery Lee, and Stephan Lee. We were able to chat about our protagonists and how we got into the writing business.

I got high praise from my kiddo at the end of the panel!

(“Good job on ur book event. [5 hearts] To my mommy!”)

What really touched me was being able to celebrate stories that need to be highlighted. Here’s the fabulous AAPI book display on the main floor of the library!

Omu-Rice

Several years ago, I visited Japan. We went to some amazing sights, including the iconic Kinkaku-ji or Golden Pavilion in Kyoto:

I also highly recommend the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, especially for fans of Miyazaki:

Per my usual travel aspirations, I explored the food around me. The variety of mochi was excellent—even in the train station!

I also really enjoyed the fresh, locally-sourced food found in the obanzai dishes of Kyoto.

Plus, I admired the ubiquitous bento boxes (both the outside and inside) for on-the-go eating.

I did hit a few food snags. For a while, I kept looking for a Japanese curry restaurant. I suppose it’s not as typical of an offering—my Japanese friends cooked it at home but didn’t really go to specialty eateries for curry. Finally, though, I found a place in Tokyo to try. The curry base was different than what I’m used to in America but still tasty.

In Japan, I also had a few lost eating opportunities. One was the elusive curry pan. There was this shop my friend recommended, but our schedule was so packed, I had the hardest time fitting it in. One evening, I thought I’d made it. I rushed to the shop, only to find it’d just closed for the night!

Another miss was omelet rice. There’s something that seems comforting about eating rice wrapped in an egg. Although I didn’t get a chance to try it in Japan, I finally scored some omu-rice closer to home. Verdict: oishii.

The rice can be paired with different topics, and I opted for the chicken cutlet. I liked how the egg is super soft and fluffy. The sauce was more tomato-based than I’d anticipated, but I still enjoyed it. It’s a hearty, savory dish.

Have you had any lost eating experiences?

P.S. I once went to Hawaii and also kept missing this one shave ice truck!

Boba Tea and Mystery

I recently enjoyed an author event with the perfect title: Afternoon (Boba) Tea & Mystery. The rhyming factor is great, and what’s better than some refreshing bubble tea in the afternoon? Special thanks goes out to the Northern California chapters of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America for co-sponsoring the event.

This was an offsite activity that coincided with the Bay Area Book Festival. Here is a signed copy I got of Kelly Yang’s Yes We Will:

I had a fun time with fellow authors HC Chan and Dale Berry. HC and I did readings:

And Dale showed off his drawing skills:

It was a cozy gathering for attendees. Afterwards, they got to ask us questions, and I gave out some swag. I even sold a book or two. Which reminds me—it was my first time getting a temporary seller’s permit. (When you sell books and other items in California, the state would appreciate receiving that sales tax money. Here’s the website for more info: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/services/permits-licenses.htm) Usually, when I’ve done events, there’s already a bookseller on site, so I didn’t have to handle that aspect before.

Of course, my afternoon wouldn’t have been complete with the obligatory food and drink photos. I ordered a mango jasmine green tea with boba:

I also tried their jian bing, which is sort of a breakfast crepe layered with customized fillings, including egg, lettuce, and a spicy chili sauce.

Where have you gone recently?