Jennifer J. Chow's Blog, page 8

Book Review: Trouble Is What I Do

5 stars

Genre: P.I./noir

Trouble Is What I Do

A pleasure to read. I love all the various characters and how unique they are. This book really shines a light on today’s world and racist attitudes.

Although sometimes Leonid goes back and forth in time, I found the histories mostly fascinating. Mosley does a great job of teasing out both nuanced and fierce family relationships.

Find more of my book ratings and reviews here.

Foodie Friday: Kok Chai

Kok chai: golden fried puffs filled with sweet peanut bits

Yes, the Lunar New Year feasting is still continuing in my household. I got a batch of homemade kok chai delivered to me (thanks, fam!). These golden pastries are also known as mini peanut puffs. If you’re a peanut lover, these are an excellent snack!

They’re like fried dumplings but instead of being filled with meat and vegetables, they have sweetened peanut bits. The ones I ate also had yummy coconut pieces mixed in.

There’s a nice crunch when you first bite into one. This goes well with the wealth of sweetness inside. The sugariness of the peanuts is tempered with the different flavor profile of the coconut pieces (and, in some recipes, sesame seeds).

The symbolism of the kok chai is in its shape and color. They’re supposed to resemble gold ingots (very lucky), which is reinforced by their golden exterior shell.

Author’s note: These remind me of curry puffs (food cousins maybe?) since they’re so similar in shape—but not in taste!

Lunar New Year 2022

Happy Lunar New Year 2022! It’s time for snacking!

Honestly, some of my favorite treats pop up around this season. I’m a sucker for those nut-embedded and sesame-studded sticks. They have that winning combo of crunchy and sweet.

Tang yuan balls are also fun to eat. I didn’t grow up having these around Spring Festival, but I enjoy their glutinous chewy exterior and hidden interior treasure. (It’s no surprise that, of course, I like the tang yuans with peanut butter filling—see above snack preference.)

What I remember getting as a child were also red-colored hard candies. They’re wrapped in shiny paper that emulates strawberries. Deceptive because they don’t taste anything like real strawberries!

One of the essential duties when New Year rolled around was making sure to visit relatives, especially elders. I remember dutifully going along with my parents to see family. We got to wish them Happy New Year, along with much prosperity and good health. Back then, I was more interested in getting red envelopes or laisees filled with cash or coins than in the actual greetings. Nowadays, I value the interaction and respect more. (Although, I admit, it’s also hard on my pocketbook to be giving red envelopes out to kids and—surprising news to me when I got older—unmarried adults.)

Interestingly, even though I’ve been in Taiwan during the Lunar New Year, the emphasis there wasn’t as much on celebrating as on being together. Yes, there were some decorations (and exorbitant prices for taxis and hotels), but what I really noticed were generations of people coming back and enjoying each other’s company.

Here in the United States, I try to go to the surrounding geographic areas for local festivities. While I always have fun admiring performances, checking out vendors, and stocking up on snacks, the most important thing is being infused with culture and doing it together as a family.

Happy Lunar New Year!

Flash Sale for Pre-Orders

Sales! Who doesn’t love a good sale? When I was a kid, I squirreled away my allowance. I didn’t like to tap into my savings…unless it was for a book.

There was something magical about walking into a bookstore and seeing shelves of new books arrive on a daily basis. I couldn’t buy all the books, of course, but at least I could be around them.

The worst was when a book I wanted to get was not on the shelf. How could that be? Usually, they had run out of copies.

Luckily, there’s such a thing as pre-ordering. Want a book? Make sure to get it in advance of its release date.

Pre-orders are essential to authors. It helps publishers know that there’s a demand for the book/author, which results in a longer career for the writer. Pre-orders also help get the word out early because great advance reviews result in more buzz.

I’m happy to tell you that there’s a flash sale going on now at the Barnes & Noble site: BN.com. Many books (and e-books) qualify for a pre-order discount (25% off). Just enter the code at checkout: PREORDER25.

To get free shipping, you’ll probably have to order multiple books, but don’t you already have some on your TBR list? And if you want to pre-order my upcoming Death By Bubble Tea, I would totally appreciate it!

The sale ends 1/28. Happy reading, all!

2022 Lefty Award Finalist

Hey, everyone! Just a quick post to say that MIMI LEE CRACKS THE CODE is a Lefty Award Finalist for Best Humorous Mystery. So honored to be on this great list of authors! https://leftcoastcrime.org/2022/Awards.html

Book Review: Mulled to Death

5 stars

Genre: Cozy mystery

Mulled to Death

Another wonderful addition to the series. Love the way Lansing infuses a conversational chatty tone to the book. The younger main character is refreshing and feels real. I also appreciate how Lansing tackles some deeper issues like ongoing grief, complex female friendships, and thorny personal histories. 

Mulled to Death takes place over a very short time period with a lot of dizzying events. It’s suspenseful while being a pleasurable cozy read.

Find more of my book ratings and reviews here.

New Year (Writing) Resolutions

Hope everyone had a safe and relaxing holiday season! I wish every day of my life was filled with tinsel and lights, like so:

Alas! It’s on to the New Year. Which brings to mind resolutions, especially of the writing variety. As an author, I actually don’t start fresh on January 1st. Instead, I use a system of constant goals. For example, I have a standalone mystery that I’ve been tinkering around with since last year. Except I didn’t quite make my personal cutoff date for constructing a coherent structure for it.

Then again, that was much of 2021 for me. It was a win to just keep on writing sometimes. A few of my plans took flight, but others plummeted. In the end, everything turned out fine.

Here’s a recap from last year:

PUBLISHED:

1 novel (Mimi Lee Cracks the Code; Sassy Cat Mystery 3)

1 anthology (Midnight Hour)

WROTE:

3 short stories (on submission)

1 novel (Death by Bubble Tea; L.A. Night Market Mystery 1)

SHELVED:

1 YA manuscript

I’m not sure what this says about my planning skills that I have both hits and misses. I suppose it means I should leave room for surprises. (That’s been much of my writing career. I wouldn’t have predicted my trajectory with the Sassy Cat stories or even the anthology.)

Well, I’m still plotting and crafting in 2022…but maybe I’ll cut out the rigid goal-making.

Cheers! Let me know how your 2022 is going and what your plans are!

Wordless Wednesday: Holiday Donut

Foodie Friday: Abura Soba

Abura soba: ramen without broth

While growing up, ramen was a quick meal in our household. It was easy to make and full of flavor. As I moved beyond packaged noodles, my ramen taste preferences changed.

Broth choices

I found that common and more authentic broth choices delighted my palate. These include shio, shoyu, miso, and tonkotsu. Shio is a light salt-based broth. Miso has a fermented soybean paste taste. Shoyu works with a soy sauce base. And tonkotsu uses an umami and creamy broth.

My favorite of these is tonkotsu because it’s got such an intense (read: meaty) flavor.

Tsukemen ramen

However, the noodles and broth don’t always need to be mixed in together. Tsukemen is known as dipping ramen. You get a bowl of ramen along with a separate serving of broth. Usually, the noodles are served cold.

I like the idea of tsukemen because, honestly, sometimes the broth is too hot for me and scalds my tongue.

Abura soba

But wait, there’s another ramen contender! Enter abura soba. This is the best of both worlds. Abura soba is basically brothless ramen. The noodles aren’t cold (like with tsukemen ramen) but are served warm. Known as “oil noodles,” abura soba comes with a soy sauce and spiced oil base, typically found at the bottom of the bowl.

I’m so happy to have found this new type of ramen, and I’ll definitely be eating more soon!

Fun fact: Abura soba originated in Tokyo in the 1950s.

Of Newsletters & Newspapers

There’s something physically satisfying about newsletters and newspapers. I like the sheer joy of unfurling sheets or flipping pages to catch up on the news.

JOURNALISM CLUB

In high school, I participated in journalism club, where I ran around campus trying to capture school activities and sporting events. My favorite pieces, though, were the feel-good articles. I loved getting the scoop on cheerful things.

Eventually, I became the co-editor of the school paper. I remember the rush of completing the layout and making it to the printers before deadline. But I also remember the intense pride upon seeing stacks of newspapers bundled together, hot off the press.

ASSISTED LIVING

Somehow I’ve always found a way to return to a newsy world. Even when I volunteered at an assisted living center, the director asked me to handle a recurring segment in their newsletter. I was assigned to interview residents about their life stories, which was an absolute joy. There was something beautiful about capturing a resident’s experiences and seeing their photo splashed across the page in a lavish, glossy newsletter.

NONPROFIT

At a small nonprofit, I headed up another newsletter—this time, it wasn’t on the printed page but though an electronic medium. The newsletter contained a calendar of upcoming events along with interesting local happenings. I even got oversee a writer’s corner where people could contribute poems or snippets of stories.

NEWSPAPER

Most recently, I circled back to newsprint again. My article, “Sassy Cats and Local Clues,” made it in the local papers—in all the outlets of the Southern California News Group. It was really fun and emotional to see my byline and “correspondent” underneath my name.

E-NEWSLETTER

I still like print, but I also enjoy electronic versions of newsletters. In fact, I send out my own quarterly e-newsletter with behind-the-scene author news and frequent giveaways. Sending stuff out electronically is definitely easier, especially with a pre-formatted template. It’s also quicker to deliver since it only requires a simple click of the mouse.

Do people even find newsletters relevant anymore? Well, sign up here, and let me know!

As long as I get any response, I’ll keep on going. Last Tuesday, I launched Book 3 in my Sassy Cat Mystery series and wrote about it in a quick newsletter update. A reader wished me a very happy book birthday, so I’ll keep sending those newsletters out!