Jennifer J. Chow's Blog, page 9
November 30, 2021
Happy Book Birthday to Me!
Hooray! It’s the official release day for Mimi Lee Cracks the Code!
The third book in the Sassy Cat Mystery series has been on the following lists:
Best Upcoming Cozy Mysteries for the Second Half of 2021 (Book Riot)All the Best Books Being Released in November (BuzzFeed)The 13 Best New Mystery and Thriller Books of November 2021 (POPSUGAR)
ABOUT THE BOOK:
When murder follows Mimi Lee to her romantic island getaway, she puts on her best sleuthing hat with her sassy cat in tow in this adventurous cozy mystery by Jennifer J. Chow.
Mimi Lee just found an extra perk to being a pet groomer at Hollywoof (other than cuddling animals all day long, that is). Pixie St. James, one of Mimi’s clients and the investor behind Hollywoof, has offered her and her boyfriend, Josh, a getaway at her vacation home, nestled on beautiful Catalina Island. With the island just outside of Los Angeles but still far enough from the hustle and bustle, Mimi, Josh, and their cat Marshmallow (who, of course, wouldn’t be caught dead in a dingy pet hotel) are excited for their relaxing stay.
That is, until Pixie’s last renter, Davis D. Argo, turns up dead. Mimi and Josh’s romantic getaway immediately turns into an enormous buzzkill, especially when Pixie asks Mimi for help. The police suspect Pixie, and Mimi knows a thing or two about wrongful allegations. Mimi figures it couldn’t hurt to snoop a little since she’s already there, and soon discovers that a valuable item is missing. Except Pixie isn’t the only one in the neighborhood who has been robbed. There is something strange happening on the island, and Mimi won’t stop until she finds out what it is.
BUY LINK:
November 15, 2021
The Magic of Indie Bookstores
I recently did a joint book signing with Ellen Byron at an indie bookstore, Mystery Ink. They have a new location which faces a main street in Huntington Beach. I hope a lot of customers spot the store and drop by. It’s a cozy space with great books for readers—and, of course, signed copies from local authors.
Indie bookstores, I believe, are magical. The first bookshop I ever visited carried children’s books, and the owner was delightful. I was a kid on the hunt for something enticing and new to read. She suggested that I try Matilda. I got hooked and continued coming back to the store—which was very frequent since my parents owned a restaurant in the same plaza. When the children’s bookstore finally closed down, a wave of sorrow washed over me.
Indie bookstore owners have always been kind to me and quick to recommend a good read. I’ve been to smaller and larger stores in various regions, but I want to highlight a few of the local ones in the Los Angeles area that I’ve enjoyed:
Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena is amazing. I mean, how could it not be when the store has its own Walk of Fame dedicated to authors? It also has a really extensive collection of books. I was tickled pink to find my mysteries shelved alongside Agatha Christie’s works (hurrah for my “C” last name!). I got to sign stock there and purchased gifts for friends.
{pages} in Manhattan Beach is a lovely shop. The owners were so accommodating when I hosted a book launch for my debut novel (women’s fiction about a Taiwanese-American family with many secrets): The 228 Legacy. I was able to have a wonderful party, complete with yummy treats.
The Ripped Bodice (what a name!) in Culver City has a spectacular layout. I particularly love the books hanging down from the ceiling. The co-author event I did with Deanna Raybourn was a lot of fun. Given the title of the store, it’s no wonder that they carry many romantic reads; my Sassy Cat Mysteries actually have a slight touch of romance to them as well.
I’ve also been to Filipina-owned Bel Canto Books in Long Beach. The bookstore is housed in a shared space with other shops; the whole place offers a fresh vibe on what shopping and shopkeeping should be like. And the connected outdoor space is just gorgeous!
The reason I love indie bookstores is that everyone is always so warm and inviting. Plus, each shop has a distinct vibe. It’s like discovering multiple friends whenever I find a new bookstore—because not only do I get to meet the people who work there, but I get to know the bookstore with its unique personality.
What are some of your favorite indie bookstores?
November 9, 2021
Twofer Tuesday
I have two wonderful announcements to make today!
#1
First off, the Midnight Hour anthology releases today! It got a starred review from Publishers Weekly and received this praise from Kirkus Reviews: “An excellent collection of stories told from many different viewpoints.”
BUY LINK: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/673674/midnight-hour-by-abby-l-vandiver/
#2
This coziest of giveaways is happening through November 19 for books and a special limited-edition candle!
https://sweeps.penguinrandomhouse.com/enter/mysteries-for-the-modern-reader-sweepstakes
November 1, 2021
November 1 and NaNoWriMo
November 1. It’s that time of the year again when I chicken turkey out. Why’s that? Because November is NaNoWriMo.
Have you heard of it? NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo is a nonprofit that promotes creative writing, but its well-known program is a month-long event which inspires people to write a 50,000-word manuscript in November. Originally, this challenge started among friends in 1999 but has since expanded to hundreds of thousands of participants all around the world. (There’s also an event that happens in the summer called Camp NaNoWriMo.)
Every year, I balk at NaNo because November seems to be both a busy and a short month for me due to Thanksgiving. (Actually, Thanksgiving 2020 was pretty low-key, but that’s another story.)
Thanksgiving sometimes involves traveling, depending on who’s hosting for the year. For 2021, I’ll be hosting a small-ish gathering. This is a prime excuse for not participating, but I’m going to be strong this year. I’ve figured out a way to write and have turkey on the table; I’ll be pre-ordering a Thanksgiving dinner this time around.
Now on to NaNoWriMo: I’ve been inspired to (kinda) join this year because Sisters in Crime (SinC) is offering such great support for the event. (Shameless plug because of my current VP role on the national board of Sisters in Crime: Please join this amazing community of writers and readers!)
Anyway, SinC is helping writers achieve success by providing:
2 write-ins a day, 6 days a weekTwitter sprints twice a weekA private Facebook groupA weekly check-in with other members(Go to the Sisters in Crime #SinC50K NaNoWriMo Event for more details. It’s free to join for anyone!)
I’m hoping that by doing NaNo in conjunction with a writing community that it’ll help turn my creative wheels. Mind you, I won’t be going all in and becoming an official participant. Fifty thousand words still seems like a lot to crank out in a month! (Math fun: To complete 50K in a month requires writing 1,667 words a day.)
Instead, I’ll probably do a half NaNo. It’s kind of like a half marathon but with writing instead of running. Twenty-five thousands words could be doable.
I’ve already got a premise in mind and even a rough outline. I just need to put pen to paper (or rather, fingers to keyboard).
It’s been said before that it’s easier to edit something rather than nothing. NaNoWriMo is a great way to jumpstart writing.
Caveat: Even though a 50,000-word document can be a full manuscript, it depends on what genre you’re writing. For example, it’d work for middle grade fiction, but other genres will veer shorter or longer. My literary agency, BookEnds, has a nice set of word count guidelines here.
Also, the mere finishing of a draft is only the first step. There will be a need for revisions and polishing. (That should be another community writing event!)
What’s on your slate for November?
October 26, 2021
Fall Into Promotion
It’s that time of the year again when I FALL into promotion. In the month of November, I have two releases coming out: MIDNIGHT HOUR anthology (November 9) and MIMI LEE CRACKS THE CODE (November 30).
There will be a mix of virtual and in-person events. Here’s what I have so far in a neat graphic:
More to come! All events are listed on this page: https://jenniferjchow.com/events/
Please drop by one of them and say hello!
October 22, 2021
Third Time’s the Bubble Waffle Charm
The first time I saw a bubble waffle was in a Hong Kong-style café. My brother and I were eating together, gorging on delicious Chinese food and sipping addictive iced lemon tea. I noticed other patrons ordering a special dessert which looked kinda like a breakfast item. They were getting odd puffy-shaped waffles. Could those really be that different than the regular ol’ type?
The second time around, I ate a bubble waffle. I think it was at a night market in Taiwan. When the delicious pastry smell wafted in the air, I had to give it a try.
I encountered the bubble waffle a third time at a local cultural festival, and I was hooked. The only constraint on DIYing it? You needed a special mold to make the waffles at home.
What’s so Great About Bubble Waffles?
They’re like a regular waffle, right? Wrong. They’re puffier, hence the bubbles. And I experience a certain child-like wonder every time I pinch off a bubble and plop it into my mouth. The other interesting thing about bubble waffles is its texture. There’s a slight chewiness and spring to each interconnected dough sphere.
Pandan bubble waffleMaking Waffles at Home
Recently, I splurged and bought myself a bubble waffle maker. It took two tries to actually get the item. I thought I had found it one day at a local Asian grocery store, only to realize it was a takoyaki (or octopus balls) maker—a very different sort of snack.
To get the right mold, I decided to order one online. I’ve had waffle makers in the past, and to be honest, I hate cleaning the devices. The batter always gets stuck in the crevices, and the cord gets in the way when trying to wash the unit. I also have this strange fear of sticking (even unplugged) cords in water. This new bubble waffle maker was cordless; really, it’s more of a griddle with bubble shapes that you can place on top of a gas range.
I used the recipe pamphlet that came with the maker. The classic bubble waffle required the following ingredients: eggs, milk, vanilla extract, butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and oil.
The batter was easy and quick to make. Timing the cooking took some effort, though. Instead of the usual light indicator to tell me when it was done, I had to watch the clock. It took about two to three minutes on each side to get a golden brown result.
Although bubble waffles look like they’d stick together really well, it takes skill to make that happen. Getting the waffle off the griddle requires finesse. For some reason, at that high temperature, the bubbles easily break apart. The best way I figured out how to get the waffle off without damage is to rely on gravity. While holding the device above a plate, I can use chopsticks (or tongs) to peel the top corner of the waffle and let the rest flop down.
Other Tips
Waffles need time to cool. Either use a fan to blow on it, or have patience and let it sit.Some recipes call for custard powder, which is a special ingredient. Instant vanilla pudding can be substituted if you can’t find any at the store.A fun tip: Bubble waffles can be used as cones for ice cream!SoCal Eateries to Find Bubble Waffles
Bubble Puff & Tea (Pasadena, CA)Happy Lemon (Gardena, CA)French Touch (Galleria Mall; Redondo Beach, CA)Boba places may offer bubble waffles. Find their website online to check if that’s the case!
October 21, 2021
Cover Reveal: Death By Bubble Tea
I’m so excited for my new cozy series, the L.A. Night Market Mysteries, coming out in Summer 2022! The first book drops on July 5, 2022, and it’s called DEATH BY BUBBLE TEA. You can pre-order it now!
I want to especially thank the creators behind this amazing book cover. Jane Liu did a fabulous job doing the main illustration and capturing the night market vibe and the two cousins at the heart of the story. Judith Murello Lagerman was involved in the art design of the cover.
About the Book: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.
October 13, 2021
Wednesday Roundup
It’s time for some author and bookish news roundups.
EXCITING NEWS:
I’m serving on the national board of S isters in Crime as Vice President. Please check out and join this international community for all who write and love crime fiction!
Starred review for Midnight Hour, a crime fiction anthology I’m involved in
FUN EVENTS:
Tattered Cover Book Store virtual event ;Tuesday, October 26, 2021 5pm MT/4pm PT; Virtual conversation with Kate Lansing (Pre-registration needed)
MEDIA MENTIONS:
Mysteries for the Modern ReaderMimi Lee Reads Between the Lines is on this list!
October 4, 2021
Fun Facts About Mailings
One area of expertise that I didn’t realize I needed to bone up on as a writer was the mail system. I already had an appreciation for the United States Postal Service. As a kid, it was exciting to watch the red flag (we had a classic mailbox) go up and down as mail was delivered and received. I loved finding deliveries in the box of postcards, letters—really anything that people sent us.
As an author, I dived into the topic of mailings when I needed to send out my novels. Books are often mailed in order to obtain reviews, enter contests, or donate to great causes. For a while, I was racking up the mailing expenses because I didn’t understand that I could send books via media mail.
That was a game changer. It’s a much cheaper way of sending out those hefty novels. Sure, it might take a little longer to get to its destination, but it totally saved my tight budget. I have fond memories of carrying my stack of books to the post office and watching as each package gets weighed and labeled to go off to different destinations in the U.S.
Another leap in knowledge happened when I realized that the “media” in media mail included audiobooks. What?! All this time I thought it purely referred to books, but in reality, the discounted rate also applies to sound recordings, videos, play scripts, and more.
When the pandemic hit, I was in a bit of a quandary How would I give out my books if I didn’t want to risk going to the post office? The answer is PayPal. That’s right. There’s a way to print a mailing label that is priced at the media mail rate. With the simple click of a link and filling out of the required information fields, you can send medial mail through PayPal.
The only caveat is that media mail is just for domestic shipping, not international mailings. I don’t often run into this problem (maybe because I don’t have enough overseas readers?). Recently, though, someone did reach out to me from the UK and wanted my autograph. I was more than happy to send them a bookplate—but how? (Bookplates have been an excellent way for writers to “sign” books even when not being able to visit a bookstore in person.)
Should I go into the post office for a single special international stamp? Then I remembered another trick: I could use U.S. stamps to send international mail!
In fact, I have a supply of Forever Stamps lying around. Honestly, I never use stamps anymore except to pay bills, and now with online paying… Anyway, all I needed to do was look up the current value of a Forever Stamp (currently 58 cents). Then I needed to take the price of the international letter and divide it by the value of a single stamp. Simple arithmetic. Success! (I hope. I’m assuming that the reader will receive my bookplate.)
Special thanks to all mail carriers and those who work hard at USPS to keep it running and helping everyone who needs to send stuff, including authors like me!
September 27, 2021
Book Review: The Kindest Lie
5 stars
Genre: Contemporary fiction/women’s fiction
I really appreciated this book by Nancy Johnson, which is a story about motherhood, secrets, and more. It was fascinating to see the plot take shape through the dual perspectives of Ruth and Midnight. Having the different points of view really allows for a deeper take on things.
I’m grateful for this entertaining journey of one woman’s discovery of her past—and herself. There are a lot of key points about race and class in this novel, which made me pause and ponder.
A great book with distinctive characters that promotes reflection about society and ourselves.
Find more of my book ratings and reviews here.
