Birthday dinner in the dark
For the last few years, Heart Guy and I have taken to celebrating my birthday in Vietnam. Birthdays are about celebrating the “newness” of life. Every year therefore, we try to experience something new, be it a part of the country we haven’t visited or a cuisine we haven’t tried. One year, we squatted at a … Continue reading
SO GRATEFUL – THIS REVIEWER REALLY GOT IT!
Sending my writing out into the world has always been heart opening and humbling, in equal measure. With Heart Bones, it was no different. When it went into the world, I steeled myself for criticism and non-understanding. I also opened myself to affirmation. I’ve been touched by the fan letters that came back saying I’d … Continue reading
6 MEKONG DISHES I’LL MISS
Every 16th day of the Lunar New Year, Heart Guy and I travel to his family home in the Mekong Delta to commemorate his mother’s death and celebrate her 96 years of life. This year, he’ll be going on his own as I’ll be at the Irrawaddy Literary Festival in Mandalay talking about As the … Continue reading
Talking about Heart Bones on National Critics Choice
Here’s National Critics Choice’s video of the book chat about As the Heart Bones Break at Select Books
Pitching Heart Bones to movie producers Tuesday night!
These are the bones of the story. Please let them speak to you as I pitch … What do you think? Will material artefacts add to or detract from my pitch? Love to have your tips;)
Does your writing transcend culture?
I thought I was a global person but it turns out I’m not … My novel As the Heart Bones Break is making its debut globally at Singapore Writer’s Festival in November. Well, almost globally. Singapore based international publisher Marshall Cavendish has the rights to everywhere except North America. I’m a global Asian. Jennifer’s Asian-American. … Continue reading
Yunnan Ham from a Grandmother Room
To find out more about what we ate in Yunnan, including my encounter with a 40 year old mother of all hams, read the article here: A myth Growing up, I was regaled by tales of the mythical mellow richness of the Xuanwei hams from northeastern Yunnan. They were small boned, thin skinned, thick fleshed … Continue reading
Writers I read – Writing in English, essentially Vietnamese
Nguyen Trong Hien is the author of Village Teacher, a novel which offers a refreshing look at a Vietnam rarely featured in English language fiction. Why I chose to interview Hien Village Teacher struck me immediately as a different and exquisite piece of Old Vietnam. Set in the early years of French colonisation, it is on … Continue reading
Dalat – A special place in my heart
First there’s the Romeo and Juliet mountain … I am a sucker for romance and Dalat is a romantic, if kitschy, city. It’s main lake, Ho Xuan Huong, is named after Vietnam’s most famous erotic poet, a lady scholar. It’s next most famous attractions are the Valley of Love, popular with honeymooners, and the Lake of … Continue reading
A different lunch on the Mekong River
Before going off to Australia, Heart Guy and I were in Vietnam. On an afternoon, we had lunch with some of the Mekong Delta kids we sponsor. Recalling this lunch now, it amazes me how we could have gone for that extravagant meal at Urban less than seven days later. I offer my memories of this … Continue reading
Reader and Writer - Praying Woman - Gardener - Foodie 