Study of Body Language and Its Implications

Okay, I'm going to cheat a little this morning and direct you to a recent study, a book and fellow author's site: All That You Desire.
The topic of the article is the difference between how Asians and Caucasians read body language and may well force me to change some things in my ms.
The book is on a related topic in that the author is a former FBI agent and an expert on reading body language. He will tell you there are many universal tells of human body language. Apparently there are Cultural differences in how we read and interpret that language, though, some of which Jeannie Lin discusses on her blog. Pretty cool and thanks for the heads up, Jeannie!

Book Give Away Quiz

Okay, as promised, we're going to play a game and do two give aways. The first person to answer either question correctly gets their choice of two books.

Question #1.Who can tell me which book of Amy Tan's features two sisters and a tale of rebellion, previous lives and self sacrifice during both modern day and the Taiping Rebellion?

Question #2. What Lisa See novel involves dark fantasies, opera and women of seventeenth century China?

I've got two books to offer as a prize:
"Born Confused" by Tanuja Desai Hidier or






"Saving Fish From Drowning" by Amy Tan.

Hidier's novel is a paperback edition and Tan's is in hardback, for those of you who care about such things. ;D

I have a confession to make: I haven't read either novel yet. So whichever book is chosen, I'd love to hear the winner's opinion on the book, or (dare I hope?) a book review with the winner as a guest blogger.

For My Fanatical Followers On My Anniversary

Okay, maybe you're not fanatics, but there are twenty five of you in less than a year online. I'm so grateful for your interest, I'd like to do a give away prize. I'll have it ready by Wednesday, so stay tuned, true believers! ;D

Tips on Book Trailers

Well, if anyone wanted a plethora of links and suggestions on how to make a book trailer, head over to http://www.nathanbransford.com. Yesterday's guest blogger did a fabulous job of giving all sorts of information. I've got images now for my computer graphics genius of a husband to base images of my hero on. I need more, but that's ok. If anyone knows of a website featuring kick butt martial artists in traditional Chinese garb, that would be a bonus. LOL

In more personal data, I do apologize for being out of the internet picture recently. I'm trying to prepare my ms for entry into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel competition at the end of this month. I don't have too many more reader-suggested corrections to wade through, but I'm also reading the whole thing aloud and that takes time....

"A Tiger's Heart: The Story of a Modern Chinese Woman" by Aisling Juanjuan Shen

Many thanks to guest reviewer, Susan Blumberg-Kason for today's book review:

If your parents physically and emotionally tormented you when they weren't plain ignoring you, how far would you go to escape and live on your own terms? The author's honest and eye-opening memoir takes the reader on a highly emotional journey starting from when she's born to a poor peasant family in rural China. As if frigid winters with no heat and long days with little food weren't bad enough, Juanjuan's mother at one point dares her daughter to kill herself. When she's lucky enough to attend school, she finally finds something that keeps her going. Staying late to finish her homework and avoid her dysfunctional family, Juanjuan dreams of something no one else in her hamlet has ever done--to go to college. The book takes us through the many incarnations of Juanjuan, as she goes from working as a middle school teacher, to being a secretary, an Amway saleswoman, a translator and finally a businesswoman for a knitting machine factory.

Hook Problems?

The Book Doctor is in. Check her out as she's giving great insight into any 50-word hook you offer.

Contest List

You may have noticed I've posted a contest Gadget. I would have sworn I had once blogged about a website that hosted contests for writers who wished to promote east-west relations. I cannot find that contest and I'm kicking myself from east to west now, but if you know of that contest or any others I should list, please feel free to flick me in the head and post your suggestions.

My kid's birthday party is this afternoon and I have Mommy Brain.

The Intimidation Factor

I just read Janet Reid's statistics from the summer of 2009. See for yourself: http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2009/12/statistics-to-torture-yourself-with-in.html I have to admit, I'm a wee bit overwhelmed by her numbers. I have to remember, finish editing, submit and write the next one.

Upcoming Innovations

A friend recently pointed out to me the upcoming changes in the publishing industry and she used http://safaribooksonline.com as one example. I do recommend you check it out. It gives a tantalizing view of the future.

Isaac Asimov would be thrilled. Imagine a hand-held device allowing authors to research, compare, take notes, write and play in a digital format. You might point out that many hand helds already do this, but not quite like what Safari claims is possible.

Those of you who are writing historical novels, imagine a digital format of your book on such a device: along with your novel, your device could hold links to videos that might encourage the reader to enjoy an interactive reading experience. Your hand-held might hold audio files to enable an audio version of your book, or it might help your readers with correct pronounciation of your characters' names, your device might have a screen saver of an animated version of your characters or a graphic version of your novel as well as the original. Interactivity is on its way folks.

It's both exciting and terrifying in all of its open-ended capacity. But to quote a favorite movie: "Without change, something sleeps inside of us and seldom wakes. The sleeper must awaken."

Many thanks to DaVonna Smitley for alerting me to this topic. I hope all of you slept well. ;D

The Tomb of a Megalomaniac or Great Leader

The tomb of Cao Cao was unearthed recently. Those of you who know I've written a novel of magical realism based on the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" might be interested to know Cao Cao is the equivalent to Hu Xiongli, my villain.

If one examines the historical facts, Cao Cao was "often praised as a brilliant ruler and military genius who treated his subordinates like his family. He was also skilled in poetry and martial arts and authored many war journals." - Wikipedia entry.

If one looks at the literary history of China, Cao Cao appears as "a cruel and merciless tyrant." - Wikipedia

The literary history I speak of is, of course, the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and the folklore it is based on. It was written by a confucian scholar and since Cao Cao's actions were based on anything but Confucian thought, he is villified in the Ming Dynasty novel. Since literature tends to carry more weight than straightforward history, Cao Cao is not well thought of. For instance, the Chinese way of saying "speak of the devil" is: "Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives." The food dish typically referred to as "General Tsao's Chicken" is in deference to him, as it is both hot and spicy. There are so many ways this man has touched and twisted the history and culture of his people, it's fascinating to study him.

One of the quotes attributed to him is: "Better for me to wrong the world than for the world to wrong me." That says something about his character.

In my research, I discovered a tale where he was invited to the household of a loyal retainer for dinner. Cao Cao got drunk and became paranoid as to his host's intentions. Seeing assassins everywhere, he jumped up and killed his host and the man's two sons, then killed the wife at the dinner table. He regretted his actions almost immediately, and gave them posthumous titles, but that doesn't mean a whole lot in the face of his actions.

Nonetheless, his tomb is said to be of a modest, unadorned nature in comparison to other such burial grounds.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1238887/Cao-Cao-Chinese-archaeologists-uncover-vast-tomb-infamous-3rd-century-ruler.html#ixzz0baTDr6Ye

Harbour by Paul House

A book review by Mirella Patzer of Historical Novel Reviews.
Harbour is a novel about Hong Kong society in the months leading up to the 1941 invasion of Hong Kong by Japan. It is a time of great contrast, of decadence and deficiency, of prejudice and acceptance, of greed, and of love and hate.
Molly is a young girl of mixed blood caught between two worlds; those of her Chinese mother and her American military father, Willard Russell. Willard is wheelchair bound in Hong Kong and near destitute. He sends for his wife and daughter who must make an onerous journey from their home in China to Hong Kong. Along the way, Molly’s mother dies and Willard must now raise his young daughter alone and in poverty.

When Willard receives an invitation to allow Molly to become the companion of the beautiful Tung Nien, the wife of a Chinese drug overlord and head of the Dragon Triad group, Chen Liew, under the guidance of Miss Dekyvere an ex-pat making her home in Hong Kong, he readily accepts. Deep in the throes of grief, Willard drinks himself into daily stupors. He soon meets Kenji, a Japanese barber who becomes his mentor.

Dr. Laughton and his wife Mary are childless and their marriage is failing. The moment Dr. Laughton sets his eyes on Tung Nien, he is intrigued by Tung Nien and lusts for her. Bored with her loveless, sexless marriage, Tung Nien begins a heated affair with Dr. Laughton.

As the days of the imminent invasion grow closer, the lives of the novel’s characters intertwine, enmesh, and collide. Their lives spin out of control and degrade. Each must confront their own destiny in search of happiness.

Paul House does an excellent job of displaying his characters with all their faults and strengths. Like a tapestry, he weaves their lives together, sometimes in good ways, and sometimes in ways most detrimental to their lives. This keeps the interest strong throughout the story. Not only does he depict the political climate, he also includes the criminal element, the drug trade, in the story.

If you’re interested in reading a good novel in a unique setting, then this is a good one to pick up.