dear friends

I'm sorry to say that Robert is not having the results from his treatments that we hoped for and the written word no longer brings me solace. As Robert's body betrays him, so does the consolation of my blog. So for now, during these hard times, I say goodbye--hoping to find hope in silence.

miracle

This is the drug trial Robert is on. It made a miracle happen for someone else, please send your good thoughts that it will make a miracle happen for Robert too. At this point, we'll take anything to help sway the balance.

news article
video

spoke too soon

Ah, methinks I jinxed myself for as soon as I posted Robert was better he took a backward step and I will not be able to go to ALA afterall. Such is the way of the best laid plans.

Someone steal some gold stickers for me.

relief

Even though I have tried to be quiet about it, the last two weeks have been really brutal. Robert has suffered viciously, yet still soldiered on. I felt the least I could do was try to do the same.

But the last few days have brought improvement and relief; and as it rains upon us, my creative seeds begin to sprout again...novels and work are no longer stalled and it looks like I'll be able to go to ALA in Washington as planned. But more important than keeping the schedule intact, is the hope that it gives us that all may be well someday...maybe even someday soon.

stalled

It's strange how not having a camera has affected my blogging. Somehow without being able to post images has stalled my blogging.

But perhaps that is just an excuse. I have also stalled on my new novel (the one I talked about here); and it's not even because I don't know what to write. I actually have it all planned out and ready to go. My big hang up is the title; for some reason I can't seem to get out of the gate because of it. I am obsessed with trying to figure one out. That and the Chinese name of my main character. I'm not too happy with the one I have, especially as my Mom said, "That's not a good name. No one would ever name their girl that, it sounds like the word for vegetable."

Anyone have a lovely Chinese but not too intimidating to read name (the name Zhizhuang, for example, I think would cause kids to give up after paragraph one) they'd like to offer up?

Maybe I should make it a contest. The winner wins, um, the gift of me using it to name my character? Or maybe I'll let the winner choose the title, from a predetermined list. Hey, that might be win-win for all! It might just give me the jumpstart I need. What do you think?

a real life Ling and Ting

Shortly, after posting about my new project, I received this wonderful e-mail. It reminded me why creating children's books is the best job ever. And it makes me want to paint Ling and Ting in striped sailor dresses.

Dear Ms. Grace Lin,

Our names are Jennifer MeiDe and Rebekah MeiRui. We are ten years old and we are home schooled. We were born in Hefei China, but now we live in the United States. We are identical twins.

We have several books by you. The first book our Mom and Dad bought was Dim Sum For Everyone! The book we liked the most is The Year Of The Dog. Both of us can't wait to get The Year Of The Rat because our Dad and we were all born in that year.

We like your books and know that your new book will be Ling and Ting. This new book is about Chinese American twins, just like us. We look the same, but we have many differences. Jennifer loves to draw paper dolls of people. Rebekah loves to draw animals and draw background scenes.

We each write stories, but we write different kinds of stories. We are taking an online writing course at Northwestern University. Both of us like origami, just like in your other book, Lissy’s Friends , but we each make different kinds of origami figures. When we were babies, Rebekah wore a red ribbon and Jennifer wore a yellow ribbon so that they could tell us apart. Both of us still like those different colors as our favorites today.

We do the same things, but we do them in different ways. If you have any questions about Chinese American twins, please e-mail us.

Becky
and
Jenny

Rebekah(on right) and Jenny (on left)

home sweet home

So, we have returned to Boston for a short break in between Robert's treatments; and we are quite happy to be here. All the complaints about our apartment being to small, the creaky floors and falling-down doors are suddenly like spots on cherries--unnoticeable in the deliciousness of coming home. So much so, that I am a little sad that I have to leave immediately for FCCNY's Culture Day(if you are coming stop and say hello!), though I have been looking forward to the event for a while. But it's a quick trip and I know it will make the time I do get to be home that much sweeter.

these boots weren't meant for walking...

It's been a while since I've had a giant sighting. But all you need is one to bring back the memories. This one has a particular Texan flavor, don't you think?