Hello, everyone! Greetings from one of the new kids on the block. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some of you last summer at the RWA Conference in Anaheim, and I hope to meet the rest of you too, once I settle in. Beth suggested I write a “Five Things You Don’t Know About Me” blog, which seems as good a way as any to start things off, so here goes:
1. You might
guess this one from my photo: I am a third-generation Chinese-American. My
father grew up in a traditional Chinese family, my mother in a non-Chinese
family with traditions of its own. They relocated to Southern California from
New York before I was born, so I consider myself a native Californian and
thoroughly assimilated, though I value my Asian heritage.
2. I have a retentive but strangely selective memory.
Seriously. I remember snatches of poems I learned as a child, lyrics to obscure
or novelty songs, equally obscure trivia or historical facts, and the times
tables--but I tend to forget things like people’s names and passwords to
e-commerce sites. It must be a short-term vs. long-term thing.
3. I love to cook. After writing and reading, cooking may be
my favorite activity. Stories grow out of abstract elements--thoughts and ideas
that continually change and evolve--so there is something oddly relaxing and
reassuring about handling concrete, physical things like kitchen utensils and
ingredients.
4. I adore
traditional music, especially Celtic: the Tannahill Weavers, Steeleye Span,
Loreena McKennitt, Queen Mab, and Silly Wizard are among my favorite artists.
I’ve been known to write action scenes to the accompaniment of skirling
bagpipes and rumbling bodhrans. Music in general tends to play a part in many
of my stories.
5. I used to
follow the figure skating season religiously, from Skate America in the fall
all the way to the World Championships in early spring. While I’m less
obsessive about the sport than I used to be, I know I’ll glued to the TV trying
to watch every figure skating event when the 2014 Winter Olympics comes along.
+1. My debut
novel, WALTZ WITH A STRANGER--a historical romance set in Victorian
England--will be released on December 4, 2012.
I love Celtic music too, Pamela. The Chieftains are my favorites :) I'm looking forward to your Waltz With A Stranger
ReplyDeleteSounds like a delightful book, Pamela! Sorry I missed meeting you somehow at Anaheim! I was there! I love Celtic music too! Glad to have you with us! I love watching figure skating, but never have time to watch it.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm trying to figure out how cooking, immigrant heritage, ice skating, and a magpie memory go with Victorian romance (the music I can kinda figure out). Don't suppose you could pass along a few of those details? PLEASE???
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, Welcome!!!
I love a woman of eclectic tastes! I'm one too :)
ReplyDeleteHello Pamela and welcome and congratulations and...I really like Celtic music, too...but shhhh...my cowboys don't know that, not even the ones with Irish heritage!
ReplyDeleteWelcome and congrats on your release!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your debut novel - what a lovely cover!
ReplyDeleteThank you all for the warm welcome!
ReplyDeleteChristy, the Chieftains rock! You could argue that they're one reason trad music has become popular.
Terry, nice to meet you now, since we somehow missed connecting in Anaheim. And it's always nice to find people who share your interests. Sadly, my viewership of figure skating has also dropped in the last few years owing to my current schedule.
Grace, I'll see what I can do to answer that.
*Cooking, at least, can be explained as more of a writing thing than a specifically Victorian thing (although a 19th century cookbook by Isabel Beeton became the Victorian housewife's Bible).
*I think being very assimilated made me more open to other cultures and histories than my own. I wasn't the only Asian-American student in my college or my department, but I was one of the few who didn't immediately gravitate towards Asian-American studies as an area of specialization. Victorian England ended up holding a stronger fascination for me. Another, equally assimilated student was drawn to the Renaissance and the works of Shakespeare. So you never can predict where your passion will lead you--until you're there.
*The "magpie memory": Victoria ruled for more than 60 years, and in thst span, the world changed beyond recognition. Choose any decade of her reign and you will find enough material and enough fascinating changes and occurrence to supply the plots for whole sagas of books. I suspect the wealth of bright, shiny details is what my particular memory/imagination seizes upon and, in true magpie fashion, appropriates for its own.
*Ice skating: your guess is as good as mine!;-)
Carolyn, another Celtic music band. But I suspect it might not be impossible to convert a man--even a cowboy--to the joys of Celtic music, if you pick the right band.
Shana, thank you! I'm still getting used to the idea of my release being so close. It seemed like yesterday that it was months in the future.
catslady, thank you. I was pleasantly surprised by the cover too.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the upcoming release, thanks for the intriguing facts and welcome! I am a SoCal girl myself and come from a melange of cultures...and count myself fortunate to live in such a diverse city.
ReplyDeleteGlad to meet another person obsessive with figure skating! Oh, and historical romance novels - love those too! Can't want to read yours!
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Pamela. What a beautiful cover you have there!
ReplyDeleteElf2060, thanks for the welcome! SoCal definitely has its own unique character.
ReplyDeleteAmanda, obsessive figure skating fans must stick together by all means. Hope you enjoy Waltz with a Stranger once it's out.
Victoria, thank you! I've grown rather fond of that cover myself.
Love historical novels - look forward to reading your debut novel!
ReplyDeleteTaurus, thank you! I hope you enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your upcoming release!
ReplyDeleteFun post as well, who knew there were so many Celtic music lovers here!
Thank you, Lexi H!
ReplyDeleteKind of reassuring to hear that Celtic music lovers are this numerous, actually.