I recently spoke on the Guest Book Podcast with fellow author Nizrana Farook, author of The Girl Who Stole an Elephant. We talked about the inspiration behind our books, navigating multiple cultures, and our favorite childhood books. You can listen to the episode here.
I’m taking this moment to highlight The Dreamweavers, which comes out this fall. The story is set in ancient China and follows two twins whose village falls under a mysterious curse. The book has elements of Chinese folklore and mythology, with delicious descriptions of foods I grew up with.
The amazing cover is created by Feifei Ruan. It captures the magical elements of the story while evoking the feel of traditional Chinese art. The book draws from Chinese folklore I learned in my childhood. The dream aspect is a big part of traditional Chinese stories, where characters switch from the real world to the dream world regularly.
Funnily enough, I wrote this story while I was living in Switzerland. Although the mountains of China and the Swiss Alps are different, their magnificence is similar. I remember taking in the breathtaking views of nature, the lakes and the mountains, and thinking, China was like this at one point, too. When most people think of China, they think of the highly industrialized cities, a modernized landscape. But once upon a time, it was a natural paradise.
You can pre-order The Dreamweavers at the links below!