This so-called Chinese proverb is actually the brainchild of American adman Fred Barnard, who dreamed it up in 1921. He wanted folks to take him seriously, hence the fake Chinese source.
Madeleine Thien is no huckster though she is a novelist. In Do Not Say We Have Nothing, she says the Chinese ancients believed
that words written on paper were talismans, and could somehow protect us from harm.
As an author, I believe in the power of words. But I like pretty pictures, too. For this first blog post of 2018, I went back and forth whether to give you pictures or words.
Then I remembered my Nabu. She held two sets of funerals for her husband – Buddhist and Christian – to cover all the bases. So I’m going to hedge my bets, too. Here is 2017 in words and pictures.
firsts
2017 was a year of firsts. There were a lot of them but publication of my debut novel, The Dancing Girl and the Turtle, tops my list.
Cropped cover of The Dancing Girl and the Turtle. Photo credit: www.arcangel.com
This is a true example of a picture worth a thousand words. It shows Song Anyi before the events of that novel take over her life. Her beauty, fragility and grace.
After the book comes the launch, of course. Will you look at all the people? Standing room only. These images of love and support are engraved in my mind. You can find more pictures of my book launch here.
Launch of The Dancing Girl and the Turtle. Photo credit: Fenna van DijkThe rapt audience. Photo credit: Fenna van DijkThe proud author. Photo credit: Fenna van Dijk
in the spotlight
And then there is the marketing. In 2017, I did two book tours through California, a reading in Amsterdam, four book clubs, a book blog tour and almost a dozen interviews. Some were more successful than others. Here are the more hilarious attempts.
This YouTube interview was filmed at Boekhandel van Rossum, featuring a pair of newbies flying in the dark. Don’t we look awful?
I’ll bet you wouldn’t expect to find an interview with me behind a picture like this one. This was a podcast produced by For Books’ Sake. As much as I would have liked to talk about rebel dykes and nasty women, my segment was on my writing room. Zzzzzz.
Janeane Bernstein, host of Get the Funk Out. Image source: kuci.org
My surprise media splash of the year was with the lovely Janeane Bernstein on her show Get the Funk Out on radio station KUCI. This interview popped up during my 2nd California book tour, just as the shit was hitting the fan over Harvey Weinstein. Talk about timing.
Ramona Convent student talk. Photo courtesy of Aniko Tegtmeier
That same book tour brought me back to my high school alma mater and a day of talks with almost 200 students at Ramona Convent Secondary School. They were sweet and shy and earnest. Sister Daleen Larkin had her 9th grade class write out what they had learned from my talk. One girl thought it was cool that I have a Holland husband. I think so, too.
sit back and relax
Arman, Tamerlan’s Memorial at LWL-Museum fur Kunst und Kultur, Munster. Photo credit: Karen Kao
2017 wasn’t all work. There was travel through Germany, some great movies, dance and theater and music. Some wonderful writers came to Amsterdam: Paul Beatty, Mohsin Hamid, Jeanette Winterson and Nicole Krauss.
Books to be read! Photo credit: Karen Kao
In 2017, I published 23 book reviews! That might sound impressive but I’m going to have to up my game to make a dent into the piles of books to be read. I won’t give myself a Goodreads Challenge or take a New Year’s resolution. But I can promise you that books will be in the stars for 2018. Maybe even one of my own!
Sourdough bread and strawberry vanilla jam. Photo credit: Karen Kao
