Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Amazing Review of Blossoms and Bayonets

I was alerted to this recent review of Blossoms and Bayonets by Anna Sun Choi and just have to share:
"This story hits close to home, as the granddaughter of one of the characters this fiction was loosely based on. I never knew my ancestor's story and with each page, began to restore a family history that has been lost for so many years. Reading Blossoms and Bayonets was like putting together a delightful puzzle of mystery, heartbreak, and love that deepens with every chapter, until the final pages, where I emotionally was brought to tears in absorbing a history that few have ever known."

Monday, May 20, 2013

Photos from LiYaShi

This is a picture taken in my husband's village--and not by Li Ya Shi. But if you're interested in seeing amazing photos of China, follow Li.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Redwood Writers: Five Story Killers


Actually there are more than five. But five is manageable. Five is a good jumping-off place to find the other myriad of prose poisons. If you're interested, come join my talk, sponsored by Redwood Writers, on
FIVE THINGS THAT ARE KILLING YOUR STORY
Flamingo Hotel
2777 Fourth Street
Santa Rosa, CA
Sunday May 19 3-5pm

Monday, May 6, 2013

Friday, May 3, 2013

Don't Miss Panel on Publishing, May 8th

Wednesday, May 8th at 6:30, I'm participating in a Panel on Publishing at Southbay Writer's Club. We will discuss the different paths to publication, from traditional houses to self-publishing. It should be a lively and informative event. So, if you have time, stop on by....
Harry's Hofbrau
390 Saratoga Ave
San Jose, CA

What People Are Saying About My Half of the Sky

My Half of the Sky was the BookSense Pick for August 2006 as well as a Forbes Book Club Pick.

"McBurney-Lin tells a wonderfully entertaining story with the traditional coming-of-age theme (which is experienced universally)...weaving in the cultural challenges of growing up in China's rapidly changing social system."
Mary Warpeha, co-President of the Minnesota Chapter of US-China Friendship Association
March 2010


"The novel ...includes many of the tales and the folk ways of the people living in the rural areas of South China, still followed provincially. The story takes place in current China, but could relate the dilemma of any young woman in rural China through the ages."
Kitty Trescott, National Board of the Midwest Region of US-China Friendship Association. March 2010

"A lot is expected of a young Chinese girl. My Half of the Sky by Jana McBurney-Lin is the story of Li Hui, a young girl who has just achieved marriageable age. She seeks to make the most of herself, but the expectations all around her make it difficult, as her parents seek to use her as pawn to their advantage, she is faced with what she believes to be true love. She must balance career, romance, and family, all to somehow make everyone happy, a tough endeavor indeed. An engaging and entertaining read from beginning to end, "My Half of the Sky" is a poignant tale of the modern Chinese woman, and recommended for community library collections.
--Midwest Book Review November, 2008

“It is a rare women’s novel that sensitively describes the life of a young educated woman in modern-day China in its full complexity, without resorting to unnecessary sentimentalism. Jana’s deep knowledge of the realities of life in China and Singapore makes the reading extra rewarding. In fact, with every new page the novel gets harder to put down and you find yourself gobbling it up before you know it. Finally, the author has given a voice to the Li Hui in all of us, as we struggle for the golden middle between tradition and the modern momentum of our world.”
Isabella Sluzek
Friends of the Museum Book Review 2008
Singapore

You'll be rooting all the way for Li Hui as she struggles, ahead of the curve, to be her own woman in an emerging, modern China. Jana McBurney-Lin's My half of the Sky is a beautiful, witty, touching debut novel.
Thomas B. Sawyer
Head Writer TV Series "Murder, She Wrote,"
Author - The Sixteenth Man


A complex and mesmerizingly original tale of a young Chinese woman caught between the modern world and the pull of her ancient culture. McBurney-Lin’s intimate portrait of China sparks with insights and is peopled with characters so rich and alive, they seem to breathe on the page. Dazzling and unforgettable.
Caroline Leavitt,
Author - Girls in Trouble

McBurney-Lin's debut novel is a gift. Li Hui is a memorable heroine, a young woman torn between her heart and her culture.Her daunting journey is a trip into China's complicated soul, and a deeply moving exploration of love, honor, duty, and loss." Frank Baldwin, Author - Balling the Jack


My Half of the Sky is a wonderfully-crafted story that was obviously written with a piece of McBurney-Lin's heart. A masterpiece."
Lee Lofland, Author - Howdunit: Police Procedure and Investigation


My Half of the Sky heralds the arrival of a fantastic new storyteller. With artistry and precision, Jana McBurney-Lin's clear-eyed prose takes the reader on a new journey into a past world that speaks to a modern sensibility, a modern world, a modern woman. This is a book to be treasured.
Emily Rapp, Author - The Poster Child


Through vivid descriptions of sights and smells, Jana McBurney-Lin's My Half of the Sky is a haunting, emotional journey of what it means to be an honorable female in modern China. Jill Ferguson, Author - Sometimes Art Can't Save You