CHASING FIREFLIES will be released in just a few days! July 1, 2016! Yay!!!
Pre-order on AMAZON and grab your copy!
If you've been following along with all of my posts, then you know I've been sharing fun facts about China that I incorporated into my novel. I hope they've made you excited to read CHASING FIREFLIES!
To see last week's post go HERE.
To see last week's post go HERE.
CHASING FIREFLIES is based upon some of my daughter's experiences while teaching English in China. It takes place during the Fall semester. During this time the Chinese celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival. They hang red lanterns everywhere.
(To my regular followers, sorry this has been posted before.)
(To my regular followers, sorry this has been posted before.)
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Below is one of the pictures my daughter took.
In Chinese culture, a huge full moon represents completeness. They associate the meaning of the full moon with reuniting family members together. It is one of the biggest holidays in China, even bigger than Christmas in America.
My daughter said the red lanterns hanging everywhere were beautiful.
Traditionally, Mid Autumn Festival is celebrated while eating moon cakes.
In the middle is a hard boiled egg yolk.
They don't appeal to me, but my daughter said she LOVED them. The other teachers in her group didn't care for them, so when they were offered in the cafeteria they always gave them to her. She said she had a stock pile of them in her apartment.
Another little tidbit my daughter told me is that the Chinese consider wasting food to be very rude.
While there, they were each given a tupperware container by their Chinese Native Coordinators (the Chinese teachers assigned to help them throughout their stay) to use whenever they ate at the school cafeteria. If they did not want to finish their food, they were told to put the leftovers in the tupperware container and take it back to their room. Once in their room, they were allowed to throw it away. They just had to do it in private where no one was watching. (She said she had Hello Kitty tupperware!)
I loved adding all these things into my novel and I'm so thankful for my daughter who acted as my subject matter expert! Special thanks to her for letting me share a few of her stories in my novel. It lended the air of authenticity that I needed!
Thanks for following along and sharing in all of these fun facts about China and CHASING FIREFLIES!
Enjoy reading CHASING FIREFLIES!
Those mooncakes look so cool. I'd like to try them. And the Hello Kitty tupperware is so funny. Love these pics to go with the story.
ReplyDeleteI'm not so sure I'd try them!! Something about the hard boiled egg in the center turns my stomach. But like I said, my daughter loved them. Thanks for following along with all these fun facts about Chasing Fireflies, Charissa. I sure do appreciate you!
DeleteLoved seeing this post after finishing Chasing Fireflies! It brought the book to life even more.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could convey in words how amazing the book was! I received a copy to review and could NOT put it down. It was heartbreaking and inspiring and beautiful. I am infertile. I am also an adoptive mom. I just sobbed and sobbed and felt so many emotions that brought back so many memories. Great job!!!
Thank you, Hanna. I LOVE your review so much. I'm so glad you felt I got the "emotions" right. That means a lot to me. I was able to have children, but for the first two years of our marriage, we waited and waited to get pregnant and it didn't happen. One miscarriage later, I was sure that I was unable to have children. Now I know that isn't much time in the scheme of things, but at the time it felt like forever and I cried every night. While writing the book, I tapped into those emotions that I felt when I thought I would never have children. It's such a sensitive issue and I thank you so much for writing to me and telling me your thoughts. It means the world to me. Sorry for the delayed response to your comment. We just arrived home from a family reunion.
DeleteThanks so much for the response. I have recently discovered your books and can't wait to read more! The measure of a good book to me is if you feel the emotions of the characters, if your heart aches, if you cry for them and then rejoice in their victories. You nailed it. :) Again, thanks for the personal response.
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