Janie Chang's Blog

You'll notice that most of these tools help make social media and marketing more efficient. When it comes to writing, there's really no substitue for Bum on Chair Time and getting those words down on paper. However, as an author, you are also a one-person small business, responsible for multiple aspects of your career. Including promo, which is truly time-consuming. I would be in a padded cell right now if I had to do it all manually. Read the blog: My Favourite Tools

It's very sad when you have to catch up with your very infrequent blog posts. Guilt-ridden.
OK - from the unknown depths of the writer's world. What are literary scouts versus agents? Something I learned a long time ago. Read on!
Literary Scouts: the Black Ops of the Publishing World.

Well, I thought I was done posting stories related to family history. But then a reader asked whether all the research for writing historical fiction had influenced my own life. And I debated for a long time whether or not to share something I did last year, which was to get a DNA test done. Here is the blog. BOOK RESEARCH LEADS TO DNA TEST
Have you or anyone in your family ever had a DNA test done?

Nearly done posting the family stories!
I've set up a 'Family Stories' category on my website blog so it's easy to get them all with one click to see them all.
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This is where you'll find stories such as:
The Vanished Student
The Unloved Sister,
The Cigarette Boy, and
The Last Ghost Story.
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Happy Reading!

It isn't every day your article gets printed by TIME magazine! I was asked to write about the true history of the library that inspired the one in my novel, THE LIBRARY OF LEGENDS. Here it is: The Risky Journey That Saved One of China’s Greatest Literary Treasures

Back in January 2020 (which seems like a lifetime ago), I began blogging a series of stories about my family history. A lot of details in my novels are drawn from stories my parents told me about our ancestors so it might be interesting for readers to learn which stories made it into the books. So far.

There will be 22 blogs in all, and the easiest way is to go on my website and click on BLOG, then select the Category 'Family Stories' to get a list of the stories. Or use this link
I'll get back to adding more stories once all this book launch activity is over!

Happy New Year everyone!
There's much to look forward to in 2020. For one thing, THE LIBRARY OF LEGENDS hits bookstores in the spring (Canada: April 28, USA: May 12) and I'm currently working with my publishers on schedules for marketing activities. More to come on that.
But -- does everyone know there's a Goodreads giveaway for the ARC (advance reading copy) of THE LIBRARY OF LEGENDS? It runs until January 27, 2020 and 100 (one-hundred) copies are up for grabs so the odds are pretty good for winning one.
As for blogs, I'm embarking on a project to put my family stories back online. They got lost during a website migration some time ago, but I found them on a hard drive recently. Many of these stories have made their way into my novels, so over the next 22 weeks some of you can have fun identifying which ones went into which novel. Here's the first such blog, which is more of an introduction: When We Lived in Still Waters.
I also blogged this piece, which you should consider a public service announcement on behalf of all authors. I belong to a group called the Tall Poppy Writers and some of us were listing the things readers can do to support an author they like. It turned out that except for actually buying the book, none of these suggestions cost any money. See what you think of 15 Ways to Help an Author.

As an author, I'm in awe of the amount of research that went into this book. As a reader, it's great storytelling about an episode in history that people have tried to forget. Here is the review on my blog: The Island of Sea Women

Lucky me to get an ARC of SEARCHING FOR SYLVIE LEE! Jean Kwok delivers a twist that turns this novel about families and secrets into a page-turner of a mystery dove-tailed with riveting domestic drama.
Read the review: Book review: Searching for Sylvie Lee

Dragon Springs Road has been longlisted for the 2019 International Dublin Literary Award (the award formerly known as the IMPAC). SQUEEEE!

Here's the blog post which also includes a link to the full list of books longlisted: 2019 Dublin Lliterary Award Nomination