SHOWCASING THE WORK of our published authors, book project-managers, illustrators and established artists.
Bhakti Mathur
The 13th book in the “Amma Tell Me” series, Amma Tell Me About The Avatars of Vishnu!, is the story of Vishnu, the Hindu deity tasked with preserving creation, and the first of his of nine avatars. Amma narrates the story of a period in antiquity when earth is rife with corruption and evil and on the brink of an apocalypse and how Vishnu in the form of Matsya, the fish, befriends Manu, a noble king, and assigns him to saving creation. Will they succeed in their mission? To find out, read more.
Written in rhyme with colourful illustrations, the book is for children in the 3–8-year age group.
www.bhaktimathur.com
FB: Ammatellme
IG: Ammatellme
Carol Dyer
Ray Cordeiro rose from humble beginnings to become a giant in the music industry. His passion for popular music, especially of the 1930s to 1960s, brought enormous pleasure to millions over the airwaves for more than 50 years. His daily late-night show had almost a cult following among Hong Kong people, here and overseas.
More than a story of one man, this book documents the history of the music scene in Hong Kong from the inception of radio broadcasting in 1929 to the present day, charting the success of many local celebrities whose stardom was helped by “Uncle Ray”. He retired at age 96 in May 2021.
Carol Dyer was the title’s project consultant and editor.
Claire Chao
Claire’s Remembering Shanghai has won 29 book awards, including the Writer’s Digest Grand Prize and Rubery Award Book of the Year. The family memoir follows five generations from imperial China to modern-day Hong Kong. Isabel grows up in the wealthy Sun family in glamorous 1930s Shanghai. When Mao comes to power, she journeys to Hong Kong, unaware that she will never see her father again. She returns to Shanghai with her daughter Claire six decades later to confront their complex past—one they discover is filled with love and betrayal, kidnappers and concubines, glittering pleasure palaces and underworld crime bosses.
Connie Lee
Many people live through an emotional crisis, but few face the challenge of trying to negotiate someone out of one. Who Cares Wins is a compilation of true crisis negotiations conducted in Hong Kong as told through the eyes of local police negotiators with a contribution from a former US FBI special agent. The stories shared may inspire you to be an agent of social good for the benefit of humankind; they also offer excellent case studies for mental health professionals.
Connie Lee (co-author) spent 29 years in Hong Kong’s police force. She has a master’s in social science.
Illustrated by Karma Castilho.
https://www.pncwhocareswins.com
Hardback 978-1-3879-2286-4
Paperback 978-1-3879-2287-1
E-book 978-1-3879-2284-0
Daniela Alam
Popcorn loving Mona and ten-year-old Garnett are best friends who are always together. When Garnett tells Mona that like a zebra he has to migrate, he sends her on one final adventure. Mona knows that zebras return when the rains stop but how will she manage until she sees her friend again?
Written for children in the three–eight-year-old range, When the Rains Stop covers topics such as migration and friendship. With so many families coming and going, children in Hong Kong can easily relate to the story.
Elsie Sze
As a former republic of the Soviet Union, Central Asia’s Kazakhstan is an unusual backdrop for English language fiction. But, interestingly, that is where Elsie Sze has set her fourth and latest novel, Sea Fever, a mystery thriller.
After 15 years of travelling to what is the ninth largest country in the world and getting to know and love the land and its people, Elsie felt she owed them a story.
Kazakhstan’s inland Aral Sea was once the world’s fourth biggest but has become desiccated as the result of an unparalleled man-made environmental disaster.
In Sea Fever, dark intrigue besieges this shrinking expanse of water.
Sea Fever is now an Amazon Bestseller.
Publication date: 26 September 2022
ISBN 978-1-63299-588-9; ISBN 978-1-63299-588-6 (eBook)
River Grove Books, an imprint of Greenleaf Book Group, Austin, TX
Geanette YH Young
When people talk of horses, no one ever thinks of China. China has never won any medals in equestrian events or produced any elite horses. Despite this, horses have played an essential role in many different facets of the development of the Chinese nation.
This book, through showcasing the chronicled history of China’s horses, equine art, equine sports, horse breeds and traditional Chinese veterinary medicine, reveals the philosophy and wisdom of Chinese civilization.
However, while the world’s fastest distance-running quadruped has undoubtedly helped historically to build the country, the question now is: how will China help to build the future for this steadfast animal which has served it so well?
Gillian Bickley | Luisa Ternau
Luisa Ternau’s translation of Gillian Bickley’s poetry, selected by Verner Bickley, Avvistamenti, pensieri e sentimenti (Proverse Hong Kong; www.proversepublishing.com), is available bilingually (English/Italian) as well as in a stand-alone Italian edition. Paperback and ebook editions of each are available from Amazon. Gillian’s previous poetry collections are: For the Record (2003), Moving House (2005), Sightings (2007), China Suite (2009) and Perceptions (2012). A different selection appeared as Over the Years (2017). Luisa was a 3rd-prize winner in the inaugural International Proverse Poetry Prize competition and her poems appear in four Proverse Poetry Prize anthologies, the Mingled Voices series.
Heather Diamond
When an American woman in her forties meets her Chinese husband-to-be, she has no idea how much love will upend her life. Moving from Texas to Hawaii requires a midlife reinvention. It does not, however, prepare her for immersion into her new Chinese family. When the couple moves to the Hong Kong island of Cheung Chau, she finds herself charmed by family traditions and community rituals but challenged by the language barrier, the lack of privacy, and way more family togetherness than she is used to. Will she resist or adapt? Rabbit in the Moon is an honest and often humorous look at intercultural marriage, the importance of family, and finding the courage to follow your dreams.
Jane Lo
Norah and Ben are a typical, young Hong Kong couple. However, Norah married Ben against her parents’ wishes and with barely any money of their own, they have no choice but to live in Ben’s rather tyrannical mother’s cramped apartment. But they love each other, and they are basically getting by.
It isn’t until their baby son, Joey, develops severe eczema, and Norah’s mother-in-law inadvertently puts his life in danger, that Norah realizes they cannot go on like this. How much are they willing to give up for their happily ever after ̶ or is a happy ending firmly out of reach for a couple like them?
Karma Castilho
Big Tree near Nam Sang Wai
Acrylic on canvas
Karma Castilho is a self-trained artist who for 10 years has worked mainly in acrylics. Nam Sang Wai in the wetlands of San Tin is one of Karma’s favourite spots in Hong Kong. Visiting it early one morning she was awed by its peaceful beauty. The scene she depicts – of a large, heavily rooted tree overlooking a fish pond with a small village nearby – offers calm relief in a current turbulent world.
Karma’s work can be seen at www.gallerykarma.com.
Ritu Hemnani
“Why do people migrate?” Nadia asks her grandparents one evening. Their answer takes Anoushka, Nadia and Tarun on a journey back in time to Sindh (now Pakistan), through the story of best friends Gope and Meera following India’s independence in 1947. Soon they learn that India has been split into two and realize they are now living on the wrong side of the border. As refugees, their lives are turned upside down and they are separated forever… or so it would seem.
Beautiful and heartwarming, Gope and Meera is a tale about a cherished homeland reluctantly left behind and why the Hindu Sindhi community is scattered across the world today.
Robyn Flemming
We all emerge into adulthood bent out of shape to a lesser or greater degree by our experiences as children. The rest of our life’s story is the result of our own doing. But we can change course at any time. Whatever has us in its grip, it’s never too late to make a new path to a different future.
SKINFUL: A Memoir of Addiction is structured around four turning points. Each of these was an opportunity to ask: Who am I? What life do I want to live? Published in January 2022, this heart-warming, sometimes heart-wrenching, memoir sends a strong message of hope. Each one of us can take a hero’s journey.
http://www.bookdepository.com/skinful/9781914962028 (Lantern Publishing Ltd, UK)
https://www.booktopia.com.au/skinful-robyn-flemming/book/9781922598479.html (Brio Books, Australia)
Sally Grace Bunker
Hong Kong possesses an impressively diverse tree flora with 390 native species. This book celebrates the incredible diversity, beauty and biology of the territory’s trees, highlighting over 100 important species that are individually illustrated in exquisitely detailed watercolour paintings. Sally Grace Bunker is an acclaimed botanical artist and Fellow of the Society of Botanical Artists. The illustrations are accompanied by text that teases out interesting narratives for each species, ranging from the history of global exploration and scientific discoveries, their ecology and biology, the ways in which they have been utilised and their cultural associations.
Published by Earnshaw Books, Shanghai
ISBN:978-988-8552-03-03
Hardback available in local bookshops
Softback available on Amazon
Sue Dockstader
The Adventures of Henry the Field Mouse books revolve around Henry, an amiable field mouse who befriends a family of mice and embarks on a series of escapades exploring the English countryside. While not intentionally educational, 3 to 7-year-olds will learn a little about the appearance and habitats of different animals and see how they can all be friends, even though they don’t look the same. The realistic illustrations will spark the imagination of young readers as in each chapter Henry and his pals encounter climbing, swimming and burrowing friends.
Sue Dockstader is the editor and publisher of this series, written for her kids by her mother when she moved to Hong Kong.
Suzanne Andrews
Meet Nita McPhee, the spitfire heroine of this earth-shaking, genre-defying funny life skills storybook, especially for women.
Nita leaves a corporate lifestyle and takes the plunge, beginning an entire series of worldwide adventures. Queen of the Pawpaws will inspire teenage girls and adult women to get comfortable with challenges and fear, “to investigate the big, big world of unknown proportions and lovely distortions and wild, full-of-freedom portions of happiness”.
Queen of the Pawpaws is the first book in the Nita’s Adventures series where Nita must deal with all sorts of encounters, including The Popsneech (self-doubt), Smefale Twitches and some ghostly and earthly romance!
https://www.nitasworld.co/books
IG: nitasworldbooks