Debs Blog Tour: The Great Call of China by Cynthea Liu

Hey y'all! Today the Debs Blog Tour bring us Cynthea Liu and her novel, The Great Call of China!

About the author:

Cynthea spent her formative years in Oklahoma and Texas where she was a Whiz Quiz member, an Academic Decathloner, and a spelling bee champion. (Yes, she was very popular.) After attending college on the East coast, she worked at a corporate job where she mastered PowerPoint and racked up thousands of frequent flyer miles. Eventually, she traded in her suit for sweats to do the fun stuff–writing for children. In addition to PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE and THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA, Cynthea's nonfiction book WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS: A CRASH COURSE (how to write, revise, and publish your kid's or teen book with children's book publishers) is available in paperback.

About the book:

Chinese-born Cece was adopted when she was two years old by her American parents. Living in Texas, she's bored of her ho-hum high school and dull job. So when she learns about the S.A.S.S. program to Xi'an, China, she jumps at the chance. She'll be able to learn about her passion—anthropology—and it will give her the opportunity to explore her roots. But when she arrives, she receives quite a culture shock. And the closer she comes to finding out about her birth parents, the more apprehensive she gets. Enter Will, the cute guy she first meets on the plane. He and Cece really connect during the program. But can he help her get accustomed to a culture she should already know about, or will she leave China without the answers she's been looking for?


The interview:



What's been one of the most exciting moments in your journey to publication?

Getting an agent was super-thrilling. It was like getting a seal of approval and the gift of a potential book-deal all wrapped up into one. Woo!

Is there anything you can't write without?

My laptop and 4 hours of dedicated writing time. My handwriting is soooo bad it is pointless for me to even write a grocery list. I also need a good chunk of time to concentrate. There is nothing worse than getting revved up, only to realize you have ten minutes left before you need to run an errand, or watch some American Idol, or feed your bunny before he goes on strike. Hate that!

When stuck on a story which do you choose: write make-out scene or explode something?

Ha! I don't vent that way. Usually when I'm stuck, I just quit and take a warm bath. Warm baths can cure a lot of writing woes.

Can you share a favorite line you've written either in this book or a WIP?

One of my favorite lines in THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA is the last one, but I won't ruin the ending for you. You'll have to read the book, I guess, unless you're a cheater.

How about this one.

When Peter, Cece's host student, explains Peking Duck to Cece...

"It is only Beijing Duck. Think Chinese chicken burrito."

Finally: pro fast zombie or anti fast zombies?

The ones from NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD were really slow, and that freaked me out quite a bit. So anti-fast zombies, it is.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions Cynthea and best of luck with The Great Call of China!!!