GUEST AUTHOR: The Red Envelope by Atom Yang

I’m so excited to have my new friend, Atom Yang, visit my blog. I met Atom over Facebook a while ago and then had the pleasure of meeting him at GRL. I’m looking forward to reading his first book.  Atom has answered some interview questions, sharing a bit about his holiday traditions.

 

Blurb

The Chinese New Year is a time for saying goodbye to the past and hello to the future, but Clint doesn’t want to bid farewell to his cousin’s handsome American friend, Weaver, after they share an unexpected passionate encounter.

The Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday in the Chinese calendar, a time for family reunions, and for saying goodbye to the past and hello to the future. Clint, however, doesn’t want to bid farewell to what happened after last year’s celebration, when he and his Cousin Maggie’s handsome Caucasian friend, Weaver, shared an unexpected but long-desired passionate encounter. East is East and West is West, and Weaver seems to want to keep it that way, but maybe Clint can bridge that great divide this coming New Year, and show Weaver what it means to be loved and accepted.

Interview – Holiday Spirit

I love Christmas and always look forward to it. What’s your favourite holiday of the year and what makes it so special?

I love Halloween! What’s great about it is that it’s a community holiday, where people know to open their doors to neighborhood kids and to give them candy after a set phrase is spoken. The coordination fascinates and warms me, like cars pulling aside to let an ambulance through.

We not big on Halloween here in Oz. However, I got a little taste this year. I was in San Francisco in the last few days of October and saw house decorations that were out of this world, and a huge parade of zombies walking the streets-amazing!

Do you and your family/friends have any special holiday traditions?

I have friends who have been getting together for years for Thanksgiving and Fourth of July, and those are very special family-of-choice traditions. With my family-of-origin, I would say Lunar New Year (or “Chinese New Year,” even though cultures other than the Chinese celebrate it) is the biggest and most special holiday, and we have a tradition of getting together, eating great food, bidding farewell to the past year and wishing each other a great coming year, as well as giving the next generation of kids red envelopes filled with money (Chinese are practical.). Parts of this tradition I share in my debut story, “Red Envelope.”

I think it’s lovely that your first story is linked to a holiday so special to you and your culture.

Do you watch Christmas movies? If so, what’s your favourite all time holiday movie?

I think my all-time favorite Christmas movie has to be A Christmas Story. I watch that even when it’s not Christmas. I just love everything about that movie—the narrator, the time period, the humor, the parents’ relationship, their relationships with the kids…and of course, that ending. I think for me, it’s also a window into a white, Midwestern American Christmas, and it intrigued me since I was a child.

I love reading stories set in the Christmas season and I especially like seeing stories set all over the world. I love seeing how others celebrate and I love reading about guys getting their special Christmas happy ever afters. Do you read holiday romances? If so, do you have a favourite you’d like to recommend to your readers?

I used to be a voracious reader, and then I slowed down, and now I’m starting up again and I don’t have any holiday romances yet that are my favorites. However, given that “Red Envelope” is published in a winter holiday series by MLR Press, I can’t wait to read the stories my fellow authors have written, and I have a feeling I’m going to have some favorite holiday romances to share with other people come next year.

We’ll look forward to seeing what you recommend 🙂 What inspired your current holiday story?

My recent experience with my partner, when I took him to my family’s New Year celebration. It was the first time I was completely and unequivocally out to everyone, and brought a date (we’re engaged, but you get the idea). Everybody loved my partner and talked with him and wanted to see us outside of the family gathering. I was both in awe and reveling in the acceptance, enthusiasm, and love. The passing of one of my uncles a year and a half ago also figured into my story, as well as his passion for food.

I want to read it even more now! Tell us a little about the main characters in your holiday story.

Clint is a 24 year-old Asian American, and the story is told from his perspective, about his relationship with Weaver, a 24 year-old European American. In the West, it’s a tradition to retell Romeo and Juliet in various contexts (the most recent one in memory involved zombies). I’ve decided to retell the classic tale of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl from Chinese culture, so Clint is named after Clint Eastwood, who played a cowboy in the TV show, Rawhide, and Weaver is named after the weaver girl. They have a star-crossed love but this is romance, so they get a happy-ever-after ending.

Thanks so much for stopping by, Atom. Best of luck with your first release. *hugs*

Buy Links

Amazon

All Romance eBooks

MLR Press

About the Author

Atom was born to Chinese immigrant parents who thought it’d be a hoot to raise him as an immigrant, too–so he grew up estranged in a familiar land, which gives him an interesting perspective. He’s named after a Japanese manga (comic book) character his father loved, in case you were wondering.

Author links

Website/Facebook Page: www.AtomYang.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/mightyatomyang