I am so thrilled to present the new cover for Red Envelope as I embark on independent publishing!
Three years ago, my life changed when Red Envelope was accepted by a publisher. The editor guided my entrance into the genre of “MM romance” (which stands for “Male-Male romance”), where I was surprised to find stories about men falling in love with men largely written by and for straight women, similar to the manga (Japanese comic books) genre I was familiar with, shounen-ai.
The tight-knit, passionate community of authors and readers (who am I kidding, these are fans!) were a constant source of encouragement, support, and camaraderie when I began, and they still are. I’m careful about my time spent on social media as I’d rather be writing something for you to read, but I do treasure participating in this fun and stalwart tribe. I’ve had the opportunity to hear how much Red Envelope has meant to people, how it’s changed their perception of Asian families and how gayness is treated within Asian culture. This makes the endeavor of writing all the more worth it.
And Red Envelope means a lot to me, too. I had given up writing fiction in 2005 but near the end of 2014, I fell in love, and because I had moved to be with him and was in the midst of a job search, I decided to dip my toe into fiction again because I had time–and inspiration.
Red Envelope is the result. It’s based on my family and my partner, and how they both brought me back to a world where romance wasn’t an escapist fantasy, but a hope that comes true.
Thank you for reading!
