Friendship at RWA

I still have a few more tidbits to share about the RWA Conference in Orlando ....

... during the RITA ceremony, RWA played several video clips about friendship:

- Angie Fox awoke the morning of her departure from RWA 2012 to find the clothes she set out the night before were missing.  It seems her roommate, Jeannie Lin, packed them in error in her rush to return home.  Their third roommate, Shawntelle Madison, suggested Angie fly home in the pink shorts she used as PJs.  As Angie walked through the lobby, Patricia Rice spotted her and questioned her sanity.  After Angie shared what happened, Patricia called Mary Jo Putney, similar in size to Angie, to lend her some clothes ... hence, the sisterhood of the traveling pants!

- Linda Goodnight shared her family's loss when her son was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  During this challenging time, the deadline for the RITA contest passed.  Since she did not enter the contest, Linda offered to be a judge in her own category. However, the RWA staff informed her that she was, in fact, entered. An anonymous author contacted RWA to ask if an exception could be made for Linda to be entered after the deadline. RWA responded that an author in that category would have to withdraw ... and an author did.  An author also purchased five copies of Linda's books to mail to RWA for the contest judging. To this day, Linda does not know who contacted RWA, withdrew her own submission, and mailed the books.

- Julie Leto was shaken by the events on 9/11, wondering if her job as a writer was worthy in comparison to others who were taking up the charge to serve. Then she received an email from a reader (and future author) Diana Peterfreund who shared her experience on 9/11. Trapped on an airplane circling NYC on that fateful morning, Diana read and reread Julie's book she brought for the flight, bringing her comfort in the chaos. Julie and Diana became friends ... and Julie became Diana's mentor as she embarked on her own path to publishing.

I am giving away a swag pack from RWA17 to four randomly selected commenters from my posts published in the month of August. To enter the giveaway,

1. Have you had to borrow clothes from a friend ... or stranger? Have you nominated a friend for an award? Have you read a book that helped you through a crisis?

In the Netherlands, I nominated my friend Sandy for her countless hours in volunteering at the Thrift Shop at the Army Base in Schinnen.  She won "Civilian Volunteer of the Year"!

The Thrift Shop is where I discovered romance ...

2. Comments are open through Thursday, August 31, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3. I'll post the winner on Friday, September 1.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Aloha to JeannIe Lin and THE LOTUS PALACE

Today I welcome Jeannie Lin with a special guest post to celebrate the upcoming release of THE LOTUS PALACE.

The Lotus Palace: Elements of Tang Dynasty Style

Thank you SOS Aloha for having me!

THE LOTUS PALACE, which releases on 8/27, centers around the pleasure house culture of the Pingkang li where scholars and bureaucrats mingled with elegant courtesans.

In the book, the heroine Yue-ying, is a maidservant to one of the infamous beauties of the quarter and thus spends a good amount of time dressing her mistress and tending to her boudoir. So I thought it might be fun to provide a quick primer on ladies fashion in the Tang Dynasty.

Clothing:

Hanfu robe – Not to be mistaken for the Japanese counterpart, the kimono. In fact, the kimono came from the Chinese hanfu, which was the clothing worn by the Han people. Ladies’ robes ranged from the simple to the elaborate, layered look favored by court ladies. The cloth was meant to flow like water as the women moved.

Shawl/scarf – The hanfu is often accompanied by either long sleeves or a long shawl or scarf made from a light gauze. This added to the sense of movement and you can see it used to dramatic effect by dancers of the period.
Hair and makeup:

Elaborate hairstyle – The Tang Dynasty was known for all sorts of chignons, loops, buns and knots to create extra height and volume. Bigger was definitely better.

Hair ornaments – The elaborate hairstyles were usually adorned with hair ornaments. Flowers were common as well as ornaments made of jade meant to catch the eye.

Makeup – There is an elaborate make-up ritual described which describes how to powder the face and draw in eyebrows as well as create accents over the cheeks and forehead. Lip gloss or lip color was very popular in the Tang Dynasty. The lips would be covered with a powder and then drawn in according to whatever pattern was popular at the time. Apparently there were over 30 popular patterns in the last 17 years of the Tang Dynasty.
Feet:

Unbound feet – Shapely, elegant feet were always popular, but Tang Dynasty women did not bind their feet. This came about in a later dynasty and even then, it wasn’t a universal practice. I just had to add that, since it’s been a bone of contention!
Giveaway:

Comment to win an autographed copy of THE LOTUS PALACE along with a traditional Chinese hairpin. (which features prominently in the story!) 

Find Jeannie online:

Website: jeannielin.com

Like my Facebook page: link

Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/JeannieLin

THE LOTUS PALACE, a historical romance and murder mystery set in the Tang Dynasty, releases on 8/27/2013. A clever maidservant teams up with the notorious playboy and failed scholar of the Pingkang li to solve the crime, but can they defy the bonds of class and culture to find love and happiness?

Amazon:  Link

B&N:  Link

FREE READ! You can also get a peek into the pleasure quarter in the introductory short novella, CAPTURING THE SILKEN THIEF.  Free from 8/25 to 9/7 on Amazon and B&N.

Amazon - link

 B&N - link

Mahalo, Jeannie, for joining us today.   Comments are open through Saturday, August 31, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, September 1.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City 

Check out my pictures from our recent trip to China on my travel blog, ALOHA ON MY MIND, at this link.  Scroll down to Blog Archive, click on June, and look for posts from Beijing and Xi'an.