Notes: Dim Sum Yum Cha

Finnally finished DSYC - well, not really. I still need to write "Paradise Flycatcher", but I'm waiting on my researcher to give me the fact checking report so I can churn it out.

Dim Sum Yum Cha was a natural extension of "Under the Santol Tree", a story based in greater Asia, this time in Beijing China, instead of in the southern provinces of Leyte in the Philippines. I also moved onto a boy-as-main-character instead of girl. I think I'll switch back and forth, girl-boy-girl-boy.

DSYC started to go into a rut, spelling out a stereotypical life from an American point of view. I reconciled that somewhat with the last story in that series, where Ying and his family prepare to move out of the Hutong into a loft-style house in downtown Shanghai, thus illuminating a greater view of China as a whole. I had this in mind, too, when I noted Ying's bicycle trip with his Grandpa out to rural China and the natural scenery.

This story compilation ended up being about 4000 words shorter, and will probably go through a re-write or two. With the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympics, I may find myself re-hashing these stories. Will wait and see.

Next up: Copper Skies and Suri Nights - A story tentatively set in Lima, Peru.