Hurray! So glad you stopped by! Today’s a very special day because it’s the book birthday of AVA LIN: BEST FRIEND, a brand-new chapter book in a brand new chapter book series. And it’s written and illustrated by someone who holds a very special place in my heart. Vicky Fang approached me back in 2016, right after the first #50PreciousWords, and offered to design a logo for the contest. And then, when I added the challenge for kids in 2018, she created the logo for that as well. And now, when it’s HER book birthday, SHE’S giving the gift…a copy of AVA LIN to one lucky blog follower. Our kid lit community is the BEST!

Take a good look at this engaging cover! I love so much about it – especially the notations that tell us what things are most important to Ava Lin. So many kids will relate to loving tiny treasures…and having a special notebook.

And lucky us…Vicky stopped by to share some thoughts about the path to publication for this book.
ME: Welcome, dear Vicky! Thank you for popping in. It was so good to see you at NCTE in Ohio last year. I love how our paths intersect every now and then.

VICKY: Thank you for having me on to talk about my new chapter book series, Ava Lin! Ava Lin is about a 6-year-old girl navigating school, family, and friends—with a knack for getting herself into (and out of) sticky situations. I wanted to write something intensely funny that featured a Chinese American girl, and I hope that young readers find these books both relatable and hilarious!

Okay, a funny story on the path to publication for this book… 

In Book 1, there is a scene where Ava goes to a Chinese restaurant with family friends and another kid puts something gross in her bubble tea. Final art for the book was done, ARCs were in progress, when I did a presentation at my kids’ school and they all said, “ Do you mean boba?” I panicked! I’m familiar with both terms, but I typically call it “bubble tea” and wondered if that was a dated term that wouldn’t resonate with kids! I went down a long and frantic rabbit hole to find out if kids call it “bubble tea” or “boba” or gosh maybe also, “boba tea”, these days. I roped in my editor who kindly did a quick mockup of the book with “bubble tea” replaced with “boba” throughout and helping me weigh the options.

It turns out, “bubble tea” vs “boba” is a regional thing, and I must have picked up “bubble tea” from my time in New York way back when and passed it along to my kids, while most kids in California say “boba.” Lately, “boba” seems to be gaining traction, though “bubble tea” is still pretty common. Trader Joe’s has a “boba” product, Google maps lists “bubble tea” shops, etc… can you feel the depths of my rabbit hole?? In the end, we decided to stick with “bubble tea” because that’s what my kids and I call it and my editor felt the term was appropriately descriptive for all kids to understand, especially with illustrations.

Phew! All that to say, when a book is getting ready to launch, I have these little panic moments often! It’s hard to let your book baby out into the world. I’m so grateful for my critique partners and my agent and my editors who are so understanding and help me survive the path to launch.

If you do read AVA LIN (and I hope you do!), rest assured that I had a similar panic about the term “pupu platter” and please laugh with me as you read it.

​​You can order AVA LIN anywhere books are sold, but if you order from my favorite indie bookstore: Linden Tree Books,

Thank you so much for having me, Vivian! For anyone in the SF bay area, come join me for my launch on Sunday, June 9 at 11am at Linden Tree books!

Thank you so much, Vicky…and thank you everyone, for spending your precious time with us! Please remember to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of AVA LIN. And remember that our support helps books get noticed. You can buy the book, review the book, put the book on your Goodreads Want to Read shelf, tell friends about the book (by sharing the post on social media), and you can ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection.
I hope you all have a wonderful week!