As a group of avid readers in the LRP team we are very happy to have recently expanded our book offering online and in the showroom. We knew you would be interested in finding out more about some of the wonderful authors and illustrators who have created the ones we've selected. All books have a Hong Kong theme whether it be written or illustrated by someone who lives here or is about the city, the stories and the history of the place so many of us call home.
We have created a series of Ask The Author blog posts where we ask the same three questions (with an added bonus one at the end!) to find out more about their connection to the city, what their book is all about, what inspires them and their favourite things to see and do in the 852.
About you
I moved to Hong Kong in 2000 with my husband after a short stint in San Francisco. His work brought us here. Hong Kong is a special city and very much home. I achieved professional success over my banking career in the city. It was in Hong Kong that I found the resources and many, many extremely helpful people who aided me in my journey of becoming an author. Both my children were born in Hong Kong, which makes my ties to the city even stronger. Hong Kong has also given me my passion for fitness, hiking and running. It’s hard not to fall in love with the trails here. Where else in the world can you be in the heart of the city and in 15 minutes be in a country park or trudging up a hiking trail?
Your Inspiration
I was a banker for 20 plus years working as a senior private banker with banks such as Citigroup, ING and Safra Sarasin. I hold an undergraduate degree in Economics, a master’s degree in Finance and creative writing. I am a children’s book writer, a journalist, an executive coach and a bibliotherapist.
I write two series – ‘Amma Tell me’ (picture books on Indian mythology and festivals, for ages 3 to 8, self-published) and ‘Amma Take Me’ (a travelogue of a mother and her two children to monuments of different faiths and historical significance in India, for ages 9+, published by Penguin). The two series have 18 published titles between them.
While I enjoyed banking, I always had a longing to do something else with my life, something more, something bigger, and something more fulfilling. For years I could not figure out what that was. I finally had my eureka moment in December 2010. The Indian festival of colours ‘Holi’ was round the corner. I was looking for a good book to explain the festival to my older son who was two years old at the time. I I found that there were no resources that were simple to understand and that captured the rich imagery of mythological India that is such an integral part of these stories. So, I went ahead and started
writing the stories in a style that I think kids find fun and non-preachy and collaborated on the illustrations to bring out the imagery that I want my stories to convey.
Favourite thing to do or see in Hong Kong.
Hiking, running on the trails with my husband and two dogs.
Where do you tend to celebrate Diwali if you are in Hong Kong and what is
your favourite thing to do for that occasion?
At home! We celebrate by wearing new colourful Indian clothes, lighting up the entire house with diyas (tea lights), doing a small prayer to Ganesha (the elephant god, asking for good luck for the year) and Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth). We usually meet friends and go to an Indian restaurant for dinner (along with the kids).
