You are the first to know: Just Published!

Daughter of Blue City: A Novel of Coming-of-Age Through Revolutionary China

I am so happy to share this great news with you! It has been the fruit of many years’ labor. The previous versions were ready several times. But I decided to change the genre from memoir to historical fiction. Before Daughter, there has to be Mother. Thus came Mother of Red Mountains, published before this one. Given the high standard Mother of Red Mountains has achieved (partially responsible for putting me on the cover of Reader’s House Magazine), I had to make sure this book matches up to it!

You will find familiar characters if you have read Mother of Red Mountains. You can also just read this book as a standalone book.

For now, you can buy the Kindle eBook for $0.99, or read it on Kindle Unlimited for free if you have a subscription.

In a few days, the print books will be available anywhere books are sold. Hope you enjoy reading it! And if so, please consider leaving a review. By doing so, you are supporting me and other authors, and you are helping other readers to make a selection decision.

Prologue

It was 1977 in Hohhot, the capital of China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Early fall was a favorite season for the locals—neither hot nor humid, with sunshine filling the long days.

Joyful anticipation filled the air as people looked forward to the positive changes following the end of China’s Cultural Revolution a year earlier.

A railroad worker had noticed a particular teenage girl twice now in the late afternoons. She was skinny, dressed in oversized clothes handed down by grown-ups. A schoolbag slung across her body showed she was coming from school. Her two braided pigtails were a typical hairstyle for young girls.

The girl walked along the tracks. He had seen her yesterday and wanted to warn her to stay away, but a co-worker called him away. Before he could get back to her, she had vanished.

Today, he wanted to make sure he reached out and talked to her.

“Hey, young lady, stay right where you are!” The worker hurried toward her, one hand holding the wrench he used to inspect the tracks, the other holding his protective helmet.

The girl paused and turned. Her gaze was vague, fixed on a distant point.

The worker took a deep breath—her face showed no fear, only deep sadness. Something heavy weighed on her mind.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

The girl snapped back to the here and now; her expression shifted from sad and desperate to alert. She replied, “Just walking.”

“How did you get in here? This area is dangerous; it’s for workers only.”

She pointed at the large metal gate for moving luggage carts.

“Through there,” she blushed.

“Little girl, what’s your name?” the worker asked, his tone free of blame and full of concern.

The girl looked at him, hesitating, then replied softly, “Zhou Lianlian. My name is Zhou Lianlian.”

“Zhou Lianlian, which school do you attend? Which grade?”

The girl still showed no fear. His kind expression and gentle tone must have assured her he was trustworthy.

“Hohhot 2nd Middle School. I’ve just started the third year.”

The worker thought she was small for that grade. “That is 25 minutes from here. Where do you live?”

The girl took a slow, steady breath before responding. “About five minutes from here,” she said, adjusting her schoolbag to give her right shoulder a moment’s relief.

“I… I used to come here to watch the trains with my sister.”

The worker nodded and looked her over carefully. He believed she was telling the truth, and his voice became even gentler.

“You should go home now. This is not a place for members of the public. Last week’s accident caused us a lot of grief. Poor boy. He would still be alive if he hadn’t come here to play with his buddy. You must have heard about the accident?”

The girl nodded, glancing down at her feet for a moment before lifting her head. “Sorry to cause you concern. I was just walking and thinking. I’ll go home now,” she said.

“Good. Don’t come back again. Let me lead you to the gate.”