It took 14 years to write, sell and paint my graphic memoir, FORGET SORROW.  This week I received the news on its listing as recommended graphic memoir of 2010 in the SF Chronicle and today, the LA Times.  (Just heard as I write that FS made  Barnes & Nobles Year's Best Reading.  Part of my job description as author is to tout my product.

When I receive good news, I am of course elated; but there is also a much larger part of me that is shame-faced about the blowing of my own horn as I do now.  (I should just adopt a couple of geese.)  But I’ve been at my job for 16 years and know that publicity is important to book sales and book sales are important to yours truly in getting the next contract.

The trouble with a first-time author is that she ends up reporting to the same people, over and over again, about each and every positive news her book receives.  The author’s mother and father can applaud tirelessly, but S.O., best friend, colleagues only want to hear about the book’s progress once, maybe twice.  Oh, and don't forget kids.  One author crowed about his successes on a daily basis to his family, his 8 year-old daughter cried out, "All you care about is your f&*%g book!"  He admited it was true and would throw his grandmother in front of a runaway cablecar if he could get a New York Times review.

I am not THAT greedy, but I was a damn nuisance with BABA: A RETURN TO CHINA UPON MY FATHER’S SHOULDERS in 1994.  By the second book, THE ODYSSEY OF A MANCHURIAN, I was a tad better behaved with my friends.  By the third book, I’d more or less learned my lesson and kept the news to mom and dad (and a few patient friends).

And, well, now on the publication of FORGET SORROW, there is this thing called Facebook.  I can tell one and all.  Those who are sick of me can simply ignore me or hit the thumbs-down.

 LA Time holiday list

 SF Chronicle holiday list

Barnes and Nobles Best of 2010 Reading List

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• Bloomsbury Review of Forget Sorrow by Belle Yang by Bloomsbury Review
• London Times Literary Supplement by London Times Literary Supplement
• Huffington Post Reviews Forget Sorrow by Belle Yang by Huffington Post
• Belle Yang ups the ante on the autobiographical graphic novel by Metro San Jose
• Belle Yang's "Forget Sorrow" by Comic Book Resources
• Interview in San Francisco Chronicle by staff reporter Meredith May by SF Chronicle
• Forget Sorrow: An Ancestral Tale by Comic Book Bin
• Barnes and Nobles Reviews FORGET SORROW by Barnes and Noble Reviews
• Wall Street Journal Review and Video by Wall Street Journal
• Belle Yang’s debut graphic novel, Forget Sorrow, is a big breakthrough. by Monterey County Weekly
• Carmel artist/writer Belle Yang finds ideal idiom in her first-ever graphic novel that has wowed critics by Monterey County Herald
• SF Gate Asian Pop Reviews Forget Sorrow by SFGate
• Miami Herald Reviews Forget Sorrow by Miami Herald
• Daily News/San Jose Mercury News Review of Forget Sorrow by Daily News/San Jose Mercury News
• SF Chronicle Review of FORGET SORROW by SF Chronicle SFGate
• Elle Magazine: FORGET SORROW How to Picture a Life by Elle Magazine Trust Us: This month's quick picks
• Starred Review Kirkus: "Forget Sorrow: An Ancestral Tale" by Kirkus Review
• Booklist FORGET SORROW by Booklist
• Giant Robot Review: FORGET SORROW by Giant Robot
• Publisher's Weekly: FORGET SORROW by Publisher's Weekly
• Starred Kirkus Review: "Baba: A Return to China Upon My Father's Shoulders" by Kirkus Reviews
• Library Journal Starred Review: "The Odyssey of a Manchurian" by Library Journal
• New York Times: HANNAH IS MY NAME by New York Times