My sister Kwan believes she has yin eyes. She sees those who have died and now dwell in the world of Yin, ghosts who leave the mists just to visit her kitchen on Balboa Street in San Francisco.

Over time, passion wanes, differences don't.

Language is the tool of my trade -and I use them all - all the Englishes I grew up with

I wanted to write stories for myself. At first it was purely an aesthetic thing about craft. I just wanted to become good at the art of something. And writing was very private.

People there only dream that it is China, because if you are Chinese you can never let go of China in your mind.

You can have pride in what you do each day, but not arrogance in what you were born with.

Ying-ying, you have tiger eyes. They gather fire in the day. At night they shine golden.