I was six when my mother taught me the art of invisible strength. It was a strategy for winning arguments, respect for others, and eventually, thought neither of us knew it at the time, chess games... "Come from the South, blow from the wind - poom! - North will follow. Strongest wind cannot be seen."

I have loved works of fiction precisely for their illusions, for the author's sleight-of-hand in showing me the magic, what appeared in the right hand but not in the left.

And after I played them both a few times, I realized they were two halves of the same song.

But I will win and give her my spirit, because this is the way a mother loves her daughter. -Ying Ying

I started a second novel seven times and I had to throw them away.

I hated the tests the raised hopes and failed expectations.

My mother said I was a clingy kid until I was about four. I also remember that from the age of eight she and I fought almost every day.