Pass the Wasabi

Will Trish Sakai be able to follow her three simple rules and hold out against two gorgeous guys?

Trish Sakai is ready for a change from her wild, flirtatious behavior. And her three cousins are anxious for her to change, too. Trish is always knocking something over, knocking herself out, and taking hard knocks in her perpetual confusion about men.

When Trish's ex-boyfriend, Kazuo the artist, keeps popping up at all the wrong moments, Trish decides to be firm with herself. She creates three simple rules from First and Second Corinthians and plans to follow them to the letter. No more looking at men! No more dating non-Christians! She will persevere in hardship by relying on God.

Except now Kazuo is claiming Trish is his muse, and he can't complete his major work of art without her. And a gorgeous coworker is reassigned, bringing him in daily contact with Trish. But her cousins are determined to hold her accountable to her plan. She thought three rules would be a cinch, but suddenly Trish's simple rules don't seem so simple after all.

This is Camy Tang's latest novel, Only Uni. I've known Camy now for several years, even before her first book, Sushi for One? was published, which I also just loved. Camy says of herself that she is "the loud Asian chick who writes loud Asian chick lit." She is definitely a delightful and bubbly person whose blog, Camy's Loft is one of my regular stops. I feel like I'm visiting a TV show and know all the characters: Camy, Captain Caffeine and Snickers the cutie dog, as well as watch their cooking forays and her knitting projects. As a biologist, worship team leader and a staff worker for her church youth group, she is not a one dimensional character by any means.

Brilliant and helpful, Camy also has a top notch critique service (The Story Sensei) for helping writers and gives away Christian novels every Monday and Thursday. Her generosity extends to this blog! If you leave a comment and your contact info on this blog, I'll draw a name and Camy will send you a free copy of her book, Only Uni. See below.

Camy is totally fun and answered my questions that I posed to her for us to learn something new about her.

CLM: Trish Sakai has three simple rules she created from First and Second Corinthians. What are your three simple rules to write by?

Camy:
1. Relax. Stress is bad. I have a nice little Tranquility Corner with
my tabletop water fountain, candle, aromatherapy, and M&Ms. :)

2. Standing at my desk is better on my back and helps me think better. I have my monitor, keyboard, and trackball elevated on some cardboard boxes.
3. I try to write every day. This is really important, because otherwise I get out of the rhythm of things.



CLM: Name three things to eat you can't live without:

Camy:
1. French fries (I try to have some once a week so I don't go into withdrawal and attack a McDonalds or something stupid like that)
2. Tea (several cups daily)
3. Cheese (any type, but my fav is gruyere)

CLM:Oh, wow, I love all those things, too, and French fries are absolutely a need.

CLM: Finish this sentence: You should know this about me....

Camy:
I am incredibly weird and you should run far, far away.

CLM: I think that just makes you more fun to be around!

CLM: Camy, tell us your favorite place to visit:
Camy: Hawaii! I miss Hawaiian food, but it has a tendency to like me too much. Those Portuguese sausages and loco moco breakfasts have settled permanently on my rear end.

CLM: Everyone should know that you grew up in Hawaii--how many people can claim that? Not many. Paradise, ahhhhhhh.

CLM: This is the Chat 'n' Chew Cafe' so besides here, where's your favorite place to eat?: (And yeah,we have fries to rival that Arched Nemesis!)

Camy: Kua'Aina hamburger joint on Oahu's North Shore. They have the BEST french fries on the planet--thin, with the skin still on.

CLM: Ooooooooo, ok, well, I would love to try those!

CLM: What do you like the most about writing over being a biologist/researcher?
Camy: I can write until 3 in the morning and get up late the next day. What can I say--I'm a night owl. Emphasis on the "night."

CLM: You and I are on the same planet with that one. It's currently going on midnight as I fashion this blog.

CLM: As you know, I've eaten Japanese food with my friends and didn't find anything I truly loved in those times. I figured I just needed better guidance. I would seriously try anything you chose for me (since we have similiar tastes in other foods.) So...You're at a Japanese luncheon with me. What should I order?

Camy: Well, I personally like the unagi (eel). But my second choice would be udon, which is fat noodles in broth with vegetables. I used to love that as a kid because the noodles looked like worms in my soup (but tasted better than worms, obviously). If the visual grosses you out, a good standby is tonkatsu, which is a breaded and fried pork cutlet
with a sweet-salty-sour sauce. My favorite way to eat tonkatsu is
tonkatsu donburi, which is a cutlet over rice with an egg and soy
sauce mixture-sauce poured over it, but not all restaurants have that
on their menu.

CLM: Ok, those things sound delicious! I would really love to try the tonkatsu, and especially the tonkatsu donburi. And as a first grade teacher, I would've loved to introduce the worms in the soup, because I used to rename foods (plums were eyeballs, for example.) Fun!

CLM: You always ask the question, "If you were a dessert, what would you be?" so I'm asking, If you were an entree' in the Chat 'n' Chew Cafe', what would you be?

Camy: I would be a bright pink frosting cupcake because:
I like pink
My writing is light and fluffy like frosting
I'm a little cupcake versus a weighty layer cake (I know, that probably makes NO sense, but too bad. LOL)

CLM: And you look absolutely fabulous in pink! But while you have tackled tough topics in your books, you also do it with a kick of fun, so I understand what you are saying.

CLM: In your Kid interview on my site you confess your love of anime as a child (my boys loved anime, too!) What's your favorite anime character of all time:

Camy: Bubblegum Crisis! It's an old anime show. I actually don't watch much anime these days because they tend to be a bit violent and dark for my taste.

CLM: I just love you, Camy. I admire your insight into Christian fiction and your loving, giving spirit with what you know. Thanks so much for being here!

Camy: Thanks for having me here, Crystal!

CLM: If you haven't read Camy's first book, do get that one, too.


Sushi for One?

Only Uni

Romance with a kick of wasabi

Visit her website at here and see what else you can learn about her as she goes around various blogs telling a little something at each one.

NOW, if you leave a comment here, you are entered into the drawing for Camy's book, Only Uni,where I will draw a name on Wednesday, March 19th. Please leave your contact info with the comment.

!!!!!!!!!!!!FEDORA WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Camy's next book: