Hello, friends! Leeann Wu has been out for about a month. I’m really happy to hear reports of it in so many libraries.

I’ve been thinking about some of the interviews and chats I’ve done about THE GLOWING LIFE OF LEEANN WU. When I started to write this book, I knew I wanted to write a multigenerational book about magic, but ALSO (I kept forgetting to mention this) I wanted to write about insomnia and lack of sleep, but it’s hard to make a physical condition a villain. The plot did eventually evolve, but I still maintain that sleeplessness and fatigue is a true enemy of many of us. (Uh, happy holidays and don’t stay up too late?)

In more celebratory news, how about a giveaway for 2 audio copies of THE GLOWING LIFE OF LEEANN WU, narrated by the great Natalie Naudus? It’s open internationally. All you have to do is reply to this email with an audiobook rec (or a book rec). (I’d also love to find out why you enjoy the story you’re recommending, but, like, I’m not grading you, so that’s optional.)

The finer print: Entrants must be subscribed to this email to win. Giveaway closes 12/22. This giveaway is not associated with Buttondown. Entrants must be 18+. I’ll notify winners (and send them a link to the audio) via email.

Friends, The Glowing Life of Leeann Wu is out in the world!

This inter-generational book about a forty-something woman with a cranky ob/gyn mother, a university-bound daughter and strange new physical abilities reflects so many of the things that have preoccupied me in the last couple of years, among them sleeplessness, mother-daughter relationships, family history and third culture, raging hormones and aging. I hope you find something in it that resonates with you.

Print: Love's Sweet Arrow | Bookshop US | Powell's | McNally Robinson | Queen Books | Book City | Amazon US  |  Amazon CA | B&N | Chapters-Indigo | Books A Million | Target | Hudson Booksellers | Penguin Random House 

Ebook: Bookshop | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Chapters Indigo | Kobo

Hi, friends! Just a quick email to let you know about two fun things happening running up to the November 18 release of The Glowing Life of Leeann Wu:

1. Elizabeth Davis and I are giving away a printed, signed copy of our books to one lucky reader! As I mentioned in my previous email, I loved Elizabeth’s new book, Time for You (and I adore her backlist, too). We’ve teamed up to host a The Inexplicable Magic Instagram Giveaway. This is open to readers from the US and Canada, and you’ll have to comment and be following us and subscribe to our newsletters. Details in the post!

2. Love’s Sweet Arrow will be hosting a joint virtual release party with me and Olivia Dade, who’s latest, Second Chance Romance, comes out November 25, and moderated by Emma Barry. I love both these gorgeous, hilarious people (and their books) and I might do that thing where I end up laughing so hard that I hiccup, so how’s that for a show? The event will be on YouTube and although free, you should sign up for tickets here: https://shop.lovessweetarrow.com/oliviaandmindy

   

   In other news, I just sent out a batch of signed bookplates to Love’s Sweet Arrow. If you pre-order The Glowing Life of Leeann Wu from them before November 10, you’ll get one: https://shop.lovessweetarrow.com/mindyhung

   Thanks and take care!

   xo Ruby/Opal/Mindy

Hello, friends!

Just one more month before The Glowing Life of Leeann Wu, my weird, romantic, ghost-y book about a perimenopausal midwife whose hands begin to glow, comes out! My author copies have arrived and, great news, pre-order links for the audiobooks, narrated by Natalie Naudus, have begun to appear! Here’s a small selection of audio links:

Spotify Books | Amazon US | Amazon CA

Friends, I know it’s been but a few weeks since my last loving missive, however, like a gossipy aunt, I always want to give you the latest and the freshest. I’m pleased to say that one of my favourite independent bookstores, Love’s Sweet Arrow, will have signed bookplates for US readers who pre-order from their store! Please consider supporting a fantastic indie (and my writing!) by making a purchase from them. Here’s the link: https://shop.lovessweetarrow.com/mindyhung

For Canadian and international readers, I’m happy to send you a bookplate if you’ve pre-ordered. Just reply to this email and we’ll figure it out.

From the backlist… It’s time to talk about my first indie release, The Art of Losing. This book is notable in several ways. I wrote a version of it shortly after Acute Reactions came out, so in my mind, it’s actually one of my “older” books despite the fact it was only published a couple of years ago. It’s in first-person past, told from the point-of-view of Gia, a statistician who’s grieving the loss of her father and experiences a kind of haunting. It’s a weird book, and I made rookie mistakes for the release, but I’m glad I went through the whole process. I also had to write this in order to get to Leeann Wu (which is also in first-person past and ghosty).

Friends, I hope you’ve been having a lovely August. Last week, my daughter and I were on the West Coast visiting my folks, and we ate delicious Korean food and I bought a house dress for $3.50 (Canadian!). Plus, I weeded and pruned my parents’ garden and took a stab at reorganizing their house. (A shallow and largely unsuccessful stab—barely broke a blood vessel.) I also re-read Ilona Andrews’ The Inheritance and Sherry Thomas’s The Burning Sky on the plane, and it turns out disaster fantasy where things end up okay is my jam.

Speaking of fantasy with a hopeful ending, have you pre-ordered The Glowing Life of Leeann Wu? I sure would appreciate it if you did. It’s out November 18 in print (paper and hardcover), ebook, and audio (narrated by Natalie Naudus).

Pre-order Print

Bookshop US | Powell's | McNally Robinson | Queen Books |Book City | Amazon US  |  Amazon CA | B&N | Chapters-Indigo | Books A Million | Target | Hudson Booksellers | Penguin Random House 

Friends, it’s been hot here where I am, much like the weather in The Glowing Life of Leeann Wu. And like in the book, things have started to go a little sideways. This newsletter, for instance, was supposed to go out a couple of days ago and obviously did not. But enough about my technical difficulties…

US readers, there’s a Goodreads giveaway for print copies of Leeann Wu that closes 7/13, so very soon! Also for US readers, Barnes & Noble is having a BOGO 50% off sale on romance paperbacks, so that means you could get Wild Life and then also a copy of Hard Knocks for half off.

Really happy to announce that the hilarious and brilliant Natalie Naudus will be narrating The Glowing Life of Leeann Wu, which is super cool because when Natalie saw the Publishers Marketplace announcement on Instagram, she threw her hat in the ring right away. I love it when it a plan comes together!

I’m a huge fan of her audio work and her writing. You may also remember that as Victoria Mei, she narrated “Yes, And…” and as Natalie, Wild Life:

Harper Collins Canada | Apple Books | Google Books | Audible US | Kobo CA | Kobo US | Libro.fm

The Leeann Wu audiobook will be out from Spotify on November 18, the same release date as the paperback, the ebook, and the hardcover. (And yes, Spotify books are available on all audiobook retail sites.) Many thanks to Stephanie Manova and the Alcove subrights team, my editor Jess Verdi, agent Sarah E. Younger, and Hanna Silvennoinen at Spotify for making this happen.

Hello, friends!

If you’re a Netgalley person, The Glowing Life of Leeann Wu* is available for request now:

The Glowing Life of Leeann Wu | Mindy Hung | 9798892421690 | NetGalley

*Please note, these are uncorrected ARCs for now. Having handed in my copy edits not too long ago, believe me, I know just how many errors there are.

Hello, friends!

Two bits of news for US readers especially (don’t worry international readers, I gotchu—see the stuff under the photo):

Alcove Press is running a giveaway on Goodreads for 5 physical galleys of my upcoming women’s fiction/contemporary fantasy The Glowing Life of Leeann Wu! Yes, you could win a chance to get a sneak peek at a book that doesn’t come out til November. Unfortunately, this is only open to US readers. The giveaway runs from 4/24-5/11. Here’s the link:

Friends, some good news. Here’s the cover of THE GLOWING LIFE OF LEEANN WU! Apparently, it’s already up on the retail sites.

Look at the power coming from that palm!

What can I say about this book in the chaos of now? Leeann is a 40-something Asian Canadian woman who suddenly, inexplicably starts to glow and who eventually saves her town. When I was describing this to my friend Kristin, she said, “So she’s kind of a superhero.” Yes, but she’s also an ordinary woman with a midwifery practice, a kid who’s off to university, a difficult mom, and a fledgling relationship with a younger man, and in these very dark times, I want to remember that ordinary people can do extraordinary things for their communities.

A super quick email today: I’d really, really love it if you’d pre-order The Glowing Life of Leeann Wu, my romantic magical midlife midwife book about a single mother who saves the day despite being really, really tired. I’m sure all your faves have told you that pre-orders help authors so much. We’re all vying for space and attention these days, and even a little advance interest helps make sure that physical bookstores will stock our books.

And now of course, American readers, it’s time for the Barnes & Noble sale, which gives 25% off all pre-order books (print, hardcover, ebook, audio) and runs from 2/5-2/7 with code PREORDER25.

That link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-glowing-life-of-leeann-wu-mindy-hung/1146546421

The offer is for Barnes & Noble Rewards and Premium Members only, nonmembers will have to enroll (but it's free).

Hello, friends! I hope this finds you as well as can be expected. It’s already been a bruiser of a year, and we’ve just gotten started.

I’m thinking about anniversaries lately. I’ve had a few in my personal life recently, but it’s also my 10th anniversary as a published romance author, and it’ll be the year of my 10th release when The Glowing Life of Leeann Wu comes out. (My first novel, Acute Reactions, came out in March 2015. I’ll talk about it in my next newsletter.)

And today is the first birthday of my latest published book, Wild Life.

I started writing Wild Life before COVID hit. I was working on it when I first started realizing anxiety was creeping into almost all parts of my life, colouring my everyday decisions about where to walk, how to talk, and how to dress, becoming the real reason I stopped socializing. And when the pandemic broke it was almost a terrible relief to have so many of my fears appear real—I had an objective correlative.