Crimson China live webchat Monday 5 December 1-2pm

What fab questions! And equally lovely comments. I'm so very pleased indeed that the book hit a note with Gransnet readers. Many many thanks for your support.

Betsy

boudoirbabe

I wanted to ask Betsy - who is your favourite writer, and how do you avoid just trying to copy them?

(I am trying to write myself, and I find my writing veers off in different directions, depending on what I've been reading. I think, "Oh, that's good, I'll try that." It ends up a bit of a mess!)

I didn't address the second part of this question and wanted to say that it's really vital that you find your own voice with fiction. I teach creative writing to secondary school kids and that is the single biggest thing we strive for. Each of us has a voice that is absolutely unique to us, that draws on our own experience and insight and history. Find and cherish and guard that voice. It's in there, and setting it free might be more easy than you realize.

effblinder

Ooh I haven't quite finished this yet, so don't want to read the thread too closely, but wanted to ask what Betsy feels we could do to help people like Wen in real life - particularly in medical situations.

The scene in the pharmacy where Wen watches a man refuse medical advice (and the anecdote about the man hit by a bus) really brought it home to me how terrible it is to not be able to trust anyone, or accept any proper help.

Do you know of any charities doing anything to help people who are here illegally but in life-threatening situations?

Interesting question Effblinder. Short answer is no, I have never heard of a charity attempting to deal with this problem. It is absolutely the case that an illegal Chinese would have to be on the verge of death before they would seek help from the authorities or medical care. The risk of being sent back is simply too great. It's an important point to make to those who accuse this particular community of drawing on public resources. Illegal Chinese rely only on themselves in Britain. They dare not do otherwise.

nannysgetpaid

Was delighted to get my free copy and enjoyed reading it but does anyone feel it ended too soon. I want to know what happened to the characters.

Oh dear -- cannot do anything more than apologize Nannysgetpaid. Sorry sorry sorry...will try not to do it again. Hate to leave readers wanting.

boudoirbabe

I wanted to ask Betsy - who is your favourite writer, and how do you avoid just trying to copy them?

(I am trying to write myself, and I find my writing veers off in different directions, depending on what I've been reading. I think, "Oh, that's good, I'll try that." It ends up a bit of a mess!)

I don't really have favourites Boudoirbabe (nice name, by the way) but I do love anything with a strong voice. I once spent a weekend reading Curtis Sittenfeld's American Wife (fab fictionalized account of the life of Barbara Bush -- read it if you haven't!!!!) and when I went to work on Monday morning I spent several hours writing in her voice. At the end of the day I looked at what I'd written and had to throw it in the bin! As I've said earlier I also love books with a strong narrative line. And I am enthralled by anyone who can write lyrical descriptive prose. A recent example of the latter would be Hisham Matar's In The Country Of Men.

EmilyHarburn

I loved this book.

I live in Lancashire and visit Morecambe from time to time. My next visit is this week for a Christmas lunch at the Headway Hotel.

My son lives in Australia with his Australian wife. They have adopted two Chinese children. The first one a girl at nine months who is now 8 years old. Last year they went back with a group of parents and children to visit her orphanage. They were received by the head of the orphanage in the board room as 'successful graduates'. My grand child has had counselling offered by the adoption organisation in Australia to support her expression of identity and understand how to deal with questions both her own and other people's. Just as they got back from the orphanage last year they set out again to bring back an adopted son aged 22 months with a cleft palate. I spent 4 months in Australia with them shortly after they arrived back and then visited again this year. There has been a huge development of language, mutual play, brother sister interaction in the year. Before this in 2007 I did a Community Care visit to China with Master Travel. We were a group of social workers, psychologists teachers etc. and visited an orphanage, community centre, old people's home, Beijing Hospital, the Houtongs etc.

However, back to the book. Betsy Tobin is brilliant. Her understanding of May the adopted child in her family, and of the Chinese cockle picker, his relationship to his sister and to other people, I feel shows a very insightful and realistic understanding of relationships. I have attended some novel writing groups. It is difficult to write, and so I admire Betsy's skill. I found it hard to put the book down.

I ordered it on my Kindle the moment I read the review on Gransnet.

Do find us other books like this.

Hi Emily. I'm thrilled you loved the book and that the characters and their situations resonated with you. I was fascinated by the predicament of the generation of adopted Chinese daughters worldwide. Other people have addressed this topic in fiction if you're interested: I'd recommend Anne Tyler's Digging to America, about the adoption of a Korean child.

numberplease

It would be nice if there was a sequel.

Hi Numberplease. My own mother wanted a sequel! I'm not really in the business of writing sequels (much to the ire of my publishers) mainly because I get itchy feet as a writer and prefer new horizons and challenges. I also feel strongly that both Wen and Lili's stories do come to a natural conclusion in this book, even though I realize that I have left readers wanting more of a conclusive ending to Lili's story. I can only apologize to those of you who fall into that camp, but hopefully I've managed to address some of your longing...

scribblegranny

What do you find the most difficult thing about writing a novel (and how do you deal with it)?

Hi Scribblegranny. Actually I find writing good description really difficult. For me to write a metaphor is like birthing a ten pound baby! And I really value the work of those who are more adept than I at it. How do I get around it? Well in my next book the main character is blind! I thought that would make things easier, and in some ways it has, as it has given me a way into description: sounds, smells, texture etc are very important in this book, as is memory.

Stansgran

so how do you feel about children being adopted here when china has become a very wealthy nation? We know people who are struggling to adopt from China at the moment.

I think the Chinese quite rightly keep close tabs on adoption of their nationals. China is a country where children are enormously valued and cherished, as are large families, so the one child policy was devastating for the country as a whole. Traditionally sons were valued over daughters (which stems from China's rural past as a nation of farmers) so in recent decades we have seen a surplus of girl children being offered for adoption. The one child policy is slowly changing in China, and so is the country's commitment to and treatment of orphans, both of which I welcome.

clovenhoof

I see there's already been a question about alcoholism - mine is similar. I found Angie's depression very persuasive and wondered if that was something you really wanted to focus on in the book, or whether you just needed her to be in the sea that night!

I'm pleased you found her depression believable Clovenhoof, as it is also a topic I did some research on -- tho not surprisingly it was very depressing to read about! In all honesty, I think Angie is a bit underdeveloped as a character, so I'm pleased she worked for you on the page. I didn't use the depression as a way to get her into the sea that night -- rather, it was more a way into the character for me.

pothole

When you write, do you have an image of an ideal reader? Do you always ask the same person to be your first reader? Does your family read your books and is that easy or difficult?

(Sorry, that's three questions!)

Hi Pothole. What I can say is that I'm incredibly mindful of my reader at every stage of the process, and am always thinking about how to make the book a more engrossing read. I don't really have an ideal, but I suppose I write more for women than men, because women read more fiction than men. My family sometimes reads my work -- my seventeen year old daughter has just helped me with my next book, as it features a protagonist of the same age. But none of them read Crimson China before it came out, tho a few other readers did. In general I don't use many readers -- a select few, as it can be difficult to reconcile their comments.

florist

Have you always wanted to write, and how did you get going?

I thought I wanted to be a journalist so I took an evening class in my early twenties and was told my work was too literary! So that was the beginning really. Once I started writing fiction I became utterly beguiled by the process. Writing a novel is a long teeth-gnashing journey but when it comes together the feeling is extraordinary. Like no other.

notpastit

Welcome, Betsy. There is a theme of characters searching for themselves in another country in the book. I read somewhere that you are American, and I wondered if that came from personal experience?

Hi Notpastit. Yes I write a lot about identity and culture, and I have always attributed that to the fact that I left my own country to come to the UK in the late 80s. When I first started writing novels, I didn't feel comfortable setting them in either contemporary America or Britain, so I set them in the distant past, where I felt that I'd be on equal grounds with both my readers. It took me a long time to work up the courage to write about contemporary Britain, and even then I set the story in a different dimension. My next novel is set in the US, but again, I didn't feel comfortable setting it in the present, so have put it in the era of my upbringing! You have to feel at home within your settings, on some level.

Stansgran

I was also intrigued by the gardening -redemption through gardening? or creating a garden as a gift?-haven't been to China for about 15 years and it struck me then that gardening was really market gardening there(grow food or starve if you had a plot) or highly formal places for the wealthy or the tourist. It may have changed a lot. Surprised me how he got stuck in so easily

Yes I think the nature of gardening and gardens is very different indeed, and yet it was a place where I felt strongly that both cultures could meet. And it was definitely a way to make the relationship between them believable. In fact I had to consult a gardening authority about roses for this book, and it is he who was responsible for the title. I'd had no idea that our domestic rose breeds first came from China, as it isn't a flower that is particularly revered there.

cheeriblegran

I found the book very moreish! Is that page-turning quality something that comes naturally to you? Or is it to do with plotting?

Many thanks Cheeriblegran. I am hugely big on strong narrative! Partly because I am a very fickle reader who abandons books too easily. So I really strive to write books that readers can't put down. That means strong plotting and characters that you really care about. I'm thrilled that Gransnet readers felt that way about this one.