Bicultural Mama’s Journey to an Author Site
In the Beginning
When I created Bicultural Mama in 2011, it was the beginning of my new career after giving birth to my first child. In my first post, “Welcome to Bicultural Mama,” I discussed my hopes for this new blog. I posted a cute picture of my family for this debut post.
The Blog Grew With My Children
Soon, the growth of Bicultural Mama led to other media opportunities such as appearing on the Dr. Oz Show (twice!), being interviewed by Bloomberg News, going viral on The Huffington Post, and appearing in a documentary called Yum Chat with a famed NYC chef to cook Asian food. Awards and accolades followed.
As my children grew up, so did my blog. I was no longer interested in talking about baby and toddler products. I wanted to get back to the original intention of my blog which was to celebrate bicultural families and focus on Asian culture. Over time, I expanded to include multicultural families. This topic became a focus for me as reflected when I became a board member of the organization, Multicultural Kid Blogs, and a co-host of the annual Multicultural Children’s Book Day event.
Focusing on Multicultural Books
But like life, my site was ever-evolving. Ever since I was a child, I wanted to write books. I discussed this in the post My Lifelong Writing Journey to Publish Books. Given this, I found myself naturally drawn to reading and reviewing books by other authors. Soon, instead of writing reviews about children’s toiletry products or toys, I primarily wrote reviews about multicultural children’s books.
At the height of the pandemic, good news arrived. After about a decade of trying, I finally acquired a literary agent who saw potential in my manuscripts. This opened the doors for getting access to large publishing companies who tend to only accept manuscripts by agented authors.
My Debut Book
In January 2023, my debut book It’s Chinese New Year, Curious George [Clarion Books/HarperCollins Publishers] launched. I did dozens of interviews for online, radio, and print media. My launch party was attended by about 150 guests where I introduced them to my book and delved into Chinese culture. My book launch was a success!
There were book signings and school visits. The book was a #1 New Release in its categories on Amazon. It was a very busy but exciting time. My childhood dream to become an author finally came true!
The Next Chapter: A New Author Site
A few months ago, Publishers Weekly magazine announced my next picture book called My Name is Ai Lin [Sleeping Bear Press]. The real-life Chinese names of my children inspired this book. In the story, I spoke about the cultural importance of the meaning of names as well as how correct pronunciation of the names could show respect. My Name is Ai Lin will be launching in June 2025.
Given I see writing children’s books as my career moving forward, it made sense to transition my blog to an author site. Besides, I was not writing blog posts much anyway; I was spending more time writing children’s book manuscripts.
I plan to make school and library visits a bigger part of my career. I have loved my experiences talking to the children and introducing my book and Chinese culture to them.
But for those who still want to view my Bicultural Mama content, that will still be available. On the new site, I plan to have a “Bicultural Mama Blog” menu header where people can still find my archive of past posts.
As for the new author website, KrizzyDesigns, who designed my Bicultural Mama blog, will be the web design company transitioning my blog. I can’t wait to see the new website and introduce it to you all. Thank you for following me on my children’s book author journey!
