Once, the war was fought with kindlings—elite, magic-wielding warriors whose devastating power comes at the cost of their own young lives.
Now, the war is over, and kindlings have been cast adrift—their magic outlawed, their skills outdated, their formidable balar weapons prized only as relics and souvenirs.
Violence still plagues the countryside, and memories haunt those who remain. When a village comes under threat of siege, it offers an opportunity for seven kindlings to fight one last time. But war changed these warriors. And to reclaim who they once were, they will have to battle their pasts, their trauma, and their grim fates to come together again—or none of them will make it out alive.
From bestselling and award-winning author Traci Chee comes a gut-wrenching, introspective fantasy about seven lost soldiers searching for the peace they once fought for and the future in which they’re finally daring to believe.
As a young child living in Los Angeles during the early 1900s, Wong Liu Tsong dreaming of being an actress (Liu Tsong meaning “willow frost”). At the age of nine she pestered film crew to hirer her… so much so that she gained the nickname “C.C.C.” or “Curious Chinese Child”. Two years later she came up with her own stage name (Anna May Wong) - a combination of her original Chinese name and the Angelisized name used in school.
Despite her father’s objections, she was cast as an extra in The Red Lantern (1919) - her film debut. Soon, this and other extra roles motivated her to quit high school and pursue acting full time. She later said of her decision:
“I was so young when I began that I knew I still had youth if I failed, so I determined to give myself 10 years to succeed as an actress.”
Her first screen credit came in 1921, when Wong was cast as Lon Chaney’s wife in “Bits of Life”. The next year she appeared in “The Toll of the Sea”, one of the first movies filmed in color. Variety singled out her performance as being “extraordinary”.
But unfortunately, despite her talent, Wong was primarily cast in stereotypical Asian roles. And if a film with a well rounded Asian character was available - Hollywood cast a Caucasian actress in “Yellow Face”.
For a time Wong had better success when she movie to Europe. There she befriended Marlene Dietrich and (pre-Nazi Propagandist) Leni Riefenstahl.
When Wong returned to Hollywood, she costarred with Marlene Dietrich in “Shanghai Express” in 1932. Although it was a supporting role, she played an important and heroic character.
During WWII, Wong focuses her efforts on raising money to help the Chinese cause against Japan.
In 1951, Wong starred in “The Gallery of Madame Liu-Song”, a 10 episode TV series where she played an art dealer turned detective - a major breakthrough as the first US television show starring an Asian-American.
Wong had planned to appearing in the film musical “Flower Drum Song” (1961) but died of a heart attack before production began.
The United States Mint announced in 2021 that Anna May Wong would be one of the first women depicted on the reverse of the quarter coin. This made her the first Asian American depicted on American coin.
Anna May Wong never married. When asked why not, she would answer:
“I am wedded to my art.”
She lived in an era when gay men and lesbian women dare not reveal themselves. But rumors persist that Wong was a lesbian. She has been linked to Marlene Dietrich, Leni Riefenstahl, Alla Nazimova, and Cecil Cunningham.
Whether Anna May Wong was a lesbian or not, her story deserves to be told.
UPDATE: Mattel released an Anna May Wong Barbie doll in May 2023!
Ming-Na Wen’s Walk of Fame Ceremony on 30th May, 2023
Mum, thanks to you, we’re all living the American dream and this day is dedicated to you. I want to thank you for my name because it may not be English, but it is American.
Ming-Na Wen’s Walk of Fame Ceremony on 30th May, 2023
Never in my wildest geek dream would I have thought that May would have started with Carrie Fisher, the late great Carrie Fisher, getting her star and me ending it. And then having Mark Hamill saying “Welcome to the Neighborhood!”
Ming-Na Wen’s Walk of Fame Ceremony on 30th May, 2023
Growing up my Chinese name may not have fit or made me feel like I fit in white suburbia, in Hollywood even, or even in America. It made me feel like an outsider, a foreigner. But it also made me more determine to make it belong. You know, hell, if they can say Arnold Schwarzenegger, they can say Ming-Na Wen.
ALT
