Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors, illustrators and translators.

Congratulations to L Sam Zhang on the release of The First Moon Festival

You have a Ph.D. in neuroscience and spent many years doing branding and outreach for startups, research institutes, and non-profits. What got you started on your children's literature path?

Being an author has always been a dream of mine. When I came to the US halfway through 3rd grade, I wondered for a moment if I should give up on that dream. Less than a year later, an essay I wrote about how I shall become a writer ended up winning a contest out of 35,000 other 4th graders in Western New York. As I stood in the middle of Marine Midland Arena to receive the award during halftime of a Buffalo Blizzard game, I promised myself that I would make that dream a reality.

When I went to Cornell, I had planned to major in English and Physics. Yet, because of my experience with electrophysiology, I was directed toward biological research. The more successful I became in academia, the further I fell from achieving my dream of writing fiction. Thus, I left academia to explore what life had to offer outside of a windowless lab.

For the next decade, I explored various career opportunities. I even founded a small marketing and design firm. I wrote a bit on the side, until during the course of 2017-2018, a number of people in my life passed away, many in completely random ways. It forced me to reevaluate what I wanted to accomplish in life.

And so, I stepped away from my career and began to write in earnest. I worked on a YA fantasy novel, and was rewriting it for the fifth time when I became involved with the local Chinese school in 2022. When the school collaborated with the local library in a storytime series on Chinese holidays, I had a hard time finding books. The ones I did find were lacking in details. Then at a workshop for Chinese School Management, principals around the world repeatedly complained of a lack of children’s books for English speakers interested in Chinese culture and language.

Inspired by need, I wrote The First Lantern Festival, then learned of the prohibitive costs of hiring an illustrator. Armed with digital design experience, I illustrated a few pages, showed it to parents, children, and librarians. With their support, I became a children’s book author and illustrator.

Since January 2023, I’ve published The First Lantern Festival, and The First Dragon Boat Festival. The First Moon Festival, coming in September 2023, will be my third book.

You're an author and illustrator. What inspires your art and writing?

I am a big fan of the fantastic stories and legends from Chinese history and mythology. While concepts and characters from Greek, Norse, and Egyptian mythology are frequently found in English comic books and novels, there’s little mention of Chinese mythology despite its delightful depth of colorful characters and settings. Growing up reading everything I could in both English and Chinese, I always felt sad that English readers were missing out on so much.

I love the aesthetics of ancient Chinese clothing (Hanfu), technology, and architecture. By drawing cute (kawaii) animal characters in these settings, I aim to make the enchanting world of Chinese history and mythology more accessible to everyone.

What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book?

Behind each Chinese festival lies a fantastic tale steeped in history and legends thousands of years old. I aim to make these stories available to an English-speaking audience so that more people can enjoy the festivities throughout the year in a meaningful way. Furthermore, these books help children better understand themselves and the world around them in our increasingly global environment.

The proper nouns in my books are presented in Chinese, Pinyin (which are the official English spellings), as well as pronunciations written out in common English words so the readers would have an idea of what the original names look and sound like. It is a chance for everyone to learn a few words in a new language, or at least gain a better sense of what Chinese words are supposed to sound like.

What are your marketing plans for the book and where can we find it?

Each of my books on traditional Chinese festivals comes out about 3 weeks before each festival. I’ve set quite a lofty goal for myself of completing the whole series within two years. This means that all my time and efforts go into creating books that are beautiful, entertaining, and educational, leaving pretty much no time for marketing. I figured that once all the books are written, I can focus on marketing. But another part of it is that while I’m experienced with promoting other people’s products and services, I find it awkward to promote myself. Luckily, there is a real need for books of this type, and I’ve been fortunate to have many opportunities to share my books at local community events and festival celebrations.

The First Lantern Festival was ranked #1 New Release in Children’s Multicultural Literature on Amazon in Jan 2023, and The First Dragon Boat Festival was ranked #1 New Release in Children’s Asian History in June 2023. My books are also distributed by IngramSpark, and thus should be available in major bookstores upon demand.

What's next for you?

I will be compiling my books into The First Chinese Festivals series. I also plan to release audiobook versions of each book, so that the audience will have an even easier time with the pronunciations of Chinese names.

Once I finish writing my YA fantasy novel, I hope to submit it for traditional publishing.

As for illustrated children’s books, I hope to continue that journey with opportunities that combine my science background with my love of culture and art.

More about the book . . .

After saving the world, Houyi the hero received a pill of immortality. When a villain went after the pill, Houyi’s wife Chang’e made a choice that got her trapped on the moon.

Come discover the fantastic legend behind the Moon Festival, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Along the way, you may be drawn into the world of Chinese mythology and learn a few Chinese words.

Publisher: Brilliant Access Media

More about the author . . .

Sam was born in Shanghai and grew up in Buffalo, NY. After getting a PhD in Neuroscience, she spent a decade on the West Coast doing branding and outreach.

In 2023, she took a break from working on a YA Fantasy novel to write and illustrate The First Lantern Festival (#1 New Release in Children’s Multicultural Literature on Amazon in Jan 2023). She fell in love with the process and went on to publish The First Dragon Boat Festival (#1 New Release in Children’s Asian History in June 2023). She’s currently working on her third book, The First Moon Festival (Sep 2023).

Sam now lives in Michigan with her husband, children, a dog rescued from Taiwan, and two Bengal cats. She's the Executive Director of Kalamazoo Chinese Academy, a nonprofit Chinese language and performing arts school, and hopes to make the enchanting world of Chinese history and mythology more accessible to everyone.

To learn more, visit https://lsamzhang.com/