Meeting the Author: Students attend a reading by Judy Fong Bates

It was a very rainy day, and two of us had umbrellas blow inside out, but it was worth the adventure to see Judy Fong Bates speak at a local secondary school. The Girls' Novel Club was thrilled to hear the author talk about her childhood, her writing life, and the characters in her novel, Midnight at the Dragon Cafe. The question and answer period was fascinating. Students learned that Ms. Fong Bates first came to the idea of her novel when she drove across the country as a young woman and noticed that almost every small town had a Chinese restaurant. We also learned about her childhood, when she lived above the Chinese laundry run by her father. Students were happy to meet the author and have their books signed!