Seven female expats decide to write a book about a female expat
gone missing in China's party city. Given the expat lifestyle, this
could be comic, sorrowful, sordid or morbid.
How to make a "Shanghai Cocktail:" take one missing female
expat, add a conspiracy, fold in a few life crises, lots of detail
and true experience, add a twist of comedy. Shake well and garnish
with a twist of fate.
This is the description of a new and unique book written by
seven women expats belonging to "Brits Abroad" (including one
Canadian and one Australian) who merged their city experiences to
create a mystery novel about a woman missing under suspicious
circumstances in Shanghai.
It offers up the familiar sights and many of the familiar funny,
touching and aggravating experiences. Some sad and dark ones, as
well. And it's told from the point of view of professional women
who traveled here because of their husbands' work and had to find
their own way, make their own adjustments.
Shanghai Cocktail, written by Lucinda Lee Austin (an
anagram of the seven authors' initials - Carrie Bonell, Trudi
Clarke, Julie Crofts, Lorna Hinde, Anne Jones, Linda Stanbridge and
Debbie Thompson), is going on sale today online and promises a
different read in a familiar city.
"It's a novel, but all the situations in the book are things
that we have either heard about or experienced ourselves," says
co-author Jones of the 320-glossy-page self-published book, selling
for 150 yuan (US$20).
It's called Shanghai Cocktail because it's a mixture of
Shanghai experiences from seven different expats, a cocktail of
viewpoints in China's "party city."
The authors have lived in Shanghai for from two to four years.
Their professions range from accountant to architect; one is a
teacher, another a midwife. One just had a baby. Two have returned
to the UK.
We include experiences like waiting outside the Portman for a
taxi, struggling with many bags of shopping," explains co-author
Bonell. "As the character in the book reaches the front of the
queue, she cannot open the taxi door in time before someone behind
her has done it instead and stolen her taxi. As this keeps
happening, she ends up losing her cool and catching a bus home,"
says Bonell.
With a predominantly light-hearted style, the book also deals
with some of the more serious issues of expats living in a foreign
country, such as loneliness and adapting to a new life. It covers
issues faced by many women who come to Shanghai with their spouses
and how they adapt, once expectations have been replaced with
reality.
"Some do really well, others struggle. We have one character who
sits at home taking Prozac and daring herself to go outside while
another loves it straight away. Obviously we have covered the
drinking and partying culture, but we also have shown that Shanghai
can be a lonely place, without your family around for support,"
Bonell says.
Including a colorful cast of characters, the book is based on
one person, Jane, who mysteriously goes missing at a glitzy
reception on board the Shanghai Dragon. Her wrist watch is
discovered, its face shattered.
"It's a mystery book with predominately women characters,
however, there are the odd males, ie, their spouses. I think it was
just easier for us to get into the woman's mentality being women
ourselves," says Bonell.
One character, Brony, a Welshwoman, walks into a friend's
unlocked apartment, thinking he is away. She looks around and
snoops in his computer. When she hears him enter, she hides behind
the couch ...
The same character is lying awake in bed at 4 AM, waiting for
her husband to return. She hears the car drive up and peers out the
window to see the driver prop her husband, paralytically drunk,
against the gate.
?
Another character finally decides to leave her husband after she
learns that he has been rounded up overnight in a police sweep of
prostitutes. Apparently, it was the last straw.
Not all men in the book are heels, however.
The women formed their writing circle in February 2006 initially
to work on small projects, eventually developing into the book.
They met on a fortnightly basis to brainstorm, then they expanded
their characters.
"We all took on different characters, so the book has many
different points of view and each one is marked with a cocktail
glass so the reader can tell when they change," says co-author
Hinde. "We all have an interest in writing and completing this book
has been a great experience, we have all learned so much.
"I don't think a group of men could finish a project like this.
We just absolutely refused to give up despite our ups and downs as
we all had a common end goal. So it was a real bonding
experience."
It's premature to consider a sequel but the co-authors say they
expect to continue with their writing group and take on smaller
projects, keeping in mind that life in Shanghai is so transient -
two of their number have already moved back to England.
It took the writing group 14 months, including four months of
editing, to complete Shanghai Cocktail. They chose to
self-publish as they felt it was very much a project of the
moment.
"If we took three to four years finding a publisher, the moment
would be gone," continues co-author Stanbridge.
Although it is a novel, Shanghai Cocktail uses local
photographs, descriptions of Mandarin and Shanghainese terms and
Chinese horoscopes.
"We hope people won't just read it and discard it as it has a
little more flavor of the city, which makes it a keeper,"
Stanbridge says.
The press run is limited; the book is being distributed only in
Shanghai and to friends and family of the writers in the UK,
Australia and Canada.
At this time, they are testing the market. If the response is
good, they will take it further.
All profits benefit community outreach projects, including Heart
to Heart Shanghai that provides heart surgery for rural children
and Home Sweet Home that offers disabled homeless people a home and
a trade.
"The best sense of achievement for us will be when we can hand
over the proceeds to these projects - all the hard work will be
worth it," says Stanbridge.
(Shanghai Daily August 30, 2007)