The Official Site of Author Y S Lee

Dear Readers,

You are a delightfully insane bunch! Oh, I enjoyed your responses to “If I were a spy…”. For the record, here are a few of my favourites:

Linda Hitchcock, for the Mrs. Pollifax reference:
If I were a spy, I’d cloak myself in the disguise of an older, civic minded matron who spends her days volunteering at the library or attending committee meetings. My DAR pin would cloak my secret microphone. Mrs. Pollifax, watch out! Have hats, will travel!

Lori, for her radical vision of the Frumpy Spy:
If I were a spy I’d adopt the disguise known the world over as “American Tourist”. Jeans? Check! Fanny Pack? Check! Camera case? Check! Slip into my athletic shoes and I’m ready for whatever will come my way! Yes, I’ll notice the eye rolls thrown my way, but the joke’s on them.

Kathy Vogel, for getting straight to the point in a poetic fashion:
If I were a spy,
I would surely die.

Patricia Barraclough, for our link to reality:
If I were a spy, the country I worked for would be in big trouble.

Katy, for another reality check:
I would probably accidentally kill myself with one of my super secret spy gadets, because I would forget that the lipstick tube contained a deadly acid or a laser.

Liyana, for being creepy without actually sounding creepy:
If I were a spy, you wouldn’t know where the prizes went. Just saying.

ninefly, who’s clearly seen Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon too many times:
If I were a spy, I would love to be one of those cool Chinese spies with their black masks and pseudo-flying abilities lol
I don’t even care what I’m spying on, I just wanna fly to get there =X

Carol Thompson, for exemplary family support:
If I were a spy my mother would be convinced that I was only doing it to allow me to look at naked men and she would blame it all on my not getting chosen for the cheer leaders team in high school.

Melanie, for being a rubbish spy:
If I were a spy… What do you mean, IF?? Totally am. *buffs nail polished fingers*

Orchid, for aiming high:
If I were a spy… I would put James Bond to shame.

Kuri, for her superior sense of self-preservation:
If I were a spy, I’d stay the heck away from James Bond. All the women he meets tend to die.

Sheila, for – well, read it and see:
If I were a spy I would be the least successful spy in history because I have such a large chest that no matter how well I disguised myself anyone upon whom I attempted to spy would take one look at me and say, “Hey, I recognize those … uh, I mean, you!”

So, did coffee spurt out of your nose?

It came close, Sheila – yes, it did – and for that, you win the Mystery Prize. This consists of an Agency t-shirt and some terrific Invisible Ink Cards featuring pirates, sumo wrestlers, and bunnies – all handmade by Vee Blackbourn. The cards don’t photograph well (invisible ink, go figure) but please believe me – they’re delightful. The best part? You bake them to reveal the images!! If you’re tempted by the idea of concealed sumo wrestlers, octopus t-shirts, or other sly and stylish screenprinting, you should definitely email veeblackbourn [at] gmail [dot] com.

And now, the randomly drawn winners of the Agency prize pack (book plus t-shirt) are Carol M, Mimi, and Jayne Blackledge. Congratulations, you three!

And thanks to everyone who entered, for making this contest so much fun.

This week in reviews, Yuan of GAL Novelty deems Spy “an engrossing read, with a lead character you can root for with all your heart, an interesting premise, and a nice heavy amount of twists to keep mystery fans pondering. I, personally, am dying for the sequel. Is it August yet?!”

In her review at Books are Life, Christina says, “I was hooked on this book from the moment I opened it”.

Next week, Candlewick and Random House have organized for me a meeting with the booksellers of Kingston. I’ll report back then!