TRIALS OF LIFE by Junying Kirk

Friday 56 Rules: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader  *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. *Post it. *Add your (url) post in Linky at Freda's Voice.

Also Book Beginnings by Rose City Reader.

Trials of Life

Title: Trials of Life by Junying Kirk, published August 8, 2013
Genre: fiction

Page 56: 
“Hi Dick,” It was his colleague, Dr. Barry Heaton. “What’s up? I was just told that we both have to leave the hotel today, and I have no idea why. I was hoping that you might enlighten me on this.” (Junying Kirk. Trials of Life (Kindle Locations 3956-3958).  

Book beginning: First chapter 

Pearl’s Diary 31st March, Friday, Sunny It’s been a lovely day. Naturally, it’s almost my special day! This morning, I was ‘allowed’ to open my presents, although officially my birthday would be tomorrow. I was born at two in the morning in China, so taking into account eight hours’ time difference, my birth time would be 6 p.m. today in the UK. I am not a patient type, and Andrew knows it, so I got to open presents a day early; an excuse to celebrate a little longer! Andrew gave me a bottle of Beautiful, my favourite Estee Lauder fragrance. He also bought a wool suit with matching skirt from the local Kaliko shop. It has a white-rose print against the dark-grey background, true to his Yorkshire roots! I love this man, so thoughtful and generous!  

Early this morning, I woke up feeling happy and confident. I picked my red underwear from the drawer and slipped it on. I once read an article in a women’s magazine claiming that women wearing red underwear often got the job. I don’t know how true that is but there’s no harm being superstitious once in a while. Who knows what will happen today? (Junying Kirk. Trials of Life (Kindle Locations 203-206). 

Book description:
On her continued “Journey to the West”, Pearl Zhang meets Andrew Church and they fall in love. Her determined, professional pursuits land her a plum international development job at a leading UK university. Life is on an upward curve, or so it seems. 
Dick Appleton, a troublesome academic from a privileged background, wants a junior assistant other than Pearl, in his quest to discover China and what it has to offer him. What happens when two powerful personalities and two different cultures meet and clash? Will life teach Pearl another sharp lesson in her adopted country, or will the ancient Chinese belief hold true that everything happens for a reason? Will she bow to her fate or fights for her beliefs?

About the author

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Junying Kirk grew up in the turbulent times of the Cultural Revolution. A British Council scholarship led her to study English Language Teaching at Warwick University, followed by further postgraduate degrees at Glasgow and Leeds. She has worked as an academic, administrator, researcher, teacher and cultural consultant. Currently working as a professional interpreter, her passion has always been reading & writing books, and world travel. 

Her 'Journey to the West' trilogy, 'The Same Moon', 'Trials of Life' and 'Land of Hope' have been published both electronically and in print. She lives in Birmingham, UK with her English husband. Visit the author at 
http://www.junyingkirk.com

THE SAME MOON by Junying Kirk

Title: The Same Moon by Junying Kirk
Published April 6, 2013
Genre: fiction

Chapter One: Forbidden Love

The young man who haunted me in my dreams was Xia Yu, the solemn looking boy who first caught my shy eyes when I was barely thirteen and has occupied a sacred corner in my heart ever since.

 “Do you know why my parents named me Xia Yu?” His voice was deep and intense, yet full of tenderness. (Junying Kirk. The Same Moon (Kindle Locations 160-163). 

page 56: 

“I want to give you something, from China... and I hope you like them,” I struggled on a nervous murmur, my hand reaching out with what I had picked out earlier. 

“Wow, this is beautiful,” his face shone in delight with my first gift, a beautifully painted calligraphic classic poem. (Junying Kirk. The Same Moon (Kindle Locations 5127-5129). 

Book description: 
"Pearl Zhang was born in Sichuan Province in China, and grew up during the Cultural Revolution. She was raised in a typically Chinese manner, went to school, got a job and got married, and her whole life path had been mapped out, or so it seemed. She then seized the opportunity to study in the United Kingdom – and stayed.  How did Pearl adjust to the Western way of life, and what did she have to do to overcome the barriers? Would she find happiness and fulfillment with her English suitor in Scotland, or would her heartache continue? She was in a new world, both foreign and exciting – albeit under the Same Moon.

This book, the first of Junying Kirk’s “Journey to the West” Trilogy, will take you on a journey full of surprises and discoveries, history and culture - from the East to the West - and from the Middle Kingdom to the United Kingdom." (publisher)

Junying Kirk's second and third books, in the trilogy are Trials of Life, which continues the story of Pearl in the United Kingdom, and Land of Hope, a novel of international intrigue.

Thanks to the author for a review copy of this book. 

Friday 56 Rules: *Grab a book, any book.

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader  *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. *Post it. *Add your (url) post in Linky at Freda's Voice.

Also Book Beginnings by Rose City Reader.