Hana Yin

‘For we women are not only the deities of the household fire, but the flame of the soul itself.’

Rabindranath Tagore

I was born in China and grew up in a period when literary books were very rare, often hidden. An excitement was to find one in the neighbourhood and trade with treasures – a picture card, a tiny dented sweet tin, a pebble, a pretty leaf or a feather – for a brief read. But constantly trying not to get caught for reading something of ‘noxious winds and evil influences’ meant I was often unable to finish and had to let my imagination fill in the gaps.

This helped me write poetry – a popular and permitted writing form at the time – and when, still in high school, I won second prize in the city poetry competition against many adults, it brought much pride for my teacher and planted the seed of writing firmly in me.

While studying for an Economic Management and Business degree in Beijing, I wrote many poems and articles and had some published in the People’s Daily. Pieces of my published work were selected to be in Chinese Reader’s Digest, and a poem was translated and published in the book Chinese Literature (English edition).

After marrying an Englishman, I moved to UK and worked in the IT industry. The seed of writing germinated; when my English was good enough, I took on the journey to write my first novel, A Leaf in a Small Town, and I hope you enjoy the story.