MWC Press presents Flowing Water, Falling Flowers – the debut novel by X.H. Collins

MWC Press presents Flowing Water, Falling Flowers, the debut novel
by XH Collins | Virtual Book Release Party 10/15, 7:00 p.m. CST 

 Virtual Release Party:
 Flowing Water, Falling Flowers
 by X.H. Collins

 Facebook Live + Zoom
 October 15 | 7:00-9:00 p.m. CST

 To pre-order Flowing Water, Falling Flowers click here.

Join us for the release of X.H. Collins’s debut novel, Flowing Water, Falling Flowers. The event will include a reading from the book, conversation between Collins and author Misty Urban, Q+A, and giveaways! 

Email sarah.elgatian@mwcqc.org to RSVP to the Zoom event!

Advance Praise for Flowing Water, Falling Flowers:

Flowing Water, Falling Flowers is an engrossing, beautiful debut that glides through multiple times and places. Collins brings to life not only the complex cast of characters, but an entire culture, both of which come vibrantly alive through her storytelling magic. The Han, Wang, and Fang families take us on an enlightening, unforgettable journey.”  
– Kali White VanBaale, award-winning author of The Monsters We Make and The Good Divide

“X.H. Collins’s first novel is a family epic full of lush detail and characters who carry us effortlessly through a multi-generational mystery. Readers who love to travel and learn by reading will be fascinated by the story of early 20th century China and the Chinese railway. Weaving in and out of narratives and time, Collins unites research and imagination in this intimate story celebrating our unshakable bonds to family.”
– Felicia Schneiderhan, author of Newlyweds Afloat

“X.H. Collins crafts a masterful tale of intrigue and discovery that traverses lies, truths, spiritual intention, social interaction, and cultural revelation with an equally deft hand… offers a cultural, social, and psychological inspection that is as literary and compelling as its title. It is highly recommended as a journey of discovery and change that will appeal to anyone interested in the lasting impact of Chinese heritage and culture.”
– D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
 
About the book:

When she loses her job and her lover in one fell swoop, art history professor Rose Ming agrees to accompany her mother on an annual visit to relatives in her Chinese hometown of Three Rivers. Once there, Rose learns that she, her mother, aunt, and her cousin, Hong-Mei, have all shared a strange dream prompting them to search for an ancestor nobody seems to remember. With her future uncertain, Rose decides to solve the family mystery, and instead unearths an unutterable tragedy hidden for over a hundred years.

Living in the last decades of the Qing dynasty, Peony, Lady Han, has every material comfort, a doting husband, and two beautiful children. With so much to share, she decides to adopt Jasmine, the daughter of her devoted maidservant, A-mei, giving her the advantages of a comfortable upbringing. But while Peony’s daughter, Iris, embraces Jasmine as a sister, the new addition to the family has deeper repercussions throughout both families, altering more than one future. And when Rose discovers the true history of the Han and Wang families, including their unbearable losses, she learns the meaning of love, friendship, family, faith, and the sacrifices people are willing to pay to achieve them, a lesson that allows her to face her own future with new courage.

About the author:
X.H. Collins was born in Hechuan, Sichuan Province, China, grew up in Kangding, on the East Tibet Plateau, and now calls Iowa home. Although always wanting to be a writer, she chose a career path of science and earned a MS in cell biology and a PhD in nutrition, and has taught biology at a community college for the past fifteen years.  When she’s not teaching or writing, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, dancing (ballroom and Latin), and cooking.
 
Collins began writing in English in the summer of 2015. The second short story she had ever written in English placed third in the 2016 Iron Pen Contest, a 24-hour writing contest organized by the Midwest Writing Center. A flash fiction piece earned the honor of “editor’s favorite” in the River City Readers’ Flash Fiction Contest in 2016, and another placed second in 2017. A short story has appeared in the MOON Magazine and its anthology Out of this World: The Best Short Stories from The MOON.
For more information on X.H. Collins visit her website https://xhcollins.com

If you would like to join the release party for Flowing Water, Falling Flowers and do not have Facebook or prefer to join the Zoom meeting, Contact Sarah Elgatian for the Zoom invite: sarah.elgatian@mwcqc.org