Can you tell me more about your research into ethnic minorities for The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane? My daughter, who was adopted from China, is part of an ethnic minority group and although it's not the minority described in the book, she also has a different look and comes from a very remote part of her province. The whole book has felt so familiar to me that I wonder if you have cameras in my home!

Lisa See Hi, Kimberly,

I'm embarrassed that it's taken me so long to write back. I guess I forgot about Goodreads for a while. or life was busy. Or both.

I promise I haven't had cameras in your home, but I loved reading that, because it made me feel like I'd gotten things right.

I'm not sure what you want to know about my research. I can tell you that I looked at all 26 ethnic minorities in Yunnan. Some I was able to eliminate, because they lived in the wrong part of the province or they weren't involved in making tea.

I wrote about the Yao ethnic minority in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.

Thank you for your beautiful words.

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