FOR new author Marcia Aw-Agon, what should have been the happiest day of her life became a day of tears when she discovered what her publishers had done with the book she had given years of her life.
'When I got the first copy of Return I just cried my eyes out when I saw all the errors, to the point where I felt like saying 'don't put the book on the market',' she says. In fact she investigated breaking her contract with her Salt Lake City, Utah, publishers, but it was watertight.
It was an experience that has made her wary. Aw-Agon has since written two more books, Choosing, about a reporter on a fictitious Hong Kong newspaper, the Morning Star, and Immigrant's Wife. But both remain stored on disc while she looks for a new publisher - one willing to provide editorial help and a proof reader.
Hong Kong born Aw-Agon, a member of the Aw family of Tiger Balm and Sing Tao newspapers fame, has lived in Vancouver for 10 years. Her first novel, Return, is the romantic story of a young Hong Kong woman who moves between the territory, England and Vancouver, where she finds true happiness.
'I want to promote cross-culture. I really do want people to learn about the Chinese way of life,' she says.
'That is one of the reasons I wrote Return with the theme it has. There are a lot of romances about London, Los Angeles, San Francisco. Hong Kong is a terrific city, someone should write about Hong Kong.' So she did - and it was a move that came as a surprise even to some of her closest friends. 'Coming from a Chinese family, you cannot be a writer. If you are an artist you are a dreamer - you should try and do something with your life.