By John Cairns

HONG KONG – A close friend of Cairns Media Magazine achieved a significant milestone on November 22. Frequent contributor Emily Ho, formerly the proprietor of Emily's Ice-Cream Express on Lamma Island, attended a crowded launch party for her first published-on-paper book, Memoirs of an Ice-Cream Lady (2011, Proverse Hong Kong, 104 pages).

Impressively, Proverse Hong Kong, a small publishing house based on Lantau Island, launched nine books with one event at the Helena May, 35 Garden Road, Hong Kong Island. Proverse co-director Gillian Bickley called it “surely a one-night record” for English books in Hong Kong.

Other new books include: Astra and Sebastian  (poetry) by L.W. Illsley, Cemetery Miss you (creative non-fiction) by Jason Polley, Death Has a Thousand Doors (novel) by Patricia Grey, Hilary and David (novel) by Laura Solomon, Home, Away, Elsewhere (poetry) by Vaughan Rapatahana, A Misted Mirror (novel) by Gillian Jones, Revenge From Beyond (novel) by Dennis Wong and Wonder, Lust and Itchy Feet (poetry) by Sally Dellow.

The semi-autobiographical Memoirs of an Ice-Cream Lady, consists of anecdotes, mostly about shenanigans in Emily's shop and along the Main Street in Yung Shue Wan, Lamma's biggest village. Soon the book will sell on Lamma and elsewhere.

 “Comments on the traditional Chinese attitudes to girls and unmarried women mingle with reflections on meddling neighbors, the odd habits of customers, the ingratitude of teenage girls and the antics of feisty ferry passengers,” said Bickley. “Emily's perspective is quirky and unique, but unquestionably valid.”

Although short, the book should appeal to readers of all ages, especially to the customers who savored 70-plus ice-cream flavors at Emily's shop during the eight years she operated it. Eventually she closed the business due to the pressures of rising rents.

Many of the former customers may find themselves, their friends or incidents they witnessed, mentioned in the book. “To protect and respect many of the characters involved, I've chosen a semi-autobiographical format,” Emily said. “What's fact or fiction becomes a matter of imagination and judgment.”

Emily's strength as a writer flows from her thoughtful approach. She consistently entertains while pinpointing the significance of events, big or small.

Modest and soft-spoken, Emily drew warm applause after reading two sample passages to the book-launch crowd of readers, authors, critics and retailers. “She spoke with such sincere emotion, straight from her heart,” said one listener.

Despite the publication, Emily vows that she's not done with her memoirs. There's more to tell. She plans to continue writing in preparation for “part two”.

We wish sweet success to all the Proverse authors and poets, but especially to the ice-cream lady. May her writing pursuits far surpass and outlast even her ice-cream career!

For more details about Memoirs of an Ice-Cream Lady and other Proverse books: www.proversepublishing.com.

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