Nicole Mon­es is the prize-win­ning author of three pre­vi­ous nov­els, The Last Chi­nese Chef, Lost in Trans­la­tion, and A Cup of Light. Her non­fic­tion writ­ing on Chi­na has also appeared in The New York Times Mag­a­zine, Gourmet, the Los Ange­les Times, and the Wash­ing­ton Post. She is a mem­ber of the Nation­al Com­mit­tee on U.S.-China Relations.