Shannon here: R. F. Whong shares how her love of cooking finds its way into her books. Download her nonfiction title, My Journey into Fiction Writing, and don’t forget to comment or answer the question in any post dated April 18th – 30th to enter the drawing for 3 other titles. Deadline: May 9th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s R.F.:
I love food.
I love food and enjoy cooking. As a PhD biochemist, I treat every dish like an experiment. My kitchen is a lab with better smells and a slightly more relaxed dress code. Where other people see a recipe, I see a study protocol complete with hypothesis, materials, method, and an experimental group (also known as “that one with improvised materials”).
Introduction/Hypothesis: if I follow the protocol and respect the variables—temperature, time, salt, and the mysterious reagent known as “to taste”—then the outcome will be edible, possibly triumphant. If not, we’ll call it the experimental group and go to the nearby restaurant.
Materials and Methods: one apron, multiple mixing bowls, lots of spoons, and a willingness to improvise when the data (or the sauce) demands it. Calibrate the heat the way I calibrate a pH meter, with respect for the consequences.
Results: The fish is steaming, the aroma promising. Maybe glorious, or “interesting,” always educational.
Discussion: Was the ginger too assertive? Should I double the garlic?
I draw a conclusion and scribble notes.
Because of my love of food, I can’t avoid mentioning dishes in my books. Cooking is a narrative in itself: heat, tension, transformation, and reveal. So the cuisine sneaks into the chapters the way aromas sneak under doors.
In Blazing China, a plate of steamed fish appears with the simplicity of a well-designed experiment—minimal variables and maximum clarity. The fish is a character too, quiet but essential, telling its story with ginger, scallion, and soy.
In Thunders over Idle Land (Book 2 in the dual-time odyssey series), Beggar’s Chicken shows up wrapped like a secret. It’s earth-baked, time-tender, and dramatic. If steamed fish is a quick assay, Beggar’s Chicken is a long-term study, low and slow until data melts into tenderness and the control group finally nods approval.
And in Fire Between Two Skies (Book 3 in the dual-time odyssey series, I have to mention Xiaolongbaos—soup-filled steamed buns. This is structural biology through pork. To be honest, I love this dish but can’t do it right in my lab. Not yet.
Cooking and writing share a lab bench. Both ask for precision, curiosity, and the courage to improvise when the unexpected bubbles up. The story may need more conflict. Or the stew needs more salt. Either way, I taste, adjust, and keep going, until the flavors, or the words, finally say yes.
My Journey into Writing Fiction Note: To download this giveaway, you’ll need to sign up for my weekly newsletter.
Reader Question: Do you enjoy cooking? Why and why not?
April Book Bundle #2
My Journey into Fiction Writing by R.F. Whong, Nonfiction, Newsletter signup download
Loving Lydia by Susan Sloan, Civil War Fiction, digital
Kage: The 6th Commandment by Charlene Amsden, Romantic Suspense, digital
Counting on the Cowboy by Shannon Taylor Vannatter, Contemporary Romance, print
About Ruth: Dr. Ruth Wuwong (PhD in biochemistry, MBA in finance) has published 120+ scientific books and papers (under her legal name) and a few Christian fiction books under R. F. Whong. She lives in the Midwest with her husband, a retired pastor. They served together at three churches from 1987 to 2020. Her grown son works in a nearby city.
She currently runs a small biotech company (www.vidasym.com) and has raised more than twenty million US dollars during the past few years for Vidasym.
In addition to her weekly newsletter and the platform (www.ruthforchrist.com), she’s active in several writers’ groups, including ACFW, Word Weavers, Facebook, and Goodreads. Through these connections, she plans newsletter/promotion swaps with others and has writers endorse her books, write forewords, and host her on guest blogs.
Ruth was chosen as a featured author by the Minnesota Anoka County Library in 2025 and by the Suffolk Virginia Authors Festival in 2026.
One of her books, Echoes over Stormy Sea, has won a few awards, including being chosen by readers as a winner in the HOLT Medallion Contest. Learn more & connect:
Ruth’s Facebook Ruth’s Twitter Ruth’s Website
Ruth’s Linkedin Ruth’s Instagram Ruth’s Goodreads
About the book – Prestige of Hearts:
A diary about the Tiananmen massacre. A family secret. A hidden father.
A unique story of freedom, survival, and romance, set against the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and Hong Kong’s impending return to China.
When Chicagoan Grace Feng, a recent college graduate and a devout Christian, delivers her late mother’s letter to a billionaire, Mr. Lam, in Hong Kong, she expects a quick exchange. Upon their meeting, he offers her a job and luxurious accommodations. She reluctantly stays and befriends Kevin Cheung, the butler’s atheist son, and a jobless unpublished author.
Haunted by a tragic past, Kevin finds solace in Grace’s company, but a mystery troubles him: Grace resembles several movie stars who date Mr. Lam, the town’s most eligible bachelor. Can Kevin unravel the enigma?
Meanwhile, Mr. Lam’s college-aged son and a fugitive who fled China after the Tiananmen Square Massacre also vie for Grace’s affections. Caught amid a love quadrangle, will she retain her Christian values and guide them toward true grace?
Can Kevin and Grace find a way to each other’s hearts despite their different ideologies?
Prestige of Hearts Book Trailer
Interested in Ruth’s titles? Need extra books for gifts? Get your copy/copies now!
Prestige of Hearts Ruth’s Books
Come back April 23rd for Susan Pope Sloan!
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