Our story begins with cramming all my world possessions into these four bags and boarding a flight back to China.

Yes, back to China.

You see, despite holding a US passport, I grew up in China. Let’s rewind a bit.

That’s me! On a camel. In . . . you guessed it! China.

Looks can be deceiving my friends. (More on this fake Egypt photo later).

Let me explain.

At the age of four, my family moved from Ohio to China. I spent most of my childhood growing up as the token foreign kid in my Chinese school, neighborhood, and sports teams.

Living in overseas certainly had its perks. For instance, getting to hold panda bears, learning to appreciate true Chinese food (no offense Pei Wei), learning a complex language and culture, and getting to explore.

One adventure led my family to the World Park where each part of the park had a different country theme to it. The park came complete with fake landmarks, real animals, and costumes (supposedly) from that region.

And now we come back to the camel photo with fake pyramids.

It was at the World Park the inklings of the idea for Enhanced sparked.

One of the park sections had this absolutely huge building in it. I wandered the marbled floors feeling tiny. It was there that I first asked the question, “What if there were a giant, super human race?”

Fast forward eight years to Austin, Texas.

I’ve moved back to the US for college and grad. school. I botch most American sayings and mispronounce words, but I can pass as a normal American to people meeting me for the first time.

I’m on a road trip trying to jam out to music but my CD player breaks and all I get is an NPR special on CRISPR and genome editing technologies.

I listen, stunned. A single question loops in my head . . .

What if CRISPR gene editing takes off?

I envision a world where humans can choose the genes they get. A world sharply divided by those with genetic enhancements and those born naturally.

The rest of the road trip, I connected this questions back to my trip to the World Park. What if the reason that person standing in that building was so small was because everyone around her is genetically enhanced–super human?

The story began to slowly evolve and my excitement grow.

I knew this was the story I wanted to tell.

But at the time, I was already working on a different novel. I was also drowning at my new job in Austin. Not to mention, most of my free time was taken up by Krav Maga, Spartan races, rock climbing, pick up games of basketball, and exploring the world. I don’t have much time to write this story bursting out of me.

Fast forward four more years.

I’m feel pretty confident about belonging in the US now. I can pass as American and you have to look pretty closely to see the cracks in my facade. I have a sweet apartment overlooking downtown Austin, a community and friends I love, and a serious boyfriend.

But something always tugs at the back of my mind.

China.

I miss it.

The smell of street-fried potatoes, the taste of shaokao caked in layers of spice, and rickshaw rides with four people piled in each other’s laps laughing and holding on for dear life. I miss haggling at the market, windy road trips through the Sichuan mountains, and the crackling boom of the most brilliant New Year’s firework display.

All of it so far away from my Austin apartment.

This other part of me, buried and stuffed away for so long, forced its way out. I tried to stop it. I really did but I had to go back.

But what if I returned to China, only to discover I’d lost that half of me? That I no longer belonged there any more?

My parents, ever the source of wisdom, said something that stuck with me:

“If you don’t go, you’ll spend the rest of your life asking what if.”

They were right.

I wasn’t sure what would happen in China but I had to find out.

I decided to risk it.

So, I request a relocation assignment to our China headquarters in Beijing. One year later, everything was finally in place and I was ready to move.

Now you’re up to speed on why I was weighing and reweighing each suitcase to make sure they were exactly 50 pounds and no more.

Three flights later, I arrived at the Beijing International airport.

Alone.

Exhilarated.

Exhausted.

And wondering if what I’d just done was crazy.

I’d already found a roommate via WeChat and she’d rented out a flat for us close to down town where I’d be working. Pictured above was the room that awaited me that first night I arrived.

Despite the jet-lag, I pulled out my laptop and immediately began writing. So many emotions bubbled up within me. Endless opportunities and possibilities stretched before me in a city like Beijing. I knew I had to write a book while I was there and surrounded by so much inspiration.

But what?

Meanwhile, it felt amazing to be back in China–to be home.

My first month I ate all the food, explored, and made new friends. I found a Jiujitsu community a short bike ride away from my apartment. I was having the time of my life!

Then I realized I already had a trilogy semi-fleshed out for my genetic enhancement story. What if I set it in a futuristic version of Beijing?!

I instantly loved the idea!

Decision made, I began outlining more. Writing was slow going. Especially since . . . hard reality set in.

Work was insane. I knew working in my second language, in a new role, and on a new team would be hard.

But I wasn’t prepared.

The work days were much longer. My brain hurt every day from all the new words, politics, and things I was learning. We had a re-org every month. So every time I started to figure out what I was doing, I had to start over. Everything with HR was complicated since I was one of two foreigners working in an all-Chinese office.

I got sick a LOT.

Everything from food poisoning to weird illnesses that didn’t have a diagnosis or treatment. My visa and bank caused many headaches. Sometimes I couldn’t even get my money out of the bank and had to borrow from my new roommate. #awkward

I hurt my knee and couldn’t practice Jiujitsu anymore.

My boyfriend and I were struggling with long distance. I didn’t think we were going to make it.

Basically, I was holding on by a thread.

Then the final shoe dropped.

The relocation assignment I’d been sent on, was cancelled. Meaning, I had three months to figure out a new job. Three months to write my novel.

I was at rock bottom.

Despite health issues, work drama, and trying to hold my life together, I started writing every spare second.

I went to work early every day. In the shopping mall my office was located in, I’d order breakfast and write.

I wrote during my lunch break.

I wrote during my coffee break.

I wrote in the evenings.

I wrote most weekends.

Enhanced was one of the few bright spots in a life that felt like it was crumbling around me.

I knew that despite my circumstances, everything was somehow being used for my good. I just couldn’t fathom how.

I kept writing and trying to find a new job. I eventually did find one and was able to relocate back to the US. At that point, I’d almost finished the first draft of Enhanced.

I moved back. I worked through things with my boyfriend and decided I loved him like crazy and married him. I healed up my body. I found new friends. I finished my book.

Three years later, I got a three book deal from Enclave Publishing for my trilogy.

When I look back, I think to myself, how on earth did I write most of the book in six months during one of the busiest, most sick, and stressful seasons of my life???

The only answer I can give, is God.

Going back to China was one of the hardest seasons in my life due to the circumstances surrounding it. China itself was amazing and I loved living there. But while you couldn’t pay me to relive that season, I also wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I grew so much. I learned so much. And without it, Enhanced wouldn’t be getting published today.

I still miss China.

But writing books two and three in my trilogy have allowed me a chance to travel back to a futuristic fictional version of the world of New Beijing.

My hope is that any readers of Enhanced who feel like misfits, like I did most of my life, like my main character does throughout Enhanced, will feel seen and heard.

I hope it will encourage you.

And for those of you who never make it to the other side of the pond, I hope you get a taste of the beauty of Chinese culture.

-Candace