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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

About the Author

At a glance, the author’s quiet demeanor may resemble a pond of still water. It doesn’t look that deep. But don’t let its stillness fool you. There is more to meet the eye. It hearkens back to the ancient Latin proverb, “Still water runs deep.”

Mak Ming as a storyteller is aided by his vivid imagination, enabling him to take the readers on a captivating journey of traveling back in time to faraway places while exploring the meaning of human existence and the intersection of faith and the miraculous. His personal life story is no less intriguing as the story he attempts to tell.

Born in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China, author Mak Ming is a first-generation immigrant in the United States.

His father Mak Fung grew up in Hong Kong with meager means. Fung’s father showed little interest of taking care of the family. Fung’s mother Ng Moujing did manual labor to earn a living in raising Fung and his younger sister Yinhung. As a student, Fung displayed an affinity in learning and writing. His acute interest in social issues and politics earned him a place in the local student movement. At the start of the Japanese war, he left Hong Kong and traveled to Chengdu, Sichuan, where he found employment with a flour mill company owned by the Lee family.

It was through a friend’s arrangement that he met his future wife Yiu Suifun, whose father oversaw the salt distribution in Sichuan Province during the last days of the Qing Dynasty. The young couple had a baby boy and they named him Ming as a reminder of his mother Suifun’s suffering caused by the baby’s difficult delivery. The word Ming means inscribing a lasting memory in one’s heart.

When the Chinese Civil War was winding down, the Lee family relocated their business out of China to Hong Kong and started the Kowloon Textile Company. Mak Fung and his young family were transferred from Chengdu to Hong Kong right before the Chinese Communist Party took over the nation. Fung worked in the accounting department of the new textile operation. In the subsequent years, he and wife Suifun raised three sons and two daughters.

The 50s decade saw the rising popularity in photography as a modern art form. The advent of 35 mm cameras had made photography in vogue to a wide audience. In his spare time, Mak Fung pursued his interest in photography with vigor, which led him to earn international awards. He taught photography and wrote numerous books on the subject. His renown in photo arts led him to become the publisher and editor of Photo Pictorial, a popular monthly photo magazine in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. His role at the magazine afforded him the opportunity of getting his oldest son Mak Ming involved in reviewing magazine articles before their publication. The editing process taught the young Mak the importance of choosing words wisely to communicate thoughts and ideas.

Being the melting pot of the East and the West, Hong Kong went through seismic transformation during the 60s. It afforded Mak Ming a front row seat of witnessing the rapid cultural changes around him. For his secondary education, he attended St. Francis Xavier, a demanding prep school run by Jesuits, and graduated from New Method College, a bilingual private school. During his formative years, he studied two styles of Kung Fu, Hung Gar and Buck Sing Choy Lei Fat. With four of his classmates, they formed a rock band to play weekend gigs at local high school dances. While as a senior in high school, he was hired by Rediffusion, the British cable television company with a sizable operation in Hong Kong, to do script translation of notable Western television series, such as The Avengers, The Saint, Mission Impossible, etc. That seeded his interest in the broadcasting business. After graduating from high school, Mak Ming was enrolled in the Hong Kong Polytech Institute with a major in textile engineering. But he convinced his parents to send him to the United States for college so that he could pursue a career in broadcasting. After obtaining his college degree from Eastern Washington University, he decided to stay in the U.S. and work in the broadcasting industry. He rose through the ranks to executive level and led several successful radio operations on the west coast. He married his college sweetheart Suzanne Phelps. Together they raised a loving family of three children. Unfortunately life dealt the Mak family with a gut-wrenching blow. Suzanne succumbed to cancer.

As a writer, Mak Ming is not afraid of delving into life’s hefty subjects like philosophy and religion. He wants to use his stories to address some of the pressing issues of our time. The world continues to shrink in front of our eyes. Seeking understanding of different peoples and cultures can pave the way towards building a better future for mankind. The author’s rich life experience on both sides of the Pacific puts him in a unique position of offering insight on the mindset between the East and the West in writing his stories. 

When asked about his personal views on philosophy and religion, he kindly replied, “They are on display among the pages.” 

AUTHOR’S QUOTES

“Growing up is a journey of trade-offs.”
“See the world differently.”

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