Shu Wei, the protagonist of my first novel, has been around so long I think of him as a member of the family. In fact, I expect him to walk in the door at any moment, accusing me of faulty character development (his) or admonishing "More active verbs! Watch your transitions! Sorry Shu Wei, but you're part of the page now and have to live within yourself. They say that everyone has a novel tucked away somewhere. Mine emerged slowly--and tentatively--as a result of my work in E