SCRIPPS RANCH — The first time neighbors Tammy Chen and Charles Lee noticed one another two years ago at the retirement community they share in Scripps Ranch, it wasn’t love at first sight.

Te-Ping Chen: Not exactly. Often in my short stories I begin with an impulse—a stray image or idea—and feel wonderfully unburdened when I start.

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Te-Ping Chen about her short story collection: Land of Big Numbers. It features people in China trying to live their lives in the shadow of an overpowering state.

As the champion of the Arkansas State Spelling Bee, Chen will go on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee to represent Arkansas in the nation's largest and longest-running educational program.

The body of Ching "Ping" Chen, a Discovery Bay woman who had been missing Tuesday night, was found by a sheriff's dive team. 24/7 Live San Francisco East Bay South Bay Peninsula North Bay.

For journalist Te-Ping Chen, getting to grips with a country the size of China meant looking at the small stuff – which she does in her first short story collection.

Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen, Scribner, RRP£14.99, 256 pages Yuan Yang is the FT’s deputy Beijing bureau chief Join our online book group on Facebook at FT Books Café ...