Melody was halfway through chapter five by Tuesday morning. As is traditional with children's stories, her novel had started with the somewhat cliched passage of the children heading off to school. But it was now thickening with hints of the titanic struggle between good and evil to come, a clash that would test the extremes of both friendship and magic. As she finished another paragraph, the author couldn't help but glow at the thought of the Pulitzer that would almost certainly be hers.

Learning Cantonese? This is our first Intermediate lesson at Popup Chinese and our first show starring our new Hong Kong podcaster Melody. At this level we try to keep our shows filled with the same natural and colloquial speech you'll hear in Hong Kong, and highlight only the more difficult segments and passages. It's a delicate balance, so if you have thoughts or feedback please share them with us. We'd love to read your comments in the discussion space below, or over email at [email protected].