Yan's mom-inspired TV series making waves

Best-selling author Yan Geling, recently made a splash on Chinese TV with Theater, a 34-episode series written by her.

Since June 10, when it was first aired on Beijing Satellite TV, the series has become a hit among middle-aged Chinese owing to both its setting - a remote town in 1980s China - and the storyline that centers on a struggling theater star, who after being framed by a younger rival, decides to walk out of the situation and follow her dreams in Beijing.

The 57-year-old Chinese-American writer has published nearly 50 novels and novellas in English and Chinese, some of which have been translated in many other languages, such as Dutch, French, Spanish and Japanese.