Anita Leung announces her magnum opus, a trilogy

Having produced more than 140 books, mostly business-themed novels, Hong Kong writer Anita Leung (Leung Fung-yee) intends to wrap up her writing career with a trilogy called Our Stories.

"I'm presenting the works as a gift on the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland in 2017," Leung says.

Leung, also an accomplished businessperson with a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, hosted a Beijing event to announce the decision in late April. Hundreds attended, including friends, relatives, fans, her husband and ex-husband.

"I made the announcement at a big get-together to use it as a spur, because the novel I'm about to write is one of the biggest challenges I have faced," Leung says.

Born in Hong Kong in 1949, Leung has become a pioneering role model.

Having previously worked as a screenwriter, she started writing novels in 1989 when her business was not doing so well. Most of her novels echo Leung's own experiences, struggling in Hong Kong's business world from the 1970s onward.

Her books were wildly popular when they were introduced to the mainland in the 1990s, and were later adapted for TV and film.

One fan at the Beijing event, surnamed Cao, said reading Leung's books helped transform him from a boy into a senior manager.

Hong Kong writer Ni Kuang, also known as Ngai Hong, creator of the sci-fi martial arts series Wisely and many film screenplays, believes Leung is a business legend but once told her: "You have to finish a book that only you're qualified and ready to write."

He is referring to a novel that relates to Hong Kong's recent history, witnessed by a writer born in the same as the founding of the People's Republic of China and therefore someone who is a product of our time, who has experienced the ups and downs of China's business environment.

Leung's response is her planned trilogy, revolving around her life and Hong Kong's history. Book one will cover her youth up to 1979; book two depicts her career up to the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997; book three will focus on what she calls the prime of her life.

She intends to finish the series in 2015 and work for two years on the TV and film adaptations.

"I want to write an unprecedented book about Hong Kong based on credible personal stories," Leung says.

"By recording Hong Kong in those years, along with the flow of my life, I hope to inform Hong Kong people about their city and its history."

Leung also announced she would donate royalties of up to 1 million yuan ($159,000) from her last novel to charity.