Anna Keibler
Author. Dreamer. Adventurer.
These words kill fascists.
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Firecrackers: The Exploits of an Expat in China
Anna was nineteen years old when she moved from rural Indiana to China as a foreign exchange student. What was intended to be a five-month stay turned into a five-year adventure as Anna integrated herself into the culture of Jinan, Shandong. Firecrackers contains thirteen true and truly wild tales about life as an expat in the city, focusing on the manufactured expat culture.
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You won't find stories of enlightenment in these pages, nor does anyone climb the Great Wall. Instead, Anna reveals the underbelly of all Jinan had to offer its foreign residents, with no shortage of partying, police encounters, and nearly-missed disasters.
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From navigating the local hospital system to long-distance online dating, from kitchen fires to escaping an attempted kidnapping, Firecrackers showcases stories of everyday humor and debauchery present in the lives of the 2010's foreigners.
Release Date: May 1, 2026
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Debut Release
A Ghost in the Middle Kingdom (2025)
Amid the mountains of China, Anna falls in love with a Hui yak herder from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. At first, he appears to be a kindred soul and charismatic lover. But with treachery, traps, and fraud at every turn, their passionate romance is doomed from the start.
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This engrossing memoir delves into the perils of abuse, deceit, infatuation, and misplaced trust while simultaneously illuminating the beauty of China's landscape, hospitality, and culture. With electrifying twists as the author confronts an impossible choice on her world travels, A Ghost in the Middle Kingdom is a true tale of love and loss like you've never heard before.
Release Date: July 17, 2025
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Free on Kindle Unlimited!
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A powerful testimony of the resilience of a woman scorned. A foreigner in China, navigating employment, romance, deceit, theft and the cultural differences makes this memoir a full experience!
-Kim Sloan (Goodreads)
Praise & Reviews
I normally dislike memoirs. I find most people fascinating, but unable to creatively express their own history. Anna Keibler does not have that issue. The story here feels like the outline of some great fiction novel, though it remains grounded in a very harsh reality. I highly recommend this if you're looking for some insight into the idiotic decisions that can be made for love, for youth, for adventure, and for longing.
Tiger Schultz
(Goodreads)
A Ghost in the Middle Kingdom is one of the most incredible memoirs that I’ve had the opportunity to read. Anna tells her harrowing experience in such an amazing way that I was captured from the very first page.
-Kathleen Smith (Goodreads)
About Anna Keibler
Anna Keibler is a disabled, neurodivergent, LGBTQ+ professional writer, youth worker, and traveler with a fervent passion for languages, art, and wildlife. As a nature lover with a master's in natural resources, she has a passion for the ecological conservation of both the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and the Hoosier National Forest.