I’m over the moon about The Quiet is Loud being a finalist for the 8th Annual Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize! From their website: The award was created to bring literary recognition to Canadian talent and kick-start the careers of debut authors. My book is among such wonderful company and I couldn’t be more proud.
When writing The Quiet is Loud, it was important to me that Freya develops a close friendship with someone she could theoretically have romantic feelings for, but doesn’t. I’ve had many friendships like this, where there was never any hint of something romantic developing. We spent lots of time together, we got to know each other very well, we had vulnerable life discussions and silly moments, and often laughed until …
There are many themes and inspirations in The Quiet is Loud that I feel are quite overt – just a few off the top of my head: identity, belonging, self-reflection, mythology, tarot cards, Filipino food, and unexpected friendships. But I thought it might be fun to share four inspirations that are a little more unusual. X-Men, and the concept of shitty superpowers When I was a kid/young teenager, my brother …
Happy to be part of rob mclennan’s 12 or 20 Questions series! Check it out here. 1 – How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different? It helped me to better understand myself as a writer: the things I wanted to say, the ways I wanted to say them. It was the first thing I’d …
I’m beyond thrilled to announce that The Quiet is Loud is now published in the United States! A lot of American friends have been asking about it and I’m happy that it’ll be easier for them to purchase. As always, I’m so grateful for your support. Americans can visit Invisible Publishing to order, or check out your favourite (or “favorite,” no U, of course) local indie bookstore! If it’s …
I’m looking forward to this conversation with my editor Bryan Ibeas and JJ Dupuis, author of the ridiculously compelling Creature X Mystery series. Thank you to Becca at Bakka Phoenix for hosting! Visit my Events page for more details.
I’m excited to share some of my favourite Canadian speculative fiction novels at 49th Shelf – and they’re doing a giveaway of The Quiet is Loud too! Here’s an excerpt: As a writer, I’m relatively new to speculative fiction. But as a reader and a lightly superstitious human, I can’t deny the pull of the unusual, the not-quite-real. I love books featuring elements that seem unimaginable, but are portrayed so …
TQIL giveaway and book recommendations at 49th Shelf Read More »
Filipino Heritage Month – Discussion with Invisible Publishing Fiction Editor Bryan Ibeas Tuesday, June 22 2021, 9 pm My fantastic editor Bryan and I will talk about our working relationship as Filipino-Canadians and how it influenced the writing of The Quiet is Loud, and how underrepresented stories can be supported. Working with Bryan on TQIL was highly rewarding for many reasons, and our shared cultural identity was one of them. …
June 22: Discussion with Bryan Ibeas for Filipino Heritage Month Read More »
Katie Li is a writer friend of mine who I’ve had many great discussions with over the years, about everything from writing to mixed-race identity. As such, I’m very excited to share an interview she did with me as part of her Writers on Writing series. It was an honour and a pleasure to chat with her about writing, research, and identity. It’s so damn validating to talk with her …
My first post as Open Book’s June writer-in-residence is up now! As someone who’s been blogging before blogging was blogging (huh?), I’m already having so much fun – I’ve been looking forward to this for months. I’m grateful for this incredible opportunity to talk about the writing process, books, and more! You can check out all my posts this month here. And while you’re at it, check out writer-in-residence posts …