In June 2021 I had a lot of fun as Open Book’s Writer-in-Residence, and so I’m excited to announce that I’m now writing a regular column for them! My first article is about my experience with the highs and surprising lows that arise after publishing a book. It’s a must-read for anyone who has a …
I’m having a lot of fun with my Substack newsletter. It’s been nice to return to slightly longer forms of expression considering, you know, *gestures vaguely at the state of social media*. I realize that this blog/journal can count as a longer form of expression, but honestly I’m still not sure how to best use …
I’m grateful to ECW Press, Diaspora Dialogues, and the Ontario Arts Council for awarding me Recommender Grants for Writers to write Seeker of the Lost Song, my fantasy novel-in-progress blending elements of Filipino and Finnish culture and history. It’s truly an honour to have this support. Arts funding is critically important not only to those …
The best part of my August: I finished the first draft of my new fantasy novel! I’m still coming back down to earth, very reluctantly, after spending the summer halfway in an altered state of intense creativity and inspiration I had never felt before, the kind where you could tell me I was some sort …
I’m excited to announce a fun project. In my new Substack newsletter I Can Barely Play This Thing I’ll share updates on my novel-in-progress, news about The Quiet is Loud, thoughts on creativity, the odd poem-ish thing, what I’m reading, and not-boring life snippets (fingers crossed). It’ll supplement the sorts of things I write here, …
May 4th was the one-year anniversary of The Quiet is Loud being published. I can’t believe it’s been that long! It feels like three months and three years at the same time. I shared some thoughts about my first year of being a published author over on Invisible Publishing’s blog, including the things that I …
Reflections on my first year of being a published author Read More »
🇩🇪 I have some very exciting news: The Quiet is Loud will be published in German with Piper Verlag! I have family in Germany (and support Germany in international football tournaments 😉) so naturally I am over the moon about this. I look forward to reaching new readers in a country that’s very special to …
I was recently interviewed by my friend Teri Vlassopoulos for the Quarantine Review podcast! Not only was I thrilled to be involved with the Quarantine Review again, but I got to virtually chat with Teri while sitting in my surprisingly soundproof closet, balancing my laptop and my microphone, being so much in awe of Teri’s …
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 …
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. …