Literary Screw Up

It has been an overwhelming time at work and in my personal life. May and June is Asian Heritage and gay pride, respectively. That means go, go, go! for my non-profit. I was involved in planning and enacting several events, reapplying for a grant, and worried about two people with health problems. It's been a blur.

It was so busy that I completely forgot about a local televison interview I was supposed to do to promote my novel. Aw *#*@*#*#*! I couldn't believe I screwed up so badly. Ur, needless to say, the anchor/producer was not happy...and I could kiss that opportunity good-bye.

I hate when my writing career suffers because my attention is pulled away. Oh, well. Try better next time.

Literary Weekly

The LA Weekly put out their Literary Issue. It's a cool one. They highlight terrif Los Angeles bookstores. They wrote about Skylight Books, the heaven-on-earth where I host events. They also talk about some other kewl places like Book Soup and Vromans.

This is a must pick-up issue for anyone claiming to have a literary lifestyle in this city of angels.

Personally it was interesting to read that a fellow co-worker at Skylight aspires to do what I do in my life. This week, I had four major projects due at work and my publisher folded. I wanted to go screaming into the night. Reading her comments, helped me see that I've got a pretty good thang going.

Check out the link:

http://www.laweekly.com/art+books/wls/the-bookish-set/16396/?page=4

Literary Upheaval

My agent sent me a note that my publisher Carroll and Graf dissolved in a merger with Perseus Books and my editor Don Weise was let go. I don't know what to do with this information. Happy Tuesday.

Literary Little Tokyo

The first Asian Pacific American Bookfest had been in planning for over a year. This past Saturday, it finally happened.

And what a marvelous success it was.

Booksellers, booklovers, and authors assembled in Little Tokyo for a day of literary panels and discussions.

I was happy that there were patrons who were familiar with my work and wanted me to sing their books. I was thrown when a teenage girl came up to me and said, "My mother LOVES your work!" I never thought of mothers liking anything I would do. But when the girl presented me copies of obviously well worn copies of "Letters to Montgomery Clift" and "Talking to the Moon," I was truly humbled.

The bookfest took a full year of planning. I was involved, but the two people who put their back into the event were Audrey Lee Sung from our sponsoring organization the Asian Pacific American Legal Center and mystery writer Naomi Hirahara.

The only place to go is up!

Literary Fire

The plan was to come home and work on my novel. However, the fires in Griffith Park has caused me to stop. Smoke from the hills is floating down to Silverlake, filling the air with ashes and dread. My apartment smells like burning wood. John Marshall High School three blocks away is being used as the Evacuation Center. The sound of helicopters and traffic is filling the night.

I don't have a television, so I've been going over to my neighbor's apartment to check the latest on the fire. I'm pretty far from the fire; I think I'm safe. But the air quaility has certainly been affected. I'm thinking of going to elsewhere to sleep...and write.

Literary Filipinos

I met with members of a Filipino American Fiction class at UC Irvine and read at the Filipino American Library, where I was filmed for a section on the Filipino Channel. My question is: Where were these literary Filipinos when I was growing up?

I searched high and low in the stack of the Central Library--the biggest one we've got--for Filipino/a stuff. I think I found a play written in the 1920's buried somewhere in the stacks.

I hope this trend continues. There's a part of me that likes to think that my work is needed somehow. I feel that I'm part of a new group of writers creating a strong sense of community.

(And, yes, the photo is an actual product. Filipinos are cookies sold by that colonial force known as Spain. They may come up with mints called The Jews and chips called the Blacks.)

Literary Community Library

I'll be doing a reading at the Filipino American Library in Historic Filipinotown, my 'hood. I'm truly excited about reading here, considering that the characters in my book live in this area!

All of the proceeds will go to the Joseph Ileto Anti-Hate Crime Fellowship at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center.

It'll be on Sunday, May 6 at 3pm. Check out the link--it's a really cool website.

www.filipinoamericanlibrary.org

Filipino American Library
135 N. Park View St.
Historic Filipinotown
Los Angeles, CA 90026-5215

--- Free Admission ---
--- Food and Drinks Provided ---