Wow, I'm pretty (good, not bad) overwhelmed by the response Radiant has received just in this past week since its release. And I've been really pleased to meet so many new people, as well as catching up with readers of my previous works.
So, now that the Radiant train has left the station, it's time for me to think about new projects. I posted on Goodreads a short list of some of my works-in-progress, though they appear in no particular order. It goes like this:
Untitled YA historical
The other untitled YA historical
Untitled middle grade/YA fantasy (Seranfyll #3) (delayed)
Untitled YA "paranormal-lite" (Radiant #2)
The other untitled "paranormal-lite"
Untitled middle grade sci-fi
My WIP list is actually much longer, but these are the ones that I do plan on finishing and releasing. Some of these are partially written already, and others are still in the idea stage. Most are novels, but one might be a short story set. We'll see.
Anyway, I have no scientific way of determining what will get done in what time. Between my fulltime job and other commitments, I feel like releasing something new every 8 to 12 months is reasonable. But for now, I'm putting my pen to paper/hands to keyboard and will see what happens!
Monday, February 18, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Dear 20-year-old Me
In a handful of days, I will being entering the third decade of my existence. I thought I'd take a break from bookish things to write a letter to myself when I was 20 years old. I wrote a similar one when I was 19 as I was turning 20. That was way before I had the blog, of course. Boy, how things have changed.
- - -
Dear 20-year-old Me,
'Sup?
Yeah, I know. You're used to using proper grammar and avoiding slang. That's understandable, since your grade sorta depends on how well and fast you can put together a sentence. And you cannot afford to not graduate from your Ivy-League-wannabe university on time. The parental units' finances are already maxed out, and once that grant and scholarship cash is gone, it's game over. You knew this was your one shot going in, and you're busting your last ass to make it count.
I've got good news. You make it. Not beautifully. Not brilliantly. Not with honors. But you get out with your head held high and your dignity intact. Win.
But after you've had a moment to bask in your two minutes of glory, I have to warn you that you're going to have to make one of the toughest decisions of your life. And no matter which way you go, you will lose. The only difference is whether you make others lose with you or not.
There will be some bright moments, but then you're going to have some crashes. Literally. Don't worry, you'll survive them, but not without scars. Both on your body and on your heart. And because you didn't have the money or the know-how to take care of the ones on your body at the time, I'm paying for them now. Don't worry, though. I can handle it.
I wish I could tell you things are going to get better. And in some ways, they do. But in other ways, things will get difficult again, and there's not really anything you can do about it. You will get frustrated. You will get angry. You will feel sad. You will feel abandoned and disappointed. You will feel like a failure (a lot). You will feel like you're trapped. And then you will feel guilty because you know others have it harder than you. And then you will want to give up, call it quits, and just shut it all down.
But hold on. Just hold on. You will think that you can't, but you can. And one thing to remember is that fire refines gold and pressure makes diamonds. Even in the midst of the mess, you will make the most of your situation. Because that's who you are. The people who disappoint you will not matter, and some of the people who do matter, you've not even met yet. And trust me, they are worth waiting for.
You're also going to realize that that dream you're wanting to chase is not going to come true. That's another thing that will be out of your control. Instead, you're going to catch a vision. And it'll be bigger than anything you could've dreamed up. It WILL be impossible. But it will worth it. And the good thing about not getting that dream is that you will have learned and grown A LOT in the process, and you will be able to transfer those skills into other things.
And then, just when you feel like giving up again, something will happen and everything will change. You're going to realize just how much oppression you were under before, which is going to make freedom feel real and sweet.
So, that's what 10 years has in store for you. It's going to suck. But it will get better, and you'll be richer (not necessarily in dollars and cents) because of what you've been through. You're going to change your definition of success, you're going to see people differently, and you're going to be more sure of who you are. You won't have everything figured out. In fact, you'll feel like you know less than before. And that will be a good thing.
Some words of advice:
Don't listen to everything everyone says. Hear what they have to say, then use what is useful and leave the rest.
Keep learning from others' mistakes so you don't have to make your own. And if you make a mistake, give yourself some grace to be human and accept responsibility, make amends as much as possible, and then move on. You don't have time to be distracted.
There will always be haters. It's because they don't understand what you're trying to accomplish. Ignore them and keep living on your terms.
Don't ever lose your inquisitive nature. You will still be too afraid to go sky-diving or bungee-jumping, but never stop being curious.
Learn from the past and look to the future, but live in the moment.
Don't let anyone else define you. Understand your strengths and use them, and don't dwell on your weaknesses unless you intend to turn them into strengths.
Keep following that Still Small Voice. Even if He takes you through hell, you know it's because He's refining you.
What makes you beautiful can't be seen. What makes you strong cannot be hurt. What makes you live cannot die. Never apologize for that.
Peace. Love. Hope.
Signed,
29.9-year-old Me
- - -
Dear 20-year-old Me,
'Sup?
Yeah, I know. You're used to using proper grammar and avoiding slang. That's understandable, since your grade sorta depends on how well and fast you can put together a sentence. And you cannot afford to not graduate from your Ivy-League-wannabe university on time. The parental units' finances are already maxed out, and once that grant and scholarship cash is gone, it's game over. You knew this was your one shot going in, and you're busting your last ass to make it count.
I've got good news. You make it. Not beautifully. Not brilliantly. Not with honors. But you get out with your head held high and your dignity intact. Win.
But after you've had a moment to bask in your two minutes of glory, I have to warn you that you're going to have to make one of the toughest decisions of your life. And no matter which way you go, you will lose. The only difference is whether you make others lose with you or not.
There will be some bright moments, but then you're going to have some crashes. Literally. Don't worry, you'll survive them, but not without scars. Both on your body and on your heart. And because you didn't have the money or the know-how to take care of the ones on your body at the time, I'm paying for them now. Don't worry, though. I can handle it.
I wish I could tell you things are going to get better. And in some ways, they do. But in other ways, things will get difficult again, and there's not really anything you can do about it. You will get frustrated. You will get angry. You will feel sad. You will feel abandoned and disappointed. You will feel like a failure (a lot). You will feel like you're trapped. And then you will feel guilty because you know others have it harder than you. And then you will want to give up, call it quits, and just shut it all down.
But hold on. Just hold on. You will think that you can't, but you can. And one thing to remember is that fire refines gold and pressure makes diamonds. Even in the midst of the mess, you will make the most of your situation. Because that's who you are. The people who disappoint you will not matter, and some of the people who do matter, you've not even met yet. And trust me, they are worth waiting for.
You're also going to realize that that dream you're wanting to chase is not going to come true. That's another thing that will be out of your control. Instead, you're going to catch a vision. And it'll be bigger than anything you could've dreamed up. It WILL be impossible. But it will worth it. And the good thing about not getting that dream is that you will have learned and grown A LOT in the process, and you will be able to transfer those skills into other things.
And then, just when you feel like giving up again, something will happen and everything will change. You're going to realize just how much oppression you were under before, which is going to make freedom feel real and sweet.
So, that's what 10 years has in store for you. It's going to suck. But it will get better, and you'll be richer (not necessarily in dollars and cents) because of what you've been through. You're going to change your definition of success, you're going to see people differently, and you're going to be more sure of who you are. You won't have everything figured out. In fact, you'll feel like you know less than before. And that will be a good thing.
Some words of advice:
Don't listen to everything everyone says. Hear what they have to say, then use what is useful and leave the rest.
Keep learning from others' mistakes so you don't have to make your own. And if you make a mistake, give yourself some grace to be human and accept responsibility, make amends as much as possible, and then move on. You don't have time to be distracted.
There will always be haters. It's because they don't understand what you're trying to accomplish. Ignore them and keep living on your terms.
Don't ever lose your inquisitive nature. You will still be too afraid to go sky-diving or bungee-jumping, but never stop being curious.
Learn from the past and look to the future, but live in the moment.
Don't let anyone else define you. Understand your strengths and use them, and don't dwell on your weaknesses unless you intend to turn them into strengths.
Keep following that Still Small Voice. Even if He takes you through hell, you know it's because He's refining you.
What makes you beautiful can't be seen. What makes you strong cannot be hurt. What makes you live cannot die. Never apologize for that.
Peace. Love. Hope.
Signed,
29.9-year-old Me
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
It lives!
Radiant's here! Thank you to all the fantastic early reviewers and awesome book bloggers who have helped to get the word out. You're fantastic!
I'm really glad to be able to finally share this work. I've talked about some fun facts about the book on the blog here, but if you knew any of the drama that went into the making and publishing of this book, then you'd understand why I'm glad that this has finally made it into the light (no pun intended).
If you haven't had a chance yet, add Radiant to your Goodreads list and then grab your copy on Amazon, B&N, or Smashwords. iBookstore and Kobo links should go live sometime later.
Happy reading!
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Radiant FUN FACT #12: Inspiration for the Story
My latest YA novel, Radiant, releases on February 12! Today's the last fun fact about the book that I'm posting before the launch.
 |
| From Flickr. |
Basically, a few years ago, I had started writing one of my other books, Seranfyll, but after getting about 20 pages into it, I ran out of ideas and set it aside.
In the meantime, two things happened: 1) The deluge of paranormal YA novels started hitting the shelves and 2) I had to do some research and came across several unrelated science articles. Some of the articles were about health and others were about comets or cells, etc.
I can't remember where the possession idea came from, but after reading those science articles, I started wondering what it would be like if someone had nearly died and was possessed by something that wasn't a ghost or an alien? And inspired by the paranormal romance deluge (which, to be honest, I haven't read much of yet), I wondered what it would be like to write a love story with this concept.
I don't normally read or write romances (I've read only two all the way through), so this was completely new territory for me and I had to use my imagination a lot more than I did on any of my other stories. And I didn't exactly know what would be possessing Carter when I first started writing, let alone what these things would be called. But I had an idea of what their functions were (because of the science articles), and that's what I started with.
That's it for the fun facts of Radiant! The book goes live in a couple days. Hope everyone will check it out!
Friday, February 8, 2013
Radiant FUN FACT #11: Ba
My latest YA novel, Radiant, releases on February 12! Until then, I'm posting one fun fact a day about the book.
Today's fun fact is about Ba, Mary's grandmother. Bà is "grandmother" in Vietnamese, but her "proper title" would be Bà ngoại, since she's Mary's mother's mother. Bà nội would be what she would call her father's mother if she were Vietnamese. Bà ngoại and Bà nội are what I use to refer to my own grandmothers, though I'm not close to them like Mary is to Ba.
In Radiant, Ba suffers from Alzheimer's Disease. And so does my own bà ngoại. She's nearly 100, and she doesn't really remember anyone except a couple of my aunts. She has to have help bathing, during which she can get violent because she doesn't know what's going on, and she has to wear adult diapers all the time because she doesn't know how to go to the bathroom on her own anymore. And when she talks, you never know what she's going to say. She'll tell someone to hit someone or start cussing people out. She pretty much can't go out in public anymore.
Even though I'm not close to my bà ngoại, it's still hard to see her now. Not just because she's in Houston and I'm in Dallas, but it's hard to see how she is and see the stress my aunts and their families go through while they take turns caring of her. She doesn't know who I am at all. She hasn't known for years. It doesn't get any easier trying to accept that fact.
So, today wasn't really a fun fact. But that's some of the background behind Ba's character.
In Radiant, Ba suffers from Alzheimer's Disease. And so does my own bà ngoại. She's nearly 100, and she doesn't really remember anyone except a couple of my aunts. She has to have help bathing, during which she can get violent because she doesn't know what's going on, and she has to wear adult diapers all the time because she doesn't know how to go to the bathroom on her own anymore. And when she talks, you never know what she's going to say. She'll tell someone to hit someone or start cussing people out. She pretty much can't go out in public anymore.
Even though I'm not close to my bà ngoại, it's still hard to see her now. Not just because she's in Houston and I'm in Dallas, but it's hard to see how she is and see the stress my aunts and their families go through while they take turns caring of her. She doesn't know who I am at all. She hasn't known for years. It doesn't get any easier trying to accept that fact.
So, today wasn't really a fun fact. But that's some of the background behind Ba's character.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Radiant FUN FACT #10: Mary vs. Me
My latest YA novel, Radiant, releases on February 12! Until then, I'm posting one fun fact a day about the book.
Today's fun fact was inspired by a question that comes a lot in interviews I've done for book blogs, and that is what are some of the characteristics I share with the characters I create. It's a fun question to answer (all of the questions that have ever been sent my way have been fun, actually), so I thought I'd list a few things here that the MC of Radiant, Mary, and I share or differ upon.
1. Art - Mary's been painting since she was very young. I didn't start painting until a couple years ago, but I've been drawing for years. I don't have formal training, though. Suffice it to say, Mary is WAY better at making art than I am.
2. Video Games - Mary doesn't like them, but I do, particularly if there is any racing or fantastic battles involved. My freshman year in college was the last time I was able to really play video games (not counting social times, like Wii bowling with friends, etc.), because shortly after that was when I started writing my first full manuscript, and that pretty much ate up whatever time I had left after studies and hanging with friends.
3. Noisy Neighbors Upstairs - Mary has neighbors with noisy kids upstairs. My current apartment is on the ground floor, and there's a couple living above me. The dude is kinda overweight and the girl is toothpick thin, but they both sound like elephants when they walk around. They don't bother me though, since their walking is the only thing I hear from them, and that helps me know that they're still alive and I don't have to call management or paramedics or anything.
4. Spicy Food - Mary likes her food hot, but I tend to like mine on the mild to medium side. I enjoy my food when it's not causing me pain.
5. School - Mary goes to a private prep school, but I went to public school. I almost went to a private all-girls school when my mom and stepdad married, but some unexpected things happened shortly after that, and I stayed in public school until graduation. The descriptions of Sci-Tech ("...pimple of a concrete structure that was all age and no charm..."), however, describe several of the buildings I had classes in when I was at university.
6. Reading - Mary doesn't like reading, but I do (obviously). And while English is hell for Mary, that was my strongest class in school.
7. Ethnicity - Mary's mixed, but I'm not. Both of my parents and both sets of my grandparents are Vietnamese.
8. Driving - Mary is 17 and doesn't have her license, but I had my permit at 15 and my license by 16. Not having a car is not really an option where I live, because everything you need to get to is kinda far away.
9. Sayings - If you ever talk to any of my friends or certain family members, they can tell you that things like "Captain obvious," "jack ugly," "pimple of a [car, house, building, etc.]" are things that I really do say. I'm not very original, so I'm sure I heard most of those things from someone else before. But once in a while, when circumstances demand, I'll just say something like what I mentioned.
10. Traveling - Due to certain revelations in Radiant, Mary gets to travel all over the globe. My father used to work as a software engineer for American Airlines, so my brother and I used to fly standby with him for free whenever we saw him on the weekends. We flew all over the U.S. and had a lot of fun until AA laid off him and a bunch of other people (jerks). That was also before the stupid TSA crap that we deal with today. Anyway, despite having to have nudy x-rays taken of me or scary women grope about my lady parts for explosives, I still enjoy traveling once in a while, though I've only been overseas once to London. I'm hoping that I'll be able to travel to more countries soon.
And that's it for now! Launch is in a few days!
 |
| Drawing Hands by M.C. Escher. |
1. Art - Mary's been painting since she was very young. I didn't start painting until a couple years ago, but I've been drawing for years. I don't have formal training, though. Suffice it to say, Mary is WAY better at making art than I am.
2. Video Games - Mary doesn't like them, but I do, particularly if there is any racing or fantastic battles involved. My freshman year in college was the last time I was able to really play video games (not counting social times, like Wii bowling with friends, etc.), because shortly after that was when I started writing my first full manuscript, and that pretty much ate up whatever time I had left after studies and hanging with friends.
3. Noisy Neighbors Upstairs - Mary has neighbors with noisy kids upstairs. My current apartment is on the ground floor, and there's a couple living above me. The dude is kinda overweight and the girl is toothpick thin, but they both sound like elephants when they walk around. They don't bother me though, since their walking is the only thing I hear from them, and that helps me know that they're still alive and I don't have to call management or paramedics or anything.
4. Spicy Food - Mary likes her food hot, but I tend to like mine on the mild to medium side. I enjoy my food when it's not causing me pain.
5. School - Mary goes to a private prep school, but I went to public school. I almost went to a private all-girls school when my mom and stepdad married, but some unexpected things happened shortly after that, and I stayed in public school until graduation. The descriptions of Sci-Tech ("...pimple of a concrete structure that was all age and no charm..."), however, describe several of the buildings I had classes in when I was at university.
6. Reading - Mary doesn't like reading, but I do (obviously). And while English is hell for Mary, that was my strongest class in school.
7. Ethnicity - Mary's mixed, but I'm not. Both of my parents and both sets of my grandparents are Vietnamese.
8. Driving - Mary is 17 and doesn't have her license, but I had my permit at 15 and my license by 16. Not having a car is not really an option where I live, because everything you need to get to is kinda far away.
9. Sayings - If you ever talk to any of my friends or certain family members, they can tell you that things like "Captain obvious," "jack ugly," "pimple of a [car, house, building, etc.]" are things that I really do say. I'm not very original, so I'm sure I heard most of those things from someone else before. But once in a while, when circumstances demand, I'll just say something like what I mentioned.
10. Traveling - Due to certain revelations in Radiant, Mary gets to travel all over the globe. My father used to work as a software engineer for American Airlines, so my brother and I used to fly standby with him for free whenever we saw him on the weekends. We flew all over the U.S. and had a lot of fun until AA laid off him and a bunch of other people (jerks). That was also before the stupid TSA crap that we deal with today. Anyway, despite having to have nudy x-rays taken of me or scary women grope about my lady parts for explosives, I still enjoy traveling once in a while, though I've only been overseas once to London. I'm hoping that I'll be able to travel to more countries soon.
And that's it for now! Launch is in a few days!
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Radiant FUN FACT #9: What's in a Name?
My latest YA novel, Radiant, releases on February 12! Until then, I'm posting one fun fact a day about the book.
Today's fun fact is about the names of some of the characters, their meanings (as far as I understand), and why I chose them.
When I'm naming characters in a book, I like to browse sites like Behind the Name. Especially with BtN, it lists name meanings, origins (if known), and variations.
Mary - Her name could mean "wished for child" or "beloved." Once you read the part of the book on how she was born, you'll understand why I chose that name for her.
Carter - It means "one who uses a cart." (Duh.) But I chose to name him this because he's a vessel for the possessing thing. Cart? Carry? Get it? Yeah, it's not as clear cut, but I didn't want to name him "Potter" or "Tea cup" or "Gravy Boat."
Colette - Mary's mom's name is a derivative of Nicolette, is a feminized version of Nicholas, which is made of two words that mean "victory" and "people." Mary's mom is inspired by several stories from different women I've encountered over the years who have been victorious over many struggles. I hope the choice for her name honors them.
George - His name is made up of two words meaning "earth" and "work." George was a farmer when he was young, so that's why he's named that.
Sienna - She likes Italian things, so she's named for a the Italian town Siena, which is known for the orange-red colored clay there.
David - I didn't really name David's character because of the meaning. I named him because David is my brother's name, and I wanted to name a cool kid after him.
Scotty - This is another character I named not necessarily for the meaning, but for a person I once knew. Scotty had Down Syndrome. A few years ago, he went to sleep one night but never woke up again. I wanted to remember him in this character.
Mayim - Means "water" in Hebrew. Read the book and you'll know quickly why I named her that.
Phos - Means "light" in Greek. I won't tell more about this character here, but consider the fact that "light" exists in different wavelengths, not all of which can be detected by the human eye.
And that's it for now! Release date is coming up fast!
 |
| From Flickr. |
When I'm naming characters in a book, I like to browse sites like Behind the Name. Especially with BtN, it lists name meanings, origins (if known), and variations.
Mary - Her name could mean "wished for child" or "beloved." Once you read the part of the book on how she was born, you'll understand why I chose that name for her.
Carter - It means "one who uses a cart." (Duh.) But I chose to name him this because he's a vessel for the possessing thing. Cart? Carry? Get it? Yeah, it's not as clear cut, but I didn't want to name him "Potter" or "Tea cup" or "Gravy Boat."
Colette - Mary's mom's name is a derivative of Nicolette, is a feminized version of Nicholas, which is made of two words that mean "victory" and "people." Mary's mom is inspired by several stories from different women I've encountered over the years who have been victorious over many struggles. I hope the choice for her name honors them.
George - His name is made up of two words meaning "earth" and "work." George was a farmer when he was young, so that's why he's named that.
Sienna - She likes Italian things, so she's named for a the Italian town Siena, which is known for the orange-red colored clay there.
David - I didn't really name David's character because of the meaning. I named him because David is my brother's name, and I wanted to name a cool kid after him.
Scotty - This is another character I named not necessarily for the meaning, but for a person I once knew. Scotty had Down Syndrome. A few years ago, he went to sleep one night but never woke up again. I wanted to remember him in this character.
Mayim - Means "water" in Hebrew. Read the book and you'll know quickly why I named her that.
Phos - Means "light" in Greek. I won't tell more about this character here, but consider the fact that "light" exists in different wavelengths, not all of which can be detected by the human eye.
And that's it for now! Release date is coming up fast!
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