Category: Life
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WRITING PLAYLIST #2
(I haven’t posted in awhile, but let’s just ignore that and get on with it, shall we?) Library Sounds I miss sitting in a library or a café with other people, our silence unifying us. So, I’ve been listening to tracks that mimic this experience. From coffeeshop chatter to café jazz to library sounds, there’s […]
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Cover reveal for my novel!
EVERYONE! My cover for A Phở Love Story is finally up (Thanks, Book Riot!) and the book is available for pre-orders. It would mean the world to me if you, your family, or your friends bought a copy. More pre-orders help retailers determine how many copies they should have in stock. I am in love […]
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Writing Playlist
It’s such a sunny day outside, but I’m hoping everyone still remembers to practice social distancing! I’m sitting in my parents’ living room, alternating between reading Remember Me Like This by Bret Anthony Johnston (wonderful so far!), downing a glass of Dalgona whipped coffee, and jotting down notes to a potential second young adult novel. All the while, my favorite music plays in the background.
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“Sài Gòn ơi! Sài Gòn ơi!”
traveled to Vietnam three times now, almost a decade passing in between each visit. In 2001, I was nine and experienced many “firsts”: I’d met my grandmother whom I’d never met before, saw my father cry, and discovered cây mắc cỡ, a plant whose leaves close at the slightest touch. The second time, I was in my first year of college, still finding myself. I vomited after drinking a mango daiquiri, in the very street of my mother’s childhood home. Now I’m twenty-seven, more reassured in who I’ve become but yearning to find more about my roots.
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Vietnamese Folk Poem #1
Yeah, I take Vietnamese classes on Wednesday nights. But . . . aren’t you Vietnamese? * At first, I thought learning Vietnamese in a class setting would only further embarrass me. It’s gonna be full of non-Vietnamese people and they’re going to look down on me. They’ll think, “Why is she in this class?” I always felt […]
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Farewell to the Admiral
When I read tragic news, I imagine the deceased’s family and friends might read the articles and find the summary so trite and generic. But I understand that news is about boiling things down so that strangers can stay informed, then move on with the rest of their lives. I just never thought that the […]
Loan Le 