WRITING
The Hour of Daydreams
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In this contemporary reimagining of a Filipino folktale, Manolo Lualhati, a respected doctor in the Philippine countryside, believes his wife hides a secret. Prior to their marriage, he spied her wearing wings and flying to the stars each evening. As Tala tries to keep her dangerous past from her new husband, Manolo begins questioning the gaps in her stories, and his suspicions push him even further from the truth. The Hour of Daydreams weaves in the perspectives of Tala's siblings, her new in-laws, and the all-seeing housekeeper while exploring trust, identity, and how myths can take root from the seeds of our most difficult truths. Find it on: GoodReads
"This is a novel that readers, both young and old alike, won't be able to help but savor."
-Leslye Walton, New York Times best-selling author
Order:
SELECTED STORIES, ARTICLES & ESSAYS
Reporting: Alameda Climate Restoration Circle Changes the Conversation about Global Warming
May 8, 2019, Alameda Magazine
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Reporting: Yojimbo Doubles as an Art Gallery
April 5, 2019, Alameda Magazine
Story behind the unique artwork in an Alameda restaurant.
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Reporting: The All Good Living Foundation Helps the Community Pull Together for the Homeless
January 9, 2019, Alameda Magazine
While they may not be visible, over 100 homeless children live in Alameda. This is how one local foundation is bridging the school district, business community, nonprofit community, and residents to help them.
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Reporting: Jean Sweeney Open Space Park Opens this Fall in Alameda
October 2018, Alameda Magazine
One woman's activism and vision of open space in a built-out city leads to a David vs Goliath court case against a railroad that she helped the City of Alameda win. As someone who loves the outdoors, learning the history behind what will be the largest park where I live has helped me to appreciate it more.
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Travel Essay: The Dance
June 2018, Mabuhay Magazine
My essay on finding creative inspiration in Spain in a portfolio of travel writings by four Filipina-American writers, including Elaine Castillo, Melissa R. Sipin, and Gina Apostol, with an introduction by PJ Gubatina Policarpio.
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Excerpt from U-Turn Before Arrival, a novel in progress
Winter/Spring 2018, The Timberline Review
Excerpt from my novel in progress about the challenges of finding independence while immersed in a Filipino family.
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Review: Voices of a Movement in A Time to Rise
February 27, 2018, The FilAm
On the collective memoirs of 42 Filipino activists and the lessons they share on organizing, mobilizing, and effecting change today.
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Reporting: "Alameda's Real Rock Wall"
February 2018, Alameda Magazine
On the local culture, natural selection, and history that converge in one off-the-radar location.
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Excerpt from The Hour of Daydreams
Winter 2017, Issue 7, Tayo Literary Magazine
Novel chapter "Shadows, Ghosts" in Tayo, which publishes writing that "knifes, lifts, and strikes at the emotive truth of all things lost and adrift."
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January 2018, Alameda Magazine
On the history behind a rallying cry against discrimination in the classroom that's become a motto for inclusion and empowerment, spreading nationally from one small city.
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Reporting: "Fairy Doors Get Political"
November 2017, Alameda Magazine
Some of Alameda's fairy doors lend voice to the political conversation, and not everyone's happy. Is art for expression or escape?
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Personal Essay: "Stepping to the Podium: Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking"
November 11, 2017, Karma Compass/Living Artist Project
On bringing my novel from behind the scenes to the public.
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Personal Essay: "My First Post Office Run"
June 5, 2017, The Quivering Pen
Essay on submitting my full novel manuscript out for the first time.
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Personal Essay: "Writing Toward Home"
May 11, 2017, The Margins
On setting my novel in the Philippines, which I haven't seen since the age of 4.
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Short Story: "The Cigarette Thieves"
Spring 2017, The Tishman Review
A short story that takes place in Manila, Philippines, about the everyday hustle to get by and the loyalties shattered along the way.
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Excerpt from The Hour of Daydreams
April 29, 2017, Maganda Magazine
Novel excerpt in UC Berkeley's Maganda, issue#30: "Trial." Maganda is the longest running Filipino literary arts publication in the nation.
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Personal Essay: "A Bedrock of Ghost Stories"
April 21, 2017, Necessary Fiction
For the Research Notes column, how a childhood fascination influenced the writing of my novel.
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Personal Essay: "Every Word Is an Act of Resistance; Finding My Voice as a Filipino Writer"
February 10, 2017, Literary Hub
An essay on writing as a form of resistance, being silenced as a Filipino immigrant, and finding my voice through writing.
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Personal Essay: "Writing Past the Happily Ever After"
December 27, 2016, Women Writers, Women's Books
On what inspired me to write my novel and my take on the modern-day fairytale.
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Essay/Creative Nonfiction: "Moved by Duende: Musings on Garcia Lorca's Earth Spirit"
August 2016, Ford City Anthology
My exploration of duende as a moving force in a writer's process. The essays in this Urban Farmhouse Press anthology investigate how writers construct their literary worlds.
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Creative Nonfiction: "Breathing Under Water"
July 11, 2016, Mutha Magazine
Travel piece about learning and letting go as a parent.
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Personal Essay: "How I Tell My Mestiza Daughters They're Pretty"
October 21, 2015, Mutha Magazine
On raising confident bi-racial Filipina and Puerto Rican daughters.
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July 12, 2015, Red Earth Review
A short story about loss and the unexpected guises in which it may appear.
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