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The Mango Bride – The Movie
My debut novel is going to the big screen! I just signed a film adaptation contract with Regal Entertainment Films, the oldest surviving movie studio in the Philippines. My heart is bursting....
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Bad Hombres, Malas Mujeres at the AWP
A panel of immigrant writers I organized and moderated at the San Diego Central Library in March inspired Hope Wabuke, one of the speakers, to send a proposal to present it at the AWP. Thanks to her,...
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At long last, Instagram!
Opening an Instagram account years after everyone else did is like arriving late to your own party. Delighted (shocked, actually) to find so many posts about #themangobride! Advertisements
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See who’s Speaking at Centering the Margins: Conversations with Writers of Color
Happy to share the speakers roster for Centering the Margins: Conversations with Writers of Color. March 1-3 2019 in at the San Diego Central Library and UC San Diego! Read on to see who’ll be there:...
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The Mango Bride’s in Good Company
Five years after Penguin released The Mango Bride National Book Store not only continues to keep it in stock but also displays it in the winners circle. Hemingway to the left, Steinbeck to the right,...
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A Script is Born
When I visited Manila in 2013 to launch The Mango Bride, Roselle Monteverde, head of Regal Entertainment, the oldest surviving film studio in the Philippines, reached out to me about adapting my novel...
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The Mango Bride Gets a Twofer in Podcasts
By either sheer coincidence or great good fortune The Mango Bride was featured in two podcasts that celebrated Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! You can listen to each one at the links below:...
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Postcards from the Pandemic
It took nearly two weeks and three groceries to assemble ingredients for Sunday dinner. One night, smoked ham hocks were all that remained in the meat section at Vons. I froze them and hoped....
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Postcards From the Pandemic
Ignorance is bliss. Unaware that Mayor Faulconer had ordered the closure of all beaches, parks and boardwalks in San Diego yesterday, we took what turned out to be our last walk in Balboa Park this...
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Postcards from the Pandemic
I found eggs at Trader Joe’s for the first time today after a two week absence. We stood in line the way folks do for a hot new club or the best Sunday brunch place but spaced farther apart. One TJ...
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Postcards from the Pandemic
Culinary Therapy for Covid days I’m not sure which is more stressful — losing audio on a Zoom Yoga class in the middle of a vinyasa, or producing less than a page of decent writing between calls on the...
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Postcards from the Pandemic
Fusion Shakshouka is what happens when your family has eaten all the lamb shanks, leaving gravy to delicious to toss, and a dozen quail eggs too small to fry one by one. Breadcrumbs from last week’s...
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Postcards from the Pandemic
Yesterday I did an hour of Youtube Yoga, forgot what day it was, cooked this soup and shakshouka and forgot to bathe.Without the Monday – Friday routine of carpools and yoga classes, I’m beginning to...
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Postcards from the Pandemic
When I need comfort food, Mujadara is my Mac & Cheese. This Middle Eastern lentil and rice dish is fragrant with cumin, allspice and cayenne, topped with caramelized onions and parsley. Because I...
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Postcards from the Pandemic – a Friend in Knead is a Friend Indeed
For the love of Bread, stay home! And we did, with the kindness of a virtual stranger. Yeast is as hard to find as hand sanitizers these days, but N. found several packets in an East Coast grocery and...
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Postcards from the Pandemic
After hearing horror stories about long lines of people storming Walmart to buy fabric for face masks, I decided to go shopping in my closet instead. I donated my Victoria Secret bras after the company...
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Postcards from the Pandemic – Holy Week Edition
I retired from organized religion years ago, but remember all too well the dreariness of Lent, when good Catholics were expected to abstain from chocolate or wine or some other delectable indulgence....
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Generation Women Show
I look forward to sharing the virtual stage next with these phenomenal women next Wednesday, January 27, 7 p.m. ET/4 pm PT. Each of us represent a decade from the 20s through the 70s and will tell a...
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Recreating Home with Food
Filipino food appears in my novel as a metaphor for love in The Mango Bride. For millions of expatriate Filipinos like me, traditional dishes also help us recreate the sounds, scents and delicious...
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