For this author chat, we sit down with Susie Luo to talk about her debut novel Paper Names, a decades spanning tale of a Chinese immigrant trying to build a new life in America, his Chinese American daughter looking for her place in her parent’s American dream, and a privileged white lawyer trying to rise above his family’s shady past, who are brought together by an unexpected act of violence and heroism in the streets of New York City. We chat with Susie about her inspirations for her novel, as well as her journey to becoming a writer after working in law and finance.

Learn more about Susie at www.susieluo.com and check out her novel, Paper Names, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

*Support the podcast by supporting our new Patreon*

On this episode we discuss our June 2023 book club pick, We Have Always Been Here by Lena Nguyen. A Sci-Fi psychological thriller following Dr. Grace Park, a psychologist who hates people, serving on a spaceship that has been dispatched to the planet Eos for a colonization inspection, but as the members of her crew begin to succumb to a mysterious psychological contagion, Dr. Park has to step out of her comfort zone to figure out the dark secrets of the planet in order to get out alive.

*Support the podcast by supporting our new Patreon*

On our mid-month check in for June 2023, we review the latest Asian American book and publishing announcements, while Reera catches Marvin up with the latest tea from Asian book twitter.

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

• The Night Ends with Fire by K.X. Song
• The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai
• Momo by Ranran Zhou
• If Lin Can by Richard Ho; illust. by Huỳnh Kim Liên and Phùng Nguyên Quan
• Wish I Was a Baller by Amar Shah; illust. Rashad Doucet
• This Is How You Fall in Love by Anika Hussain
• The Lotus Shoes by Jane Yang
• Last Chance Academy series by Debbi Michiko Florence
• My Olive Tree by Hazar Elbayya
• The Last Dragon of the East by Katrina Kwan
• A Sky for the Birds by Rina Singh; illust. by Barkha Lohia
• The Beasts Beneath the Winds edited by Hanna Alkaf
• Simone by Viet Thanh Nguyen; illust. Minne Phan
• Threads by Ashley Wong
• Sophia Lee Can Fly by Marie Tang; illust. by Lenny Wen

News stories covered on this episode:

• British Museum Removes Writer’s Translations of Chinese Poetry After Being Accused of Copyright Infringement

*Support the podcast by supporting our new Patreon*

For this author chat, we talk to Uzma Jalaluddin about her latest contemporary romance Much Ado about Nada, a contemporary adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion taking place in a Muslim convention in Toronto. We chat with Uzma about her love of Austen, her background as an English teacher, and more!

Follow Uzma on IG at @uzmajalaluddin and check out her novel, Much Ado about Nada, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

*Support the podcast by supporting our new Patreon*

For this author chat, we sit down with Rita Chang-Eppig about her debut novel Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea, a historical fiction novel painting a portrait of legendary (and real life) Chinese pirate queen Shek Yeung who ruled the South China Seas in the early 19th century. We chat with Rita about her inspirations for the story as well as her own journey as an author.

Follow Rita on IG at @rche_types and check out her novel, Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea, availaible now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

*Support the podcast by supporting our new Patreon*

On this episode we are discussing our May 2023 book club pick, The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh. A story about a Vietnamese family dealing with the effects of a very petty curse that has resulted in generations of only daughters to be born to their family, and the modern decedents in America dealing with all the generational trauma that comes from being daughters to refugee mothers. To help us re dive into all the Vietnamese American familial drama we’ve invited a special guest Hanh Nguyen, one of Marvin’s co-hosts on the Good Pop Culture Club podcast and Senior Culture Editor at Salon.com!

*Support the podcast by supporting our new Patreon*