On this episode, we welcome author Vanessa Le to chat about her debut novel The Last Bloodcarver, a Vietnamese-American inspired YA fantasy about a girl with the power to alter human biology who wants to be a healer even if the world sees her as a monster, who is caught and sold into the service of a wealthy family to heal the last surviving witness to a suspected murder. We chat with Vanessa about her inspirations for her fantasy action meets medical murder mystery, as well as how her background as a Vietnamese-American med student helped her develop her book’s world and magic system!

Follow Vanessa on Instagram at @lochnessly and check out her debut novel, The Last Bloodcarver, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

On our mid-month check in for March 2024, we recap the latest Asian American book and publishing announcements, as well as go over some exciting adaptation and festival news!

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

• The Perfections by Lulee Ma
• Revolutions Are Made of
• Love by Sun
• Yung Shin and Mélina Mangal; illust by Leslie Barlow
• Nunu and the Sea by Isabella Kung
•  A Home on the Page by Kao Kalia Yang;
• illust by Seo Kim
• Deathly Fates by Tesia Tsai
• Dragon Force: Infinity’s
• Secret by Katie
• Tsang and Kevin Tsang
• Falling Star by Linda Liu
• I Guess I’ll Go Eat Worms by Linda Liu
• The Day the Books
• Disappeared by Joanna
• Ho and Caroline Kusin Pritchard; illust by Dan Santat
• Lou with the Band by Alexandra Leigh
• Young
• Prodigal Tiger by Samantha Chong
• The Art of How Dogs Sleep by Alison Kim

News stories covered on this episode:

• Babel optioned for screen adaptation
• YALLWEST announces lineup

On this episode, we welcome author Sophie Wan to chat about her debut novel Women of Good Fortune, a story of three “leftover” women living in Shanghai each stuck in their own ruts from living under the patriarchy, who decides to do something about it, by planning a heist to steal the red envelope money a crazy rich wedding. We had a great chat with Sophie about her inspirations for the story as well as what goes into constructing a good heist.

Follow Sophie on Instagram at @thesophiewan and check out Sophie’s debut novel, Women of Good Fortune, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

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On this episode, we discuss our February 2024 book club pick, Untethered Sky, an action packed novella by Fonda Lee about a young woman as she becomes a Ruhker, who are warriors that hunt monsters using giant mythical birds called rocs.

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On this episode, we chat with Ray Xu about his debut middle grade graphic novel Alterations, a charming semi-autobiographical tale of a kid growing up in a crowded apartment with his mom, older sister, and grandmother, just trying to fit in and stand out. We chat with Ray about the real life inspirations behind his novel, as well as his own creative journey to becoming an animation story editor and published author.

Follow Ray on Instagram at @rayxuxu and check out Ray’s graphic novel, Alterations, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

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On our mid-month check in for February 2024, we recap the latest Asian American book and publishing announcements, as well as catch up on the latest book tea, including controversies from a prominent book awards.

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

• Me and My Pet Demon by Remy Lai
• Once Upon a Tail by Audrey Perrott & Charlene Chua
• A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim
• 100th Day of School with Yasmin by Saadia Faruqi; illust by Debby Rahmalia
• The Baby Who Stayed Awake Forever by Sandra Salsbury
• This Is Dance by Rekha S. Rajan; illust by Chris Park
• Folk Remedy by Jem Yoshioka
• Navigating Night by Julie Leung; illust by Angie Kang
• A Good Indian Girl by Mansi Shah

News stories covered on this episode:

• Controversy over ‘inexplicable’ exclusion of R F Kuang and Xiran Jay Zhao from Hugo Awards 2023
• “YA Isn’t Just for Young Adults” op-ed criticism

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