Black Sand

An animated GIF banner made by me, with the help of Adobe Photoshop, for the Danse Macabre universe.

Happy Halloween, All Saint's Eve, Samhain, and all the other holidays and celebrations going on this October 31! I bring you a spooky story from an ongoing project called Danse Macabre, a roleplay universe written in collaboration with the fantastic Jay B. I'm not entirely sure how well the story stands on its own, as it was written as a prequel to the main roleplay, but we'll see how it goes.

Black Sand

Sinnerman

An illustration of this story, drawn my myself circa 2013. You can probably guess what natural disaster is about to occur to our poor family of protagonists.

This is very much a spiritual successor to Barton Hollow, as I started writing it shortly after finishing that story. It was first conceived during the 2013 Juniper Institute for Young Writers and, like To Avis Ladongale, this story is one I've retired. I have a wealth of excellent critiques, but after a few years of hiatus, I feel I have outgrown it. Perhaps it would succeed in a different form, but changing the form would involve shifting the focus of the story--and I wanted to stay focused on the development of the narrator's voice and how her language reflects the colonization of her culture.

Yeah, I'm a linguistics nerd.

SINNERMAN

New Interview! With Jordan Villegas

Image from http://themugcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/stock-footage-microphone-stage-view-of-microphone-shallow-dof.jpg, courtesy of the Google Machine.

Hello, all! So, a lovely teen author named Jordan Villegas (whom I met at the 2015 Alpha SF/F/H Workshop for Young Writers) did an interview with me! Be sure to check it out, and stick around for the rest of the weekly interviews he'll be posting!

Learn what stories I'm working on, what books I'm reading, what I'd like my tombstone to say, and what exactly it would take to turn me into a Machiavellian mind-reading supervillain... with a conscience. (Hint: it's not much.)

So without further ado, I present to you...

teens who are awesome (and maybe also write):
Interview with Amanda Grace Shu

Listen

From http://www.cultbox.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Doctor-Who-Listen2.jpg, courtesy of the Google Machine. 'Tis a screenshot from the inspirationally well-written Doctor Who episode with which this essay shares its title.

I rarely write personal essays, and when one is assigned despite my protests, I make a conscious effort to write more about others--or, better yet, abstract concepts--than I do about myself. I don't know why, other that I'm a very private person. And yet, whenever I write about the characters I've created, or about the writing process in general, the resulting essay reveals more about me than I ever intended.

That's what ended up happening with this essay, "Listen". I wrote it as part of my college application, which I sent to six colleges, five of which accepted me. The college which I will be attending in the fall started their acceptance letter with a quote from the essay and a note on how deeply it resonated with their admissions staff. My parents' initial reaction was more along the lines of "...that's... different... very you, though." And I have to agree. "Listen" is a meditation on an integral part of my identity; it speaks to an experience that many and yet few share. And it is utterly, undeniably mine.

Enjoy.

Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

To Avis Ladongale, On the Subject of Fixing Time

A banner made by myself, featuring the beautiful actress Jenna Coleman as the titular character in this upcoming piece. Why Jenna Coleman? Let's just say it has something to do with time...

I'm just gonna come out and say it: this is one of the stories that I consider dead. I've taken the concept as far as it can go and submitted it to several publications, all rejected. I suspect it has something to do with the universe being very highly-developed in my own head but underdeveloped on the page. But "To Avis Ladongale" is in essence a bare-bones piece, more of a prose poem than a story, and to flesh out the text would take it in an entirely different direction than I feel it was meant to go. Perhaps I'll write that other story someday.

To give credit where credit is due, my brilliant friend Katrina S. is the creator of Avis Ladongale herself and my partner, along with Jay B., in creating this strangest of universes in which the piece takes place.

To Avis Ladongale, On the Subject of Fixing Time

Comprendre (Poetry on the T Contest Winner!)

Banner for Mass Poetry's Poetry on the T program, which is featuring my latest poem this month.

 Fantastic news! My poem Comprendre was voted one of two student winners of Mass Poetry's Poetry on the T Contest! During the month of May, seven Red Line trains shuttling people throughout the Greater Boston Area will be proudly displaying my poem, hopefully brightening the days of busy commuters through the power of creative writing. Huzzah!

Mass Poetry is a marvelous organization that organizes the Massachusetts Poetry Festival each day, so be sure to look at their website. To read the three other contest-winning poems and soak in the astounding art paired with them, click here.

The Little Prince (For My Mother)

A banner adapted from http://www.lepetitprince.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/arsdraw.jpg, with a quote from the following piece: "Meaning something to even one star would keep me going."

For those of you who are unaware, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is a French existential tale in the guise of a children's book. The story highlights both the absurdity of adult life and the ultimate beauty and innocence of the universe in which we live. It relates the adventures of a Little Prince from Asteroid B-612 who travels to different planets, including Earth, in search of knowledge about the world around him.

I was going to publish this on my mother's birthday, February 6th, since the piece is dedicated to her. However, I missed the deadline and, well, better late than never, I suppose!

For my mother

Fugue State

Me, reading this story at a Barnes and Noble while at the Alpha Workshop. Photo credit to my friend and fellow Alphan Yvonne.

I actually haven't posted anything significant since June, so this is far overdue. But I have just this August been to the 2014 Alpha Young Writers' Workshop, nine days of workshop with four professional authors, ten up-and-coming author staff members, and twenty fabulous students from all around the globe! Alphans, assemble!

It is at that workshop that I penned (and publicly read) this story. Facebook followers, prepare yourselves.

Warning: adult language.

Fugue State