on what to do when the world crashes around you
Or, some updates while I'm struggling to survive
It’s safe to say that the world has felt more uncertain than before. From the elections in the U.S., to the wars still raging in Palestine, Congo, Sudan, and many other places on earth, and with climate change feeling realer than ever and AI practices going unchecked, it’s so easy to feel lost and helpless.
I’m not here to give a step-by-step guide on how to get by. I’m just as overwhelmed as you are, probably. But for a moment I want you to also focus on the things within our vicinity—the things we can control. It’s something that I’m still learning; in publishing it is so easy to get lost in the larger scheme of things, and it is easy to feel like you’re taking more Ls than Ws. Yet there are so many things for us to appreciate along the way, big or small.
It also so happens to be my birthday today, so I’m celebrating the little wins that I’ve gotten recently! Sit back, relax, and I hope that in this little corner of the world you will find some joy and solace.
Some Bookish Updates
While I’ve been waiting for edits on Book 2 of The False Goddess trilogy, I’ve been grateful for the extra time I get to focus on revising my Chinese shaman book. It has been in a surprising process in many ways—including the fact that I have, apparently, forgotten how edits work.
Well, I haven’t forgotten how to edit a book. But with this project I wanted to try something a little different from my usual approach. When I wrote the first draft I was already mindful of how I didn’t want to follow typical Western storytelling structures, like “Save the Cat” or the “Three Act” storyline, as useful as they are. I wrote it intending to let it flow as it is, instead of trying to pin down specific plotlines and character arcs.
It’s not to say that plots and character arcs don’t matter in this project, but its structure is quite different from all my previous manuscripts. I wanted to preserve this spirit in the editing process itself, and so I took quite a loose stance towards the second draft—being critical of storylines that made sense and didn’t, while also embracing the unspoken cultural undertones driving the plot forward, reminiscent of how spirituality is still very much a part embedded in various regions in Asia.
In this project, I also thought a lot about how in Asia most of us think of a spiritual realm as something that is adjacent to our world, whether we actually believe in a god or not. In Malaysia, at least, you learn that you cannot never scream or talk loudly when you are in the jungle, or you should run away immediately when you smell frangipanis out of nowhere. It may seem nonsensical superstition to some, but over the years I’ve also come to believe that—through various stories and my own experiences—that there are very real consequences of wronging spirits.
It is this vague, spiritual undertone that is an important aspect of this Chinese shaman project. So immediately it sets itself apart from The Scarlet Throne. It’s been a tough process, wrangling something so vague and abstract into words that cannot fully capture its complexity, but there’s something poetic about rediscovering the process of a craft you thought you were familiar with. I’m very excited for this book, and I hope you will be too (and I hope my agent lets me go on sub soon, and a publisher picks it up!).
In other bookish news, in case you haven’t been following me on Instagram, I’m holding a giveaway for 3 copies of The Scarlet Throne from now till 29th April, 11.59PM EST! If you still haven’t gotten a copy yet, or if you want to win a copy to gift to your friends, make sure to join the giveaway! As with all of my other giveaways, I try to make them open internationally because I understand the pain of not residing in the US / UK.
Some Non-Bookish Updates
Health issues have been hammering me like a bludgeon over the past few months. Firstly, my hyperthyroidism has relapsed, and I’m on medical treatment again to tell my thyroid glands to stop making me eat so much and stop giving me heart palpitations. Secondly, I went for an appendicitis surgery, which was a lot faster than I thought it would be. But also it was my first time undergoing any type of surgery ever, and the feeling of having stitches inside your body is…not fun, put simply.
While I was confined to bed during my recovery period, I watched and became obsessed with Netflix’s Devil May Cry and proceeded to consume all possible content of the DMC series without even playing the games. The soundtrack for this series is absolute fire, and Evanescence making a comeback in 2025 is the healing I never knew I needed. I never knew that white-haired anime guys could be this hot (sorry but I was never interested in Gojo Satoru), and I’m already seated for Season 2!
I also watched and was equally obsessed with Friendly Rivalry, which is essentially Sky Castle (aka Korean dark academia) meets sapphic yearning. Some Western viewers have been calling the plot unrealistic, as it features borderline insane teenagers going to desperate measures to take their competition out in high school. But as someone who has lived through a similar system, I can assure you that Asian schools are brutal when it comes to competition. If you really want a look at the average Asian academic experience, watch this. Even if you don’t, this is a thrilling ride from start to end.
And in another small win in my life, I’m one step closer to earning my PhD with my very first journal article published! I’ve definitely gained a whole new sense of appreciation for the (different) writing process, and how so much thought and care is put into every word and sentence. The best news is: it’s Open Access! No need to pay 200 dollars for a single article that is probably not relevant to your life. If you’re interested in multilingual identities being explored from a Global South perspective, you can check it out here.
Ending Thoughts
And that’s it for this update! Nothing monumental has happened for the past few months, but writing this has certainly made me appreciate the little things that keep me going. Wherever you’re reading this from, I hope that you too can celebrate the little wins in life. I see you, and I know that you’re striving every day to make life better.
Love,
Amy
Happy birthday! Thank you for sharing this with us