Category Archives: Writing

Reading at the Writers from the Underground event

My Second Reading: Writers from the Underground

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Reading at the Writers from the Underground event

Reading at the Writers from the Underground event

On Saturday, May 24, I read an excerpt from a banned book and an excerpt from my novel Shade for Doors Open Toronto. Hosted in the Heritage Room of the Metropolitan United Church, the event titled Writers from the Underground featured writing that was banned or “driven underground” in a quite literally underground space.

It was thrilling to read amongst a lineup of authors such as Farzana Doctor – who I had interviewed for a feature article just three short years ago – and Karen Connelly – who had provided both writing insight and guidance to me more than five years ago, when she was Writer-in-Residence at the University of Toronto and I was still trying to figure out where to go after graduation. Even more amazing was hearing from my talented fellow mentees – Deepa Shanakaran and James Papoutsis, among so many others.

The room, though tiny, had great ambiance. And now I can say that I’ve read at an event with standing room only!

For the censored book, I chose Noli Me Tangere by Jose Rizal. It was surreal reading my work – set in the Philippines – right after one of the most defining Filipino texts of all time. As I mentioned during the reading, no matter how much time has passed or how much space is between Canada and the Philippines, some things remain quintessentially Filipino – the big families, vibrant conversations, and meddlesome nature of everyone who loves each other and is involved in each other’s business!

After the reading, a woman approached me outside and said she really liked the excerpt from my novel. She browsed through the piles of books available on the table and asked where mine was. I had to tell her it wasn’t there… yet! Hopefully it will be soon.

My parents and my brother attended as well, and that was perhaps the best and most terrifying part of the afternoon. I read a quote from Rita Mae Brown that said, “Writers will happen in the best of families.” Somehow I happened to mine and, while it may not always make sense, it’s nice to know I have people rooting for me in the crowd.

Thanks once again to DD for organizing an amazing event.

“Next Time” Media – CBC Radio & the Markham Economist and Sun

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My mentorship with Diaspora Dialogues and publication in TOK led me to new experiences, ushering me into a world of finger foods and wine, book launches and literary powwows and, bizarrely enough, interviews with press and radio personnel. I say “bizarrely enough” because I am used to being on the other side of journalism – the side that asks questions and forms stories rather than the one that becomes the story.

After the publication of “Next Time,” however, I found myself the subject of a few reporters’ interests.

One interview I did was with CBC Radio’s Metro Morning show. Released on the launch date of TOK 7, it may be found online via the Metro Morning webpage.

Another one appeared in the Markham Economist and Sun, and I’ll post the link soon if it can be found online. In the meantime, my brother was kind enough to take a photo of the publication and upload it to Facebook, where comments of, “Thank God it wasn’t a Wanted poster,” began peppering his page.

An article in the Markham Economist and Sun

Though it’s odd being the subject of interviews as opposed to the interviewer, it’s definitely much easier answering questions as opposed to formulating a story, asking questions, and transcribing it after (oh, dear Lord, I’ll never miss transcribing). The one thing I feel iffy about is having my friends and family read or hear the interviews later. Somehow I feel less awkward at the thought of strangers reading about my personal life as opposed to those actually involved in my personal life. I’m not sure if that’s a feeling I can ever get accustomed to.

Either way, thank you Aparita Bhandari from CBC Radio and Simon Martin from the Markham Economist and Sun for featuring me and promoting Diaspora Dialogues on your sites and media channels. It’s been a great experience and is much appreciated.

TOK: Writing the New Toronto, Book 7 Launch

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On Wednesday, May 9, the latest (and last) installment of the TOK series launched at Gladstone Hotel. The night was a great success, featuring readings by my fellow emerging writers, James Papoutsis, Zalika Reid-Benta and Yaya Yao, as well as a panel discussion involving mentors Moez Surani and Olive Senior. The turnout was huge, the beer ice cold, and finger foods great. Despite the fact that I drove (read: sat) in traffic for literally 2 ½ hours to get there (Grrr, I hate driving downtown), I’m happy I attended the TOK launch. Such events are always inspiring for me as a writer, not to mention the amazing sense of accomplishment it offered to finally see “Next Time” in print. Some kindly man even asked for my autograph, which was a definite first!

As always, thank you once again to Diaspora Dialogues staff – Helen, Natalie, Jordan and Holly – for organizing everything from the program to the anthology to the launch, and offering an amazing support network for emerging writers. The Diaspora Dialogues experience is one that keeps giving.

I am extremely fortunate to have experienced Diaspora Dialogues’ short form mentoring program, especially since I managed to sneak into its last year running. From now on, Diaspora Dialogues is offering a long form mentoring program, which I hope to apply for, that will offer emerging writers greater in-depth opportunities to hone their craft and ready a book-length project for publication. If you’re an emerging writer with a book in the desk drawer, this program is certainly one to consider.

If you have time, be sure to check Diaspora Dialogues out. Any support for the organization would be greatly appreciated, whether through donation or through purchasing a TOK book, so the organization can continue its support of emerging writers. The seventh edition of TOK contains the recurring theme of hope. The book submerges readers into a world of complex and compelling characters, offering greater insights into the dynamics men face in our society. I’m honoured to be among the authors in TOK 7. Trust me, the book is well worth the read.

My First Reading Ever

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Glowing with relief with my parents after my reading at Diaspora Dialogues’ “Toronto the Bad” event was done.

On Friday, April 20 I participated in my first reading ever. There’s a million things I could say about the event, from my anxiety in the face of public speaking, to my worry about what my parents would think, to the seeming serendipity of reading at an event I had been an awed witness of only a few years earlier. I could even touch on the way my voice shook from terror during my introduction, the way I zoned into the story halfway through, my failure to properly adjust the mic and therefore my need to talk into it through the side of my mouth, or that one annoying piece of hair that kept falling into my eyes. Perhaps I could even recap the fear I had when the reading was done, during which I realized I was in front of about 100 people reading my personal thoughts, and I just ran off stage.

But three weeks later, it still feels fresh enough to frighten, awe, and amaze me. Three weeks later, I’m still too shy to watch the video my Dad discreetly taped of me (against my wishes!), too high from the idea that I actually got paid for fiction, and too grateful to fully grasp the fact that one of the readers on stage was me and this week I’ll be published in this year’s TOK anthology.

Perhaps, when it all boils down to it, all I’d really like to say is, Thank you. To Diaspora Dialogues for the opportunity, to Olive Senior for the mentorship, to my fellow emerging writers for coming out and showing support at the event, and to my lovely boyfriend and family for witnessing me freak out, advising me to breathe, and allowing me to break their hands while I squeezed it out of fear and nervousness.

If you’re interested in finding me much more calm and composed at another awesome event, feel free to visit the Gladstone Hotel Ballroom at 7:30pm this Wednesday night (May 9). TOK: Writing the New Toronto, Book 7 will be launched – the book in which my short story, “Next Time,” is published. Accompanying the launch are readings by my fellow emerging writers, James Papotsis, Zalika Reid-Benta, and Yaya Yao, and a panel discussion between Moez Surani and Olive Senior.

Short Story: “Next Time”

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Great news! I recently received word that my short story, “Next Time,” will be published in this year’s TOK Anthology. The TOK series books are traditionally released in April, and I can’t wait to see the finished product.

I will be reading the same story at the Toronto Reference Library this April 20th for Keep Toronto Reading 2012 as part of the Friday Nights with Diaspora Dialogues series. It seems like only yesterday when I was nearly moved to tears by the MAD Poet’s spoken word at Friday Nights with Diaspora Dialogues in 2009, and now I will be one among the presenters.

It’s a mind-blowing opportunity that I’m still too giddy to wrap my head around. The sheer head rush that resulted from hearing both these things was enough to last me for a long time. I’m still buzzing from excitement!

For an excerpt of the short story, please feel free to read beyond the cut.

Continue reading→

Happy New Year – 2012

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Happy New Year everyone! I know this message is coming a bit late considering the new year has been present for about 20 days now, but I’ve taken one of those long breaks from posting to accommodate for the holidays, family time, and life in general. I’ve even eased up on tweeting! This disconnect from the Net and social media is disconcerting at times, but sometimes necessary, especially when special attention needs to be paid to life outside the computer.

It’s a new year and new start though and I recently renewed my ownership of MiaHerrera.com (with hosting! Though I still need to code the site beyond the basic blog template), so I’m dedicated to another year or two of infrequent posting for anyone who is interested (a small number, in fact, that more often visits my site for my MonopolyCity and Felicia Day posts).

I entered this year without any intention of creating resolutions. I’ve made resolutions every other year, but I’d like to believe that change can happen at any time – not just on the first of January. As the year drew to a close, however, I discovered an unintentional list of resolutions that continually grew. By the time the clock struck midnight on January 1st, my list of resolutions included Continuing Education and French language courses, more time in church, more time on the treadmill, and more time by the stove learning how to cook.

As 2012 began, however, life brought along many surprise and blessings. I put a down payment on a house (move in date September 2012), ruling out further courses due to the need to save money at the moment, and my love of chocolate and proneness to accidents threw a few wrenches on my road of progress towards cooking, eating, and living healthily.

If this year has taught me anything so far, it’s that everything truly does happen for a reason. Like that cliché quote says, sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together. I naturally love to plan and when plans wouldn’t work out, I’d feel lost as I scrambled to create another plan for the changed situation. This isn’t a bad thing but, these days, going with the flow has been really nice.

This year, I’ll adapt. I’ll purchase Rosetta Stone instead of attend Alliance Francaise or keep active but try not to beat myself up when I slip up. I’ve always striven to do absolutely everything before, that life sometimes became too hectic to do anything at all. I’ve decided to choose what’s important and focus on it accordingly.  By the second week of January I already knew I needed to parse my ambitious list of resolutions down to allow for real life. And even if cooking, schooling, and running fell through, I was left with these final resolutions:

 I want to Live Well (live life to the fullest), Live Right (be kind, thoughtful, and thankful), and Write. If all else fails, I want to do these three things and always keep life, love and passion in mind.

2012 will be a good year. Happy New Year everyone. I wish you all a happy and blessed one.

YorkScene: Forget Professionalism, Remember Writing

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Check out my latest post on YorkScene.com – “Forget Professionalism, Remember Writing” – where I reflect on writing as a business venture, where each post becomes another page in your portfolio. This view is helpful and oftentimes necessary when art becomes public, but it can also be creatively crippling.

This YorkScene post is hopefully the first in a series of similar pieces written “Stream of Consciousness” style reflecting on the nature of writing. As always, please comment and review. Have you had a similar experience with writing? How do you balance the sometimes slapdash nature of creative inspiration with the methodical, meticulate needs of editing and reviewing? Let me know either on YorkScene or MiaHerrera.com.

Upcoming Panel: Buy, Sell, Trade? The Currency of Identity

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This Thursday, November 10, I will be attending the panel discussion, Buy, Sell, Trade? The Currency of Identity, hosted by Diaspora Dialogues and the Harbourfront Centre.

The event features writers Priscilla Uppal, Cherie Dimaline and Kate Taylor, and actor and playwright Ins Choi. The four will explore identity and representation issues, while audience members contribute one-word “identifiers” that will be used to build characters and discuss storytelling challenges.

The event starts at 7pm in the Harbourfront Centre’s Studio Theatre. Hope to see you there!

Diaspora Dialogues Mentorship Party 2011

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Last Tuesday, July 26, I attended the Diaspora Dialogues Mentorship Launch Party and met with the organizers, mentors and other mentees involved in this year’s program. We had a beautiful evening of talk, food, and white wine sangria (mmm!) on the patio of L’Espresso.

Among those that I met, I was also able to acquaint myself with my mentor, Olive Senior, and the other writers being mentored by her. Aside from TWUC, I haven’t had the opportunity to attend a writing event in a while. It felt great to discuss writing with a group of people who were as passionate about the art as me. There’s something amazing about being able to talk about character, plot, and the horrifying revision process with people who don’t think you’re a complete geek when you get excited about these things.

Though I didn’t know it was possible, the Diaspora Dialogues Mentorship Launch made me even more excited for this year’s program. My peers are an amazing group of writers from a variety of backgrounds. I am already on my first round of revisions with Olive, and can’t wait for the rest of the season.

Just a heads up for other aspiring young writers, Diaspora Dialogues has released a call for submissions for a brand new youth (ages 16-25) mentoring program. Creative non-fiction, short stories, or poetry will be accepted up until September 30, after which 6-10 young writers will be selected through an adjudicated process.

P.S. I still get a schoolgirl thrill when I see “Writer” on any part of my name tags!

Diaspora Dialogues Mentorship Program 2011

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It was only a couple of months ago that I wrote about Keep Toronto Reading – an article that referenced the great influence Diaspora Dialogues had on me. This month, and three years after my first encounter with the organization, Diaspora Dialogues has offered me yet another opportunity: acceptance into their 2011 mentorship program. I’m ecstatic. Mentorship begins this month (perfectly scheduled at the end of my Humber program) and goes until September. At the end of the program, I will have the opportunity to submit my work to TOK for publication, as well as read at a Diaspora Dialogues event (eek! Public speaking!).

Whenever opportunities like this come around – a scholarship, a mentorship, a publication – I am always overjoyed and overwhelmed with the mind-boggling idea that someone else has seen value in my work. In a way, it’s validation for all the long nights and early mornings, and an extra push towards my goal. On top of anything else, I am most appreciative of this – of the extra encouragement and the opportunity to better my craft.

I am so appreciative of this opportunity and excited to start working with my mentor, Olive Senior. My submission, “Next Time,” is a short story pulled from the novel I am currently working on. I am excited to see how it will evolve under scrutiny and guidance.

Thank you, Diaspora Dialogues! Yet again, you’ve made all the difference.