Update: January 25, 2023

Despite being sick for a couple of days, I had a great week. I watched some fantastic films, got a lot of writing done, had brunch with my best friends, celebrated Lunar New Year, and I got a new pair of glasses. 

I’m so honored to have my poem Walking to Kmart to Buy a Dolly Parton Album included in the wonderful new collection Let Me Say This: A Dolly Parton Poetry Anthology. Many thanks to the editors for giving this poem such a great literary home. You can purchase a copy of the book from Madville Publishing.

I’m working on a lot of new projects - new screenplays, new stage plays, and new television scripts. I’ll have a lot more to share with you very soon. For now I’m in a lot of meetings and I’m pitching my projects almost every day to producers and networks. I’m more determined than ever to see my stories through. 

Some of the great films I watched this week include the sci-fi B movie classic Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Joan Crawford thriller Female on the Beach, the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the bad girl Barbara Stanwyck film Ladies They Talk About, and the brilliant biopic What’s Love Got to Do With It (I still say Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne were robbed of Oscars for their performances). This week, I was in awe (once again as I am every year I watch them) by Gloria Grahame in the film In a Lonely Place and Audrey Totter in The Set-Up. They are two of the best actresses in film noir. 

You can read my review of the sci-fi action comedy The Adam Project at the official Filtinsel website.

I’m very fortunate to have a sister-in-law who is very generous in sharing her Chinese and Thai traditions and cultures with me. I learn a lot from her. This week we got to celebrate the Lunar New Year together and it was a beautiful family experience for us. 

My musical artist of the week is Donna Summer. Growing up, I was obsessed with Donna’s music, especially her version of MacArthur Park, one of my all-time favorite tunes. One of my few regrets in life was never getting to see her perform live.

I feel very lucky to be living in a new golden era of television. This week we finished the second season of Bridgerton, a very fun show to watch. We also finished the second season of Hacks, which is one of the best TV shows ever made.  

In closing, I’m thrilled to tell you the new edition of my young adult supernatural romance novel Wonder Land will be available in paperback and eBook on Valentine’s Day.

Until next week…

Onward and upward.

“Everything you can imagine is real.”
- Pablo Picasso