One Side

Last week’s blog post was scheduled ahead of time, which is why there was no mentioning of the unbelievable hate that went down in Charlottesville, Virginia that day.

I’m honestly lost for words. I’ve wracked my mind over and over again, figuring out just what to say about it without repeating what other people have already said. I’ve addressed time and time again the tense political climate we are in, but this event has for sure taken the turn for the worse. That’s why I’ve decided to bluntly tell it like it is at this point in time:

A Heart’s Desire: Recommended Viewing

This day has be a bit occupied with creative minds coming together, and so it seemed well timed to put out a new Recommended Analyzing piece. This also comes at a good time for the very source material I’m going to have you take a look at today, for it’s a short film that has gone viral recently.

Therefore, the title “In a Heartbeat” should ring a bell. For those who don’t know, in the span of four minutes, the film tells the story of a boy who has his heart set on another boy in his school, and in this case, it’s quite literal. The heart wants what it wants as it pops out of the former’s chest, and persistently makes an ongoing strive to the other boy.

Special Monday Post: “About Tita” (An Audio Story)

Hey everyone!

I’m really excited to share with you all this special audio story I got to write, record, and produce for one of the podcasts that I follow, This Filipino American Life. As part of a new series of guest-produced audio stories they’re doing, I’m thrilled to share with you all “About Tita;” a reflection on my Great Aunt Justita’s life and how it intertwines with my own.

The First Time(s) I Saw Me

Another hashtag has emerged over the past week where its relevancy rings true with the topics I address on this blog, and so therefore, I want to dwell into it. The hashtag is #TheFirstTimeISawMe. Diversity and representation of different lives – by way of race, sexuality, specific characteristics, etc. – matter, and Netflix started up this thread to celebrate inclusive media and diverse programming. If you look through the hashtag on Twitter, you’ll see people recall instances of the first times they saw someone like them onscreen, as well as people who are still waiting for that moment to happen.

#TheFirstTimeISawMe #Katara #AvatarTheLastAirbender #Paikea #WhaleRider

A post shared by Lauren Lola (@akolaurenlola) on Aug 3, 2017 at 12:46pm PDT

Special Friday Post: “Common Ground” Will Be Featured in “Stories High XVII”

Hey everyone!

If you had read last week’s blog post, you may recall how near the end, I briefly mentioned how I had a short play accepted to be featured in a showcase that’s happening later this summer. Well, today I want to elaborate more on that, as well as additional information.

Asian American Superheroes, Absolute Memory, and Colliding Worlds: A Month of Book Readings

Book readings: As emphasized in a blog post from earlier this month, they are the closest opportunities to seeing magic being conjured, the chances to bringing new minds into your universe, the moments of nostalgia of being read to as children, and the time to ask questions to the storytellers themselves. They are events I highly cherish both as an audience member and as an author, and throughout the month of July, I got to experience both sides of that.

Exploring New Worlds Through Seasoned, Campy Sci-Fi: “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets”

Over two years ago, I started making the effort to expand my dialogue about storytelling by going beyond the boundaries of books and out into the mediums of TV and film. I do so by doing these analysis pieces once a while about a TV show or film that has reached a significant time in its history (i.e. series premiere, series finale, film release, anniversary of a release, etc.). Despite my efforts to do these posts more often, it’s been another six months, for “Princess Mononoke” was the subject of my previous one. Today, in honor of its release, I shall go in-depth on my thoughts on the latest sci-fi epic from seasoned French film director Luc Besson, “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.”

Author’s Commentary: About “46”

(Never had I expected that I would be doing three commentaries in under six months, and the likelihood that another one is to happen before the end of the year is very high.)

In honor of the release of “46” – the short story spin-off to A Moment’s Worth and my first self-released short story in three years – today I will be going in-depth on the conception and development of the story. I shall explain what it was like to revisit characters from my debut novel, why I wrote the story as it is, and why it means a lot for it to be out in the world during this particular time. As you can imagine, there will be spoilers, so if you haven’t read it already, go read it first before reading this commentary.

Happy 3rd Anniversary to “A Moment’s Worth”!

Today marks three years since I released my debut novel, A Moment’s Worth! I definitely feel the length of time that has passed between that faithful day in 2014 and the present day. At the same time, I’m stunned that that amount of time has passed at all.

For those who are unfamiliar with A Moment’s Worth, it follows three core concepts: the interconnections among the human race, the fine line between what is real and what could be a dream, and the value of moments in time. It remains to be my most experimental work to date, which makes for – in my opinion – an interesting novel to be my first.

Special Tuesday Post: “46” is Now Available!

One week after first announcing it, I am happy to announce that “46” is now available!

Much like all of my works, it is available as an e-book on several sights such as that of Amazon and Smashwords. More outlets will be made available in due time and once I put up a page exclusively for my short stories, I’ll be sure to update it as they appear.