I’ve decided to sign a publishing deal with Lake Drive Books. I’m figuring out my LLC situation and having the contract looked at, but it’s going to happen. I’ll announce when everything is done and the wheels are in motion to finally get this damn book out into the world. I very much appreciate my agent, David Morris, who also runs Lake Drive Books and will now be my ex-agent and current publisher. It’s rare for an Asian American man to find people who see me and appreciate what I have to offer. Only the best people see me, and David is definitely one of the best. It’s hard for most Americans to even imagine a cis-het male Asian American book writer and cultural critic because outside of the problematic and wildly ignorant Jay Caspian Kang, there are none. At least none I can think of. I will do my best to represent…at least way better than Jay Caspian Kang.
Episode 8 of Chapel Probation is another personal one. Matt and Rod are close friends today, and I met them when they were just evangelical boys trying to navigate the complex racist shit show of APU. I watched them develop into culture warriors who confronted APU head-on, shining light and truth on the constant racism that ruled the culture.
The Dia de los Muertos incident became legend for those who experienced it. Those of you who are unfamiliar with evangelical culture might wonder what in the world could have been wrong with a memorial to a beloved Multi-Ethnic Programs director simply sitting on a concrete slab on campus. And you’d be correct in assuming there was some racist shit in forbidding the memorial from existing. Matt and Rod break down the whole thing and also discuss the deconstruction of their faith as they grew into progressive-minded men who stood for social justice.
Link to this episode here.