This is episode 60 of the Stories to Love podcast. Here with me today is Tracy Badua
Tracy Badua is a Filipino American author of books about young people with sunny hearts in a sometimes stormy world. By day, she is an attorney who works in national housing policy and programs, and by night, she squeezes in writing, family time, and bites of her secret candy stash. She lives in San Diego, California, with her family.
In this episode we talked about how this story had its own trajectory that required for her to dig a little deeper. We discussed hypercompetive schools, the concept of utang ng loob, the importance of diverse books, and what Perla, the protagonist in this novel, is doing now.
As a note, This is Not a Personal Statement is a Harper Collins title, and currently there is a strike going on by the Harper Collins Union for fair wages, stronger diversity commitments, and union rights. As of the recording of this intro, the strike has been going on for 54 days.
I support this union. Harper Collins has a responsibility to hire with fair contracts and as such, pay their employees fairly.
To that, an additional disclaimer, I want mention that I was not paid for this episode, and it was me who sought this title to read in advance and to approach the author. Harper did not solicit in this instance. The Stories to Love is here to support authors and especially marginalized authors, and I am deliberate in making sure that I am showing support for both the collective good of the union as well as for the authors that need support for their books.
Support the union here: https://linktr.ee/hcpunion
Links discussed:
The Takeout by Tracy Badua
Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn
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Order FOREVERMORE, a romance anthology, comprised of ten interconnecting romance short stories surrounding the Moore family and a wedding in Napa California. Written by ten Filipino-American authors. Pick it up at books2read.com/forevermore
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Contact Tif at tif@tifmarcelo.com
Please check out her website for podcast submissions