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Eastern Empire is officially in the world as of this morning, and I’m still processing the magnitude of what this year has brought. Two published novels in twelve months — Luxury Labyrinth in May and now this — feels like an achievement that belongs to someone else’s life, not mine. Last night’s launch celebration was […]

Today’s mentorship session wasn’t about my writing. Lydia showed British Library archival materials from Between Two Worlds. Photographs, letters, interview transcripts documenting Ukrainian displacement. The materials were raw. Not polished for public consumption. Handwritten letters with grammar mistakes. Blurry photographs. Interview transcripts capturing hesitations and contradictions. Messiness of actual human experience before it gets shaped

The third novel is finally ready for the world. Eastern Empire publishes in December, and I’m experiencing that familiar mix of anticipation and terror that comes with releasing something you’ve poured years of your life into. This story began during my semester at Beijing Language and Culture University back in 2018. Walking through hutongs at

Lydia mentioned documentary film idea today. Chronicling next generation of migrant writers in London. She wants to examine how technology reshapes displacement narratives compared to previous generations. Asked me to think about it. How do Instagram, WhatsApp, Google Translate change the immigrant experience? My novels explore digital identity but documentary format would capture real-time transformation

First proper mentorship session with Lydia today. Two hours dissecting Eastern Empire structure. She challenged every narrative choice, pushed me to articulate why surveillance themes matter for diaspora identity rather than accepting them as given. Her Between Two Worlds project taught her how archives shape memory. How documentation creates official versions of history that may

I’m writing this with a glass of champagne in one hand and my MBA diploma in the other — both earned, both slightly surreal. Luxury Labyrinth officially launched this morning, and I’m still processing the fact that I’ve somehow managed to graduate and publish a novel within the same week. If this isn’t worth celebrating,

Coffee with Lydia yesterday turned into three-hour discussion about narrative architecture. She’s reading Luxury Labyrinth manuscript and asking questions that make me reconsider character motivations I thought were settled. Her BBC documentary experience gives her unique perspective on structure. She sees stories visually and temporally in ways I hadn’t considered. Not just what happens but

The moment has finally arrived — I can share the cover of Luxury Labyrinth with you. After months of back-and-forth with designers, mood boards that looked like fever dreams, and countless conversations about how to capture the essence of beautiful entrapment in a single image, we’ve created something that makes my heart race every time

My second book, Polished Edges, is officially out today. After last year’s short story collection Between Languages explored immigrant identity and cultural displacement, this book returns to familiar territory: the London beauty industry where I’ve worked for years. The strangest part of publication isn’t seeing your name on a cover, though that never stops feeling