ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The following stories have previously appeared in these respective publications:

The Bare Life Review: “Korean Jesus”; The Best of It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere: “The Donkey Is Definitely Asian”; Faultline: “Pluto”; The Los Angeles Review: “From the Brush, A Frantic Rustling” (as “Pieces”); The Margins: “A Penny Short”; Pinball: “King Kong Korab” (as “The Gift”); Saga: “Astronauts”; Two Hawks Quarterly: “If I Were the Ocean, I’d Carry You Home” (as “Chengdu”); and Your Impossible Voice: “There Are No More Secrets on Planet Earth.”

This collection owes a debt to the vibrant and generous spirit of the Los Angeles writing community of which the following played particularly important roles:

Red Hen Press, The Red Hen Fiction Prize, and The Los Angeles Review: Dr. Kate Gale, Tobi Harper, Monica Fernandez, Rebeccah Sanhueza, Tansica Sunkamaneevongse, and Susan Straight

Those who have given my stories a home on stage, online, or in print: Alistair McCartney, Anelise Chen, Cassie Leone, Charles Jensen, Conrad Romo, Dani Hedlund, David Pischke, Deborah Lott, J. Ryan Stradal and Summer Block, Jason Casem, Jim Ruland, Joe O’Brien, Julia Ingalls, Keith Powell, Lily Anne Harrison, Lisa Teasley, Liv Vordenberg, Lucas Church, Maria Kuznetsova, Michele Raphael and David Lott, Michelle Franke, and Umi Hsu

My community at large: Alex Espinoza, Amanda Fletcher, Angus McNair, Anthony Garcia, Ashaki Jackson, Ben Loory, Brad Listi, Brooke Delaney, Charles Yu, Chelsea Sutton, Chiwan Choi, Chris Daley, Chris Lee, Chris Terry, Dave Thomas, David Francis, Don Martinez, Elliott Chen, F. Douglas Brown, Jade Chang, Janet Fitch, Jenn Dees, Jian Huang, Joseph Tepperman, Julia Callahan, Leslie Schwartz, Lindsey Styrwoll, Luis J. Rodriguez, Luis Romero, Marnie Goodfriend, Maeve Bowman, Meg Howrey, Mike Buckley, Mira Velimirovic, Miwa Messer, Natalie Chudnovsky, Natalie Green, Natalie Lima, Natashia Deón, Noel Alumit, Patrick O’Neil, Paul Mandelbaum, Sam Dunn, Steph Cha, Tony DuShane, and so many others, most especially: Breanna Chia, Heather Chapman, Jessica Shoemaker, Chinyere Nwodim, Kirin Khan, Soleil David, Greg King, Hyunsoo Moon, David Huang, Daniel Yang, Evan Chan, and J. Ryan Stradal

And my family: Carol Tai Au, John Au, Dan Hsu, Rebecca Au Williams, and all my Hsu’s, Au’s, Tai’s, Williams’s, Chou’s, Concepcion’s, Wu’s, Shin’s, Chi’s, and Yoo’s

And my most dear: Jacob, Rainer, Helen