June 7, 2023
All the Right Notes with Dominic Lim, Author, Singer, and Storyteller
Dominic Lim is back on the show this week! Dom is an author, singer, & storyteller. His debut novel All the Right Notes was named by Entertainment Weekly as one of the best new books of the summer. Dom is a member of the Writers Grotto and a co-host of the Babylon Salon reading and performance series in San Francisco. He studied psychology at Oberlin and got his masters from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music. As a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association he's performed Off-Broadway and in regional productions throughout the US.
You can check out Dominic at dominiclim.com, and his book ALL THE RIGHT NOTES is available now, wherever books are sold!
Are you a high achiever, a leader, or an Ampersand who's recently taken on more responsibility at work? Jessica works with people just like you. She coaches individuals and leadership teams to rise to new challenges - with a unique blend of analytical & creative approaches, plus 18 years of invaluable experience working in companies and startups.
Visit jessicawan.com or BOOK AN INTRO CALL: https://calendly.com/jessicawancoaching/intro-call-coaching
Credits
Produced and Hosted by Jessica Wan
Co-produced, edited, and sound design by Naomi Tepper
Theme music by Denys Kyshchuk and Stockaudios from Pixabay
"A Part I Play" lyrics and vocals by Dominic Lim, music and keyboard by Martin McGinn
Transcript
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I think before I wrote All the
Right notes success to me, Matt
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something kind of different now,
like, oh, I failed because I
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didn't get on Broadway, or I
failed because I didn't get a
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lead role in an opera company or
something like that.
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But success really is, are you
able to allow that part of your
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life to bring you Joy?
What fuels, a multi passionate
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life?
I'm Jessica one.
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And in this podcast, I interview
people who straddle two,
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completely different worlds, I
call them ampersands and we are
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collectively designing.
The Ampersand Manifesto, I am so
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excited to have Dominic limb
back with us today.
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Dom is an author singer and
Storyteller.
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His debut novel, all the right
notes was named by Entertainment
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Weekly as one of the best new
books of the summer.
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Dom is a member of Writers
Grotto and a co-host of the
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Babylon, Salon Reading and
performance Series.
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In San Francisco.
He studied psychology at Oberlin
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and got his master's from
Indiana University's Jacobs
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School of Music as a proud
member of The Actors Equity
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Association.
He's performed Off-Broadway and
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in Regional Productions
throughout the u.s.
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Dom.
Welcome back to the show.
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Thank you so much for having me
back, Jessica, we're recording
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this a few weeks in advance but
this podcast Sewed will launch
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the day your book launches.
What has the past six months
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looks like, for you leading up
to the book, launch starting
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from, you know, December and
January, February things were,
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as they've been sort of chugging
along.
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I've been, you know, working on
edits working with my editor and
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then, at around, I would say
three months ago, that's when
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things really started to just
accelerate because that's when
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The publicity and marketing
team, sort of take over and
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they'd been doing stuff before.
But that's really when it's sort
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of shifts into high gear and you
start of start doing these other
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things for the book, like,
preparing for a podcasts like
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this or, you know, doing print
interviews or you start to see
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reviews of your book online from
books to grammars and advanced
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reviewers and from trade review
Publications.
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So It really starts to ramp up
and then this past, I would say,
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two months has been even crazier
because I don't know what I was
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thinking before when you landed
this to book contract and I
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didn't quite realize that my
second manuscript was going to
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be turned in the same day that
my first book came out.
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Like, I don't know why that
didn't occur to me.
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I been working on I second
manuscript but it's kind of like
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having two children.
I've never had children, but if
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you can imagine having kids, you
want to focus.
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All your attention on your
firstborn child and then this
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other one kind of comes along.
And it's like, okay now what do
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I do?
And it's very it was very hard
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for me to sort of put aside, you
know, the first book to take
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time to do the second one.
And so now I'm having to play
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catch-up and I'm basically
getting up at 6:00 writing for
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an hour.
A half, you know, doing
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publicity stuff during work,
sorry to my employer.
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And I had also like after I
clock out at work, then having
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to work on my second manuscript
again.
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So it's been non-stop you're
definitely juggling a lot and
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even as a writer I think having
two books in different stages,
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it's two different jobs, right?
Yeah, it is.
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It is You different jobs because
when you get to the point with
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the first book that I'm at, now,
it's really no longer any of the
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substantive, writing stuff for
editing.
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It's all, it's really all
business and it's still
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creative.
You still have to, you know,
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think about how you're going to
present things online or what
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you're going to say during
interviews and how you're going
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to sort of present and sell your
book to the public who, you
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know, this is Our first time
hearing about it but it's a it
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really is a different part of
your brain when you're trying to
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come up with a new story and a
new way of delivering things.
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And it's been difficult for me
to keep shifting because I've
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always been that kind of person
who really wants to focus on one
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thing at a time.
At least one artistic Endeavor
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in my Ampersand life.
The last time we met, I didn't
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talk about my day job and I do
have a day job at a biotech
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company working at in the legal
department as a paralegal.
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And I've done that for many.
Is and this is actually this
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year I switched jobs and I'm
doing a role that I've never
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done before.
So on top of everything else,
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I'm learning a completely
different set of skills at work
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and so that's been challenging.
And luckily, the people there
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have been very kind to me and
they're very supportive of my
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writing so it's like we're going
to help you.
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We're going to train you on this
new job and it's fine if you
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don't understand things but you
know, it's just another thing
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during this already very busy
time.
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I definitely want to dive into
the book because I think when
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this episode comes out, there
will be quite a few listeners
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who may be like me devour your
book in about 24 hours, and are
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just dying to ask all of these
questions.
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So let's dive in.
So I want to read a little bit
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of booklist starred review.
So here's an excerpt limbs Soul
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nourishing debut.
Not only Perfectly captures the
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hope and heartbreak of two
people falling in love but also
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musics power to transform lives.
What has writing this book shown
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you?
Or reminded you about the power
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of music?
I wish I was so thrilled when I
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got that review from booklist
not just because it was a
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starter view, but exactly for
exactly that phrase that you
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read, because that reviewer
really got what I was trying to
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say.
With the book when I was writing
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the book I had, I had reached a
point in my life where I really
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wasn't sure about My own
creative process or my own
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creative life, rather because I
had spent so many years in music
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and in theater and a musical
theater and I wasn't sure what I
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was doing anymore.
I mean, I was still having fun
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but I didn't know what my plan
was.
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And so as I was writing this
book, I knew it had to be sort
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of a love letter to music to
theater to musical theater.
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But what it showed me was that
It's not about success, and I
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think many of your interviewees
have expressed as it's not.
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There's varying levels of
success, right?
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And I think before I wrote All
the Right notes success to me
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meant something kind of
different, you know, like, oh, I
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failed because I didn't get on
the Broadway, or I failed
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because I didn't get a lead role
in an opera company or something
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like that.
But success really is, are you
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able to allow that part of your
life?
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To bring you Joy, you know, can
you let making music bring you
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Joy?
Every time that you make it
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regardless of who hears it?
Regardless of who, you know,
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critiques, it appraises it.
So that's sort of what I learned
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writing this book in a weird way
because I wrote it because I
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wanted to bring joy to myself.
I wasn't writing it because I
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was like I'm going to get this
published so it's going to be a
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romance book or whatever I wrote
it because I wanted to write
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this Story to my younger self
and if anyone no one else read
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it, to be honest with you, I was
going to be fine with that.
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Just me and my writing group,
cool.
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And the best advice I ever got
about writing was from my best
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friend, who is not a writer and
she said, don't write, don't
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write if you, if you want to
make money out of it.
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If you want to be famous, do it
because you love it because it
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brings you Joy.
Here's Dominic limb singing, an
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excerpt of the song apart, I
play the music and lyrics are
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written by Akito Cruise, the
protagonist in all the right
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notes, and in real life music
and keyboard is by Martin begin
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and lyrics and vocals by
Dominic, limb.
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But one time just once, I'd like
to.
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Let go and be the person I want
to be be the person I'm Longing
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To Be.
They tell me to shove us go.
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So I'll try to be strong but the
person they'll see won't really
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be.
Sonia, pop music is, of course a
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huge part of the book, but I can
sense the joy for all of the
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five senses you have colorful
visuals.
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You have the aroma and the
mouth-watering descriptions of
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Filipino food and even the
feelings of cold fingers at the
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piano or the electricity between
the two main characters.
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What experiences have shaped you
to write in this way?
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That captures all these senses?
When I first started writing one
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of my very first writing
teachers, gents Kim.
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He was an amazing teacher, and
I've taken other writing
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classes, where a lot of it is
just learning by doing learning
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by reading, right?
But his approach was very
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similar to the approach that
that you.
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And I got in our Voice lessons
in our music classes, right?
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Where there is a very specific
pedagogy, you know?
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So he sort of taught us that
method of, you know, when you're
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writing you have to engage all
the senses and I'm going to let
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your listeners in on a secret
that he taught us as writers.
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It's a really cool.
I don't want to say trick
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because it's something that I
use and it's very helpful.
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That when you describe an event
that's happening to someone say
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someone, you know, touched you
on the shoulder or someone
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looked at you who you have a
crush on or whatever, don't just
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say that person liked it or it
was happy or got thrilled.
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The first thing you should do is
just explain exactly what's
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happening to that person's body
and that's where the senses come
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in the you know, like did you
smell Hagen the and smoke did
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the thrill of electricity run up
and down your body.
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Because that's how you engage a
person who's reading, because
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they start to feel that feeling.
And it's more than just oh they
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felt happy.
They feel excited.
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They feel it to something.
I really love about your book is
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that the characters are
imperfect, relatable, and
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utterly lovable.
It's really hard to choose my
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favorite character, but today, I
want to talk a little bit about
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About kito's Dad, mr.
Cruz, who is a Filipino
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immigrant and a high school
choir.
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Conductor we don't see a lot of
Asian dad's in literature or
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media and often when we do, it's
not a very fleshed-out
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character.
What do you hope the character
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of mr.
Cruz adds to the growing list of
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Asian dad's that we know and
love.
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It's a really insightful comment
and I say that because I didn't
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even really realize that when I
wrote the character It wasn't
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until after you talk to me about
it.
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That I was like, this is true,
it's really true.
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I really had to re-examine my
own experience with the with
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that character in literature,
and, and I'm not sure why that
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is, you know, is it?
Because we as Asian Americans
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tend to be closer with our
mothers.
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I don't know, but in terms of
why I did it, I mean so just go,
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I'm going.
To be perfectly honest with you,
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I didn't always have the best
relationship with my own father
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and I think that I didn't want
to portray that in the book, I
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wanted to be aspirational about
it.
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And I wanted to say, you know,
there are fathers out there,
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there are Asian father's out
there who were supportive of
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their sons and their kids, and
their Artistic Endeavors and the
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way that they choose to live
their life and love the people
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that they love.
Oven.
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That's us to say that my dad
wasn't because he was supportive
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of certain parts of my life.
But, you know, it's kind of why
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I wrote a romance because it's
it has a happy ever after.
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And I wanted people to live in a
world where these wonderful
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supportive diverse, loving,
characters, lived, and existed,
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including an, especially mr.
Cruz, and I have been hearing
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from other readers saying
similar things, Is that this
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character in particular really
touched them?
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Well, thank you so much for
sharing that and I think, in
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many ways mr.
Cruz ends up kind of being a
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through line for a lot of the
story and kind of a backbone or
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heartbeat of the story which is,
is really touching.
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So, all the right notes is a
rom-com.
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And there's one Central big love
story, but I also found that
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there were other love stories.
For example, the beautiful
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friendship between Kita, And
ujima also called G rom-coms
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like movies that we think of
they don't typically Focus so
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much on friends.
Why was it important to you to
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develop this particular
friendship?
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Well I sort of based ujima no I
didn't sort of I really faced
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ujima on two, very specific
people in my life one of whom I
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worked with very briefly, her
name is Brianna Sinclair and
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she's a transgender Soprano.
And I think she's the first
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transgender soprano to sing like
the national anthem at the at a
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Giants game.
Like she's she's done so much
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and I worked with her briefly,
but it's really mostly based on
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someone that I knew in New York,
that I worked with and I am not
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going to name his name because
he's not trans, but he was a
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contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race
and he no longer does drag, he's
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focused much more on his acting
career, and he is a very
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successful actor.
Now on Broadway, but I base it
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on him because a lot of the book
takes place in New York in that
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sort of theater world, right?
And he was sort of one of the
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first people I met that made a
huge impression on me because he
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was this larger-than-life, just
amazingly funny person who was
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just so good at everything and
then had this Persona, this drag
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Persona who was just incredible
and then underneath all of that.
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That was just this super, super
sweet.
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Wonderful person.
And a lot of times in rom-coms,
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you'll have that sort of, you
know, the comedic best friend or
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whatever.
And I think that helps with, you
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know, with the jokes and
whatever that really wasn't my
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intention at all.
I really wanted to bring in this
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character who helped support
Quito in New York and you know,
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throughout the rest of this.
Story and and and in fact ujima
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as you know is there till the
very end.
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They don't just serve a plot
Point, plot function in the
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leaf.
I'm really glad that you enjoyed
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them because they're probably my
favorite character in the book.
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I need a new Jima in my life.
Oh yes, we all do we all do.
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Let's pause here to reflect on
this question, who is ending
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Jima in your life?
A best friend who's been with
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you through the tough times
outside of Hosting this podcast.
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00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:17,099
I partner with leaders in the
workplace as they rise up.
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Perhaps you've gotten a
promotion landed, a new role or
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00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:22,599
taken on a lot more
responsibility.
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And you need a trusted sounding
board to support you.
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You, as you support your team, I
coach individuals and Leadership
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teams to rise to the challenge
with my a and blend of
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00:17:34,700 --> 00:17:38,700
analytical and creative.
If any of this intrigues, you
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00:17:38,900 --> 00:17:40,800
reach out to me at Jessica
one.com.
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Now, back to the show, a lot of
your novel deals with the
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experiences of young people we
see Quito and Emmett as high
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schoolers in the 90s.
We also see the high schoolers
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now, Mr. Cruz teaches.
What do you hope?
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Young people will take away from
your book.
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You know, it was important for
me to show diverse characters
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and diverse love and to show it
in a way that was just
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incredibly normalized.
And I don't even like to use the
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word normal because it sort of
assumes that, you know, other
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people say it's not normal but
just that these people are here,
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they exist.
And we don't have to apologize
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for anything.
Thing and we can have stories
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that are not about trauma or
trying to protect ourselves, but
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just that we're here to seek our
own happy ever.
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After is just like everybody
else.
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I want them to know that that
that is a possibility for them
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just like everyone else you
mentioned in our last interview
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that you've always imagined your
book as a musical, your book
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launch event will take place in
a high school auditorium with a
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choir two choirs actually
putting us right into the
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Fireman where much of the book
takes place.
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What does this launch event mean
to you?
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It means so much to me, it's
funny because I don't I don't
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think launch events are really
that big of a deal for most
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authors.
It is something that they're
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00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:18,900
expected to do either by their
publisher or their peers and
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00:19:18,900 --> 00:19:22,300
most people do do them but
they're pretty low key event.
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00:19:22,300 --> 00:19:25,400
You know, it's in many cases
it's kind of anticlimactic
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00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:27,800
because you've done I'm so much
before and you're going to do so
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00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:34,200
much after it, but I want it to
be totally extra and I've been
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planning this for months.
It was, I think over a year ago,
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when I first approached my
brother, I do the choir teacher
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pendo Valley high school.
And I say, Hey Joe, what if I
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for my book launch, I know
there's like, super far in
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advance.
But what if I did a whole thing,
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right?
It did it at your school and
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your kids sang because, you
know, the choir is such a big
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thing in all the right notes,
and You know, the choir director
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is Filipino and, you know, keep
their Crews, The Pianist
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Filipino, my brother's is both
the piano teacher and the choir
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director, and let's bring you in
and let me sing and we'll do
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other stuff.
And then later down the line, I
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00:20:12,300 --> 00:20:15,400
brought you in, by the way, I'm
so excited that you're going to
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00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:19,600
meet em sing for me, me too,
because it's gonna be amazing.
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And then, on top of that, Joe's
kids are going to sing.
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We're gonna sing you as part of
Of the the group that I had put
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together many years ago called
Nova antiqua, which basically,
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now it's just a bunch of friends
who are very excited to get
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together and sing together.
And I'm getting Filipino food
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and drinks and it's gonna be
it's gonna be a whole thing.
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So I'm very excited about it and
I hope we do have already a lot
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of people coming and I hope even
more people come because it's a
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big theater.
I can't think of a more fitting
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way to celebrate.
This book.
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Yeah, I think just being in that
environment will be absolutely
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incredible.
So you mentioned earlier that
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the manuscript for your second
book is also due in June.
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00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:15,300
How is that going?
And can you share anything with
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00:21:15,300 --> 00:21:19,500
us about two months ago when I
had a basically, a nervous
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00:21:19,500 --> 00:21:22,900
breakdown realizing that it was
due for a night?
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I was like, well, what have you
been doing for the past couple
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months?
I mean, I had written a first
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00:21:27,100 --> 00:21:29,200
draft.
I just I needed to revise it and
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00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:31,500
revision for me, takes the
longest.
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00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:34,800
I'm pretty good about spitting
stuff out, but revising, I once
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00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:38,400
heard that writing a book is
kind of like making a sand
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castle and in order to make the
castle, you need to fill your
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00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:46,700
sandbox with sand and that's all
the first draft really is, is
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putting all that sand in there.
And let me tell you, when I put
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my sand in my sandbox it looks
like a pile of poop guess it's
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00:21:54,100 --> 00:21:57,500
just out, it's just out.
I just get it out, right?
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00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:04,500
So therefore the revision
process is where I start to put
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the walls on, you know, a little
pails of towers and stuff and
338
00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:11,900
and that's where you start
etching in the windows.
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And every every draft that you
do is making it better and
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cleaner and more beautiful.
And that's what takes so long
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anyway.
To get back to your question.
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It's almost done.
It's almost there and it's I I'm
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00:22:24,900 --> 00:22:30,100
handing off a draft to my agent
for First actually on Thursday,
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that's the due date that I gave
myself and to her, so that she
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could look at it.
Give me her comments and then I
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will revise it because I trust
my agent.
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So implicitly, she has, she's
just incredible.
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And then once I've done that,
then I'll hand it off to my
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editor.
And then she will, she will then
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00:22:49,100 --> 00:22:51,000
start the editorial process with
me.
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So it's there and I don't know,
did you ask what it's about?
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00:22:55,300 --> 00:22:58,100
I would love to share more of
what it's about.
353
00:22:58,300 --> 00:23:00,500
Definitely are staring at this
point.
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00:23:00,500 --> 00:23:02,200
Okay.
Well, I can tell you because
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00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:04,700
we've already settled on the
name, the title of the book is
356
00:23:04,700 --> 00:23:08,500
karaoke Queen, its kind of
pitched as Kinky Boots meets
357
00:23:08,500 --> 00:23:13,100
Tootsie.
It is about a Filipino drag
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queen or used to do drag runs
into an old flame from college.
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Who now works at a bar that is
not doing very well.
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00:23:20,900 --> 00:23:24,500
So the main character decides,
I'm going to put on a karaoke
361
00:23:24,500 --> 00:23:28,100
show to drum up business for the
bar, so that my flavors.
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00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:30,600
Flame gets impressed and then we
can get together with him.
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00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:33,200
But then figures out the only
way, really to do a really
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00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:39,000
successful one is to resurrect
his drag Persona, and to host it
365
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:43,300
as a drag queen, which works.
But then he doesn't want the old
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00:23:43,300 --> 00:23:45,200
flame to know that he's a drag
queen.
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So it's this kind of Comedy of
Errors, right?
368
00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:50,300
Where he's living, two personas,
he's this guy who's trying to
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00:23:50,308 --> 00:23:54,300
get with the guy but also he's
the drag queen, making the bar
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00:23:54,300 --> 00:23:58,900
better place and trying to be in
two places at once and And there
371
00:23:58,900 --> 00:24:02,200
is a third act that I'm not
going to be all right now.
372
00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:05,600
But it does involve a
doppelganger.
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He has to teach someone to
basically be his double and
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00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:15,200
okay, maybe I am revealing it,
the double ends up showing him
375
00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:19,200
how beautiful it is to be a drag
queen and to embrace his
376
00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:23,700
femininity, because he was
afraid to show his old flame
377
00:24:23,700 --> 00:24:26,200
that he was drag queen, because
he didn't want him to think that
378
00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:30,500
he was fam or feminine, but he
is Is and this doppelganger kind
379
00:24:30,500 --> 00:24:32,600
of shows him.
You know, it's beautiful about
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00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:35,100
your Femme and that you're
feminine and that I love that
381
00:24:35,100 --> 00:24:37,300
about you and see how beautiful
you are.
382
00:24:37,300 --> 00:24:40,400
Look, I look like you.
And so the guy basically has to
383
00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:43,400
decide who it's a love triangle
to.
384
00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:46,900
So who does he, you know, really
love and who does he end up with
385
00:24:46,900 --> 00:24:55,000
at the end who I can't wait.
And is there any crossover of
386
00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,100
characters in book, 1 and book
to or no, are they in different?
387
00:24:58,300 --> 00:25:03,000
Of our says there is a very
significant character from book
388
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,000
one that shows up towards the
end of book 2 and you can
389
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:09,800
probably guess who it is just
from the title of the second
390
00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:12,400
book.
I love it.
391
00:25:12,500 --> 00:25:16,300
I love it.
Yeah, what words do you have to
392
00:25:16,300 --> 00:25:21,700
share with aspiring writers
musicians or really anybody who
393
00:25:21,700 --> 00:25:25,900
has a story to share?
First of all, be kind to
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00:25:25,900 --> 00:25:28,100
yourself.
That's that's the thing.
395
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That I'm going through right
now, to be honest because and I
396
00:25:33,508 --> 00:25:37,600
think we talked about this in
our previous interview is that
397
00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:43,500
we are both very driven people
and we really want to succeed in
398
00:25:43,500 --> 00:25:47,000
the things that we do, and that
is okay.
399
00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:52,700
But we also need to be kind with
ourselves and to say, you know,
400
00:25:52,700 --> 00:25:56,500
if you don't, if you aren't able
to get to all those emails
401
00:25:56,500 --> 00:26:00,200
today, if you aren't able to You
know, meet that deadline.
402
00:26:00,700 --> 00:26:05,600
If you aren't able to, you know,
finish what you set out to do,
403
00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,300
it's okay.
Like, don't beat yourself up.
404
00:26:08,300 --> 00:26:14,000
I think that we naturally
already ask of ourselves a lot.
405
00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:19,300
So, if we're even only attaining
fifty, sixty five percent of
406
00:26:19,300 --> 00:26:22,400
what we set out to do.
That's already a lot more than a
407
00:26:22,408 --> 00:26:25,100
lot of other people have
accomplished or are going to
408
00:26:25,100 --> 00:26:29,100
accomplish.
So, I would say, Be kind with
409
00:26:29,100 --> 00:26:31,500
yourself.
Be patient with yourself and
410
00:26:31,900 --> 00:26:37,100
enjoy every single Milestone
that comes along because the
411
00:26:37,100 --> 00:26:41,000
other part of being an ampersand
is that we tend to keep looking
412
00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,500
towards the future.
You know, what's next, I'm going
413
00:26:44,500 --> 00:26:49,500
to be happy when I am going to
be happy if you know and it
414
00:26:49,500 --> 00:26:53,200
isn't, it isn't that you're
going to be happy when you
415
00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:57,800
attain the goal, or if the
certain Milestone happens, it
416
00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:01,200
happens.
Daily, you know, it happens when
417
00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:03,800
someone says, Hey, I just read
your book and I loved it.
418
00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:08,100
Enjoy that, you know, or someone
reaches out to you just to say
419
00:27:08,100 --> 00:27:11,900
hi and how are you going?
And how is everything doing with
420
00:27:11,900 --> 00:27:14,400
the book?
I'm so proud of you enjoy that,
421
00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:19,700
you know, because if we put all
of expectation on, being happy,
422
00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:23,600
at the end of the Finish Line,
well, when you think about it,
423
00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:25,800
finish line is a very thin line,
right?
424
00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:29,000
Once you cross, that's it.
If that's where all your
425
00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:32,300
happiness is going to be, that's
a very short time to be happy
426
00:27:32,700 --> 00:27:36,000
when you could be happy daily,
as long as you allow yourself to
427
00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:37,700
be.
I love that.
428
00:27:38,100 --> 00:27:43,700
And I think you're so spot-on in
this tendency to look forward.
429
00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:48,800
But, you know, even looking back
at at what you've accomplished
430
00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:52,000
in the last year, in the last
few months.
431
00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:56,800
It's it's actually, it's
astounding, and inspiring and,
432
00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:59,400
and wonderful.
Thank you so much.
433
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:02,700
Dom.
It's been such a pleasure
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00:28:02,700 --> 00:28:07,600
talking with you today.
And again, folks, you can check
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00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:11,500
out, Dominic, at Dominic
limb.com and all the right notes
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00:28:11,500 --> 00:28:14,400
is now available wherever you
get your books.
437
00:28:15,700 --> 00:28:19,100
If you liked this, show hit,
like, subscribe and share with
438
00:28:19,100 --> 00:28:21,000
your friends and fellow
ampersands.
439
00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:24,900
And if you are listening on the
Apple podcasts app, consider
440
00:28:24,900 --> 00:28:28,800
leaving a review, it really
helps new listeners, discover
441
00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:32,200
our show.
I had a chance to reflect on my
442
00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:35,700
conversation with dom and I
wanted to share a few key.
443
00:28:35,700 --> 00:28:40,800
Takeaways one, this analogy of
writing being like building a
444
00:28:40,808 --> 00:28:43,800
sandcastle has really stuck with
me.
445
00:28:44,300 --> 00:28:47,200
And I I think it applies to
other creative Endeavors to.
446
00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:51,200
I remember back in my undergrad
days, studying product design.
447
00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:54,400
We had a similar strategy in the
brainstorming phase of the
448
00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:57,400
project.
How could you get all the ideas
449
00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:00,600
out?
And like Don said, fill the box
450
00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:05,200
with sand you might get weird
ideas unrealistic ideas and it
451
00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:09,000
could get messy.
There was only one rule in that
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00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:13,200
phase.
There's no saying no because an
453
00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:16,500
off-the-wall idea.
Spark something unexpected
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00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:20,200
leading to something great.
It's all part of the process
455
00:29:20,500 --> 00:29:23,700
too.
It's been such an honor to get
456
00:29:23,700 --> 00:29:26,800
an inside glimpse of Dom's
Journey as a writer and
457
00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:29,500
musician.
And the role that this book has
458
00:29:29,500 --> 00:29:32,800
played in the process.
Dom mentioned that, when he
459
00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:36,300
wrote the book, he himself felt
at a bit of a Crossroads
460
00:29:36,300 --> 00:29:39,900
creatively and that the process
of writing has helped him, find
461
00:29:39,900 --> 00:29:44,400
a newfound understanding of
making art for the love of it.
462
00:29:44,700 --> 00:29:49,600
I see a similar path for me.
And this podcast, essentially as
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00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:53,100
a singer, I'm a creative
entrepreneur carving out my own
464
00:29:53,100 --> 00:29:58,000
path and at times the direction
is unclear, but talking to other
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00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:03,000
a Sands has been a balm for me
and a way to process my own
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00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:10,000
Story. 3, how can we take care
of ourselves and enjoy every day
467
00:30:10,700 --> 00:30:14,300
for high, Achievers, ampersands
and people who are always
468
00:30:14,300 --> 00:30:15,900
thinking?
About what's next?
469
00:30:16,300 --> 00:30:20,100
This is the question.
We tend to place the lot of
470
00:30:20,100 --> 00:30:23,400
weight on achievements.
Deadlines and Milestones, well,
471
00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:26,700
perhaps forgetting about all the
daily reminders.
472
00:30:26,700 --> 00:30:30,700
We get about how we're involved
and how our work makes a
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00:30:30,700 --> 00:30:34,200
difference.
But we can focus in more on
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00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:38,600
these daily Delights.
So, I'll post to you what's a
475
00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:42,500
kind thought that you can bring
back into your focus today?
476
00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:48,100
Don't let anyone else Define who
you are.
477
00:30:48,500 --> 00:30:52,100
That power has to come from you
and that is one of the most
478
00:30:52,100 --> 00:30:58,200
powerful things you can do to
Define who you are in this world
479
00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:00,500
you know.
And that can be your pronouns
480
00:31:00,500 --> 00:31:05,200
that can be your name that can
be your career but the point is
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00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:09,200
don't let anyone else ever.
Tell you who you are especially
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00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:12,800
right now.
What's happening with the anti
483
00:31:13,300 --> 00:31:16,500
drag?
Legislation the anti-trans, you
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00:31:16,500 --> 00:31:22,100
know, initiatives, all these
things where people are being
485
00:31:22,100 --> 00:31:27,800
persecuted for trying to justify
themselves and be given the
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00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:31,100
right to say, I want to be the
person that I feel inside.
487
00:31:31,100 --> 00:31:34,100
Not the person that's written on
my birth certificate by some
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00:31:34,100 --> 00:31:35,700
person that I don't know, or
whatever.
00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:04,900
I think before I wrote All the
Right notes success to me, Matt
2
00:00:04,900 --> 00:00:08,900
something kind of different now,
like, oh, I failed because I
3
00:00:08,908 --> 00:00:12,900
didn't get on Broadway, or I
failed because I didn't get a
4
00:00:12,900 --> 00:00:16,100
lead role in an opera company or
something like that.
5
00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:21,400
But success really is, are you
able to allow that part of your
6
00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:25,000
life to bring you Joy?
What fuels, a multi passionate
7
00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,000
life?
I'm Jessica one.
8
00:00:27,100 --> 00:00:30,100
And in this podcast, I interview
people who straddle two,
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00:00:30,100 --> 00:00:35,200
completely different worlds, I
call them ampersands and we are
10
00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:44,300
collectively designing.
The Ampersand Manifesto, I am so
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00:00:44,300 --> 00:00:47,500
excited to have Dominic limb
back with us today.
12
00:00:47,900 --> 00:00:50,900
Dom is an author singer and
Storyteller.
13
00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:55,100
His debut novel, all the right
notes was named by Entertainment
14
00:00:55,100 --> 00:00:58,300
Weekly as one of the best new
books of the summer.
15
00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:02,100
Dom is a member of Writers
Grotto and a co-host of the
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00:01:02,100 --> 00:01:04,800
Babylon, Salon Reading and
performance Series.
17
00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:08,100
In San Francisco.
He studied psychology at Oberlin
18
00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,300
and got his master's from
Indiana University's Jacobs
19
00:01:11,300 --> 00:01:15,100
School of Music as a proud
member of The Actors Equity
20
00:01:15,100 --> 00:01:18,000
Association.
He's performed Off-Broadway and
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00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,200
in Regional Productions
throughout the u.s.
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00:01:20,500 --> 00:01:22,400
Dom.
Welcome back to the show.
23
00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:26,500
Thank you so much for having me
back, Jessica, we're recording
24
00:01:26,500 --> 00:01:30,700
this a few weeks in advance but
this podcast Sewed will launch
25
00:01:30,700 --> 00:01:35,500
the day your book launches.
What has the past six months
26
00:01:35,500 --> 00:01:39,100
looks like, for you leading up
to the book, launch starting
27
00:01:39,100 --> 00:01:44,200
from, you know, December and
January, February things were,
28
00:01:44,500 --> 00:01:46,900
as they've been sort of chugging
along.
29
00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:51,800
I've been, you know, working on
edits working with my editor and
30
00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:56,600
then, at around, I would say
three months ago, that's when
31
00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,800
things really started to just
accelerate because that's when
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00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,400
The publicity and marketing
team, sort of take over and
33
00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:08,699
they'd been doing stuff before.
But that's really when it's sort
34
00:02:08,699 --> 00:02:13,800
of shifts into high gear and you
start of start doing these other
35
00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:17,400
things for the book, like,
preparing for a podcasts like
36
00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:22,200
this or, you know, doing print
interviews or you start to see
37
00:02:22,500 --> 00:02:26,500
reviews of your book online from
books to grammars and advanced
38
00:02:26,500 --> 00:02:29,300
reviewers and from trade review
Publications.
39
00:02:29,300 --> 00:02:34,300
So It really starts to ramp up
and then this past, I would say,
40
00:02:34,300 --> 00:02:40,200
two months has been even crazier
because I don't know what I was
41
00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:45,600
thinking before when you landed
this to book contract and I
42
00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:49,800
didn't quite realize that my
second manuscript was going to
43
00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:54,800
be turned in the same day that
my first book came out.
44
00:02:55,500 --> 00:02:58,400
Like, I don't know why that
didn't occur to me.
45
00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:02,600
I been working on I second
manuscript but it's kind of like
46
00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:06,100
having two children.
I've never had children, but if
47
00:03:06,100 --> 00:03:09,100
you can imagine having kids, you
want to focus.
48
00:03:09,100 --> 00:03:12,600
All your attention on your
firstborn child and then this
49
00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:16,100
other one kind of comes along.
And it's like, okay now what do
50
00:03:16,100 --> 00:03:18,100
I do?
And it's very it was very hard
51
00:03:18,100 --> 00:03:22,300
for me to sort of put aside, you
know, the first book to take
52
00:03:22,300 --> 00:03:24,800
time to do the second one.
And so now I'm having to play
53
00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:29,400
catch-up and I'm basically
getting up at 6:00 writing for
54
00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:32,200
an hour.
A half, you know, doing
55
00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:36,900
publicity stuff during work,
sorry to my employer.
56
00:03:37,100 --> 00:03:41,900
And I had also like after I
clock out at work, then having
57
00:03:41,900 --> 00:03:44,700
to work on my second manuscript
again.
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00:03:44,700 --> 00:03:48,900
So it's been non-stop you're
definitely juggling a lot and
59
00:03:48,900 --> 00:03:54,600
even as a writer I think having
two books in different stages,
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00:03:54,900 --> 00:03:58,800
it's two different jobs, right?
Yeah, it is.
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00:03:59,500 --> 00:04:04,000
It is You different jobs because
when you get to the point with
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00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:09,600
the first book that I'm at, now,
it's really no longer any of the
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00:04:09,900 --> 00:04:12,200
substantive, writing stuff for
editing.
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00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:16,000
It's all, it's really all
business and it's still
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00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:18,100
creative.
You still have to, you know,
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00:04:18,100 --> 00:04:21,500
think about how you're going to
present things online or what
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00:04:21,500 --> 00:04:25,100
you're going to say during
interviews and how you're going
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00:04:25,100 --> 00:04:29,200
to sort of present and sell your
book to the public who, you
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00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:32,600
know, this is Our first time
hearing about it but it's a it
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00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:34,700
really is a different part of
your brain when you're trying to
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00:04:34,700 --> 00:04:38,700
come up with a new story and a
new way of delivering things.
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00:04:38,700 --> 00:04:42,300
And it's been difficult for me
to keep shifting because I've
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00:04:42,300 --> 00:04:45,200
always been that kind of person
who really wants to focus on one
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00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:47,800
thing at a time.
At least one artistic Endeavor
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00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:50,700
in my Ampersand life.
The last time we met, I didn't
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00:04:50,700 --> 00:04:54,900
talk about my day job and I do
have a day job at a biotech
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00:04:54,900 --> 00:04:58,500
company working at in the legal
department as a paralegal.
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00:04:58,500 --> 00:05:02,500
And I've done that for many.
Is and this is actually this
79
00:05:02,500 --> 00:05:06,800
year I switched jobs and I'm
doing a role that I've never
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00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:09,000
done before.
So on top of everything else,
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00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,700
I'm learning a completely
different set of skills at work
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00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:16,400
and so that's been challenging.
And luckily, the people there
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00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:18,700
have been very kind to me and
they're very supportive of my
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00:05:18,700 --> 00:05:21,300
writing so it's like we're going
to help you.
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00:05:21,300 --> 00:05:23,700
We're going to train you on this
new job and it's fine if you
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00:05:23,700 --> 00:05:27,300
don't understand things but you
know, it's just another thing
87
00:05:27,300 --> 00:05:29,500
during this already very busy
time.
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00:05:29,900 --> 00:05:34,500
I definitely want to dive into
the book because I think when
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00:05:34,500 --> 00:05:37,800
this episode comes out, there
will be quite a few listeners
90
00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:43,200
who may be like me devour your
book in about 24 hours, and are
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00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:47,900
just dying to ask all of these
questions.
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00:05:47,900 --> 00:05:52,100
So let's dive in.
So I want to read a little bit
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00:05:52,100 --> 00:05:57,800
of booklist starred review.
So here's an excerpt limbs Soul
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00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:01,000
nourishing debut.
Not only Perfectly captures the
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00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,900
hope and heartbreak of two
people falling in love but also
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00:06:04,900 --> 00:06:11,300
musics power to transform lives.
What has writing this book shown
97
00:06:11,300 --> 00:06:14,400
you?
Or reminded you about the power
98
00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:17,600
of music?
I wish I was so thrilled when I
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00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:21,100
got that review from booklist
not just because it was a
100
00:06:21,108 --> 00:06:25,300
starter view, but exactly for
exactly that phrase that you
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00:06:25,300 --> 00:06:28,900
read, because that reviewer
really got what I was trying to
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00:06:28,900 --> 00:06:31,100
say.
With the book when I was writing
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00:06:31,100 --> 00:06:35,400
the book I had, I had reached a
point in my life where I really
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00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:40,600
wasn't sure about My own
creative process or my own
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00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:46,700
creative life, rather because I
had spent so many years in music
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00:06:46,700 --> 00:06:51,800
and in theater and a musical
theater and I wasn't sure what I
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00:06:51,808 --> 00:06:54,400
was doing anymore.
I mean, I was still having fun
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00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:57,100
but I didn't know what my plan
was.
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00:06:57,300 --> 00:07:02,200
And so as I was writing this
book, I knew it had to be sort
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00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:05,600
of a love letter to music to
theater to musical theater.
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00:07:05,700 --> 00:07:10,600
But what it showed me was that
It's not about success, and I
112
00:07:10,608 --> 00:07:14,100
think many of your interviewees
have expressed as it's not.
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00:07:14,100 --> 00:07:16,400
There's varying levels of
success, right?
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00:07:16,700 --> 00:07:21,100
And I think before I wrote All
the Right notes success to me
115
00:07:21,100 --> 00:07:24,400
meant something kind of
different, you know, like, oh, I
116
00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:27,900
failed because I didn't get on
the Broadway, or I failed
117
00:07:27,900 --> 00:07:31,800
because I didn't get a lead role
in an opera company or something
118
00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:35,200
like that.
But success really is, are you
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00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:38,100
able to allow that part of your
life?
120
00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:43,300
To bring you Joy, you know, can
you let making music bring you
121
00:07:43,300 --> 00:07:44,800
Joy?
Every time that you make it
122
00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:48,300
regardless of who hears it?
Regardless of who, you know,
123
00:07:48,300 --> 00:07:51,800
critiques, it appraises it.
So that's sort of what I learned
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00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:57,000
writing this book in a weird way
because I wrote it because I
125
00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:01,600
wanted to bring joy to myself.
I wasn't writing it because I
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00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:04,100
was like I'm going to get this
published so it's going to be a
127
00:08:04,100 --> 00:08:08,000
romance book or whatever I wrote
it because I wanted to write
128
00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,600
this Story to my younger self
and if anyone no one else read
129
00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:14,400
it, to be honest with you, I was
going to be fine with that.
130
00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:16,400
Just me and my writing group,
cool.
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00:08:16,500 --> 00:08:20,000
And the best advice I ever got
about writing was from my best
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00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:24,100
friend, who is not a writer and
she said, don't write, don't
133
00:08:24,100 --> 00:08:26,600
write if you, if you want to
make money out of it.
134
00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:30,400
If you want to be famous, do it
because you love it because it
135
00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:33,900
brings you Joy.
Here's Dominic limb singing, an
136
00:08:33,900 --> 00:08:37,700
excerpt of the song apart, I
play the music and lyrics are
137
00:08:37,700 --> 00:08:40,900
written by Akito Cruise, the
protagonist in all the right
138
00:08:40,900 --> 00:08:46,200
notes, and in real life music
and keyboard is by Martin begin
139
00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:49,300
and lyrics and vocals by
Dominic, limb.
140
00:09:04,300 --> 00:09:08,100
But one time just once, I'd like
to.
141
00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:18,000
Let go and be the person I want
to be be the person I'm Longing
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00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:25,000
To Be.
They tell me to shove us go.
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00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:37,600
So I'll try to be strong but the
person they'll see won't really
144
00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:44,200
be.
Sonia, pop music is, of course a
145
00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:48,700
huge part of the book, but I can
sense the joy for all of the
146
00:09:48,700 --> 00:09:51,700
five senses you have colorful
visuals.
147
00:09:51,700 --> 00:09:55,500
You have the aroma and the
mouth-watering descriptions of
148
00:09:55,500 --> 00:10:00,000
Filipino food and even the
feelings of cold fingers at the
149
00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:04,100
piano or the electricity between
the two main characters.
150
00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:09,100
What experiences have shaped you
to write in this way?
151
00:10:09,100 --> 00:10:14,300
That captures all these senses?
When I first started writing one
152
00:10:14,300 --> 00:10:18,700
of my very first writing
teachers, gents Kim.
153
00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:23,700
He was an amazing teacher, and
I've taken other writing
154
00:10:23,700 --> 00:10:27,900
classes, where a lot of it is
just learning by doing learning
155
00:10:27,900 --> 00:10:30,700
by reading, right?
But his approach was very
156
00:10:30,700 --> 00:10:32,600
similar to the approach that
that you.
157
00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:38,900
And I got in our Voice lessons
in our music classes, right?
158
00:10:38,900 --> 00:10:43,000
Where there is a very specific
pedagogy, you know?
159
00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:49,400
So he sort of taught us that
method of, you know, when you're
160
00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:54,100
writing you have to engage all
the senses and I'm going to let
161
00:10:54,100 --> 00:10:57,800
your listeners in on a secret
that he taught us as writers.
162
00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:00,800
It's a really cool.
I don't want to say trick
163
00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:04,300
because it's something that I
use and it's very helpful.
164
00:11:04,900 --> 00:11:11,700
That when you describe an event
that's happening to someone say
165
00:11:12,300 --> 00:11:15,700
someone, you know, touched you
on the shoulder or someone
166
00:11:15,700 --> 00:11:19,600
looked at you who you have a
crush on or whatever, don't just
167
00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:24,400
say that person liked it or it
was happy or got thrilled.
168
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The first thing you should do is
just explain exactly what's
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happening to that person's body
and that's where the senses come
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in the you know, like did you
smell Hagen the and smoke did
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the thrill of electricity run up
and down your body.
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Because that's how you engage a
person who's reading, because
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they start to feel that feeling.
And it's more than just oh they
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felt happy.
They feel excited.
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They feel it to something.
I really love about your book is
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that the characters are
imperfect, relatable, and
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utterly lovable.
It's really hard to choose my
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favorite character, but today, I
want to talk a little bit about
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About kito's Dad, mr.
Cruz, who is a Filipino
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immigrant and a high school
choir.
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Conductor we don't see a lot of
Asian dad's in literature or
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media and often when we do, it's
not a very fleshed-out
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character.
What do you hope the character
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of mr.
Cruz adds to the growing list of
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Asian dad's that we know and
love.
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It's a really insightful comment
and I say that because I didn't
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even really realize that when I
wrote the character It wasn't
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until after you talk to me about
it.
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That I was like, this is true,
it's really true.
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I really had to re-examine my
own experience with the with
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that character in literature,
and, and I'm not sure why that
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is, you know, is it?
Because we as Asian Americans
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tend to be closer with our
mothers.
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I don't know, but in terms of
why I did it, I mean so just go,
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I'm going.
To be perfectly honest with you,
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I didn't always have the best
relationship with my own father
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and I think that I didn't want
to portray that in the book, I
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wanted to be aspirational about
it.
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And I wanted to say, you know,
there are fathers out there,
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there are Asian father's out
there who were supportive of
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their sons and their kids, and
their Artistic Endeavors and the
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way that they choose to live
their life and love the people
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that they love.
Oven.
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That's us to say that my dad
wasn't because he was supportive
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of certain parts of my life.
But, you know, it's kind of why
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I wrote a romance because it's
it has a happy ever after.
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And I wanted people to live in a
world where these wonderful
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supportive diverse, loving,
characters, lived, and existed,
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including an, especially mr.
Cruz, and I have been hearing
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from other readers saying
similar things, Is that this
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character in particular really
touched them?
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Well, thank you so much for
sharing that and I think, in
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many ways mr.
Cruz ends up kind of being a
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through line for a lot of the
story and kind of a backbone or
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heartbeat of the story which is,
is really touching.
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So, all the right notes is a
rom-com.
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And there's one Central big love
story, but I also found that
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there were other love stories.
For example, the beautiful
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00:14:33,300 --> 00:14:39,600
friendship between Kita, And
ujima also called G rom-coms
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like movies that we think of
they don't typically Focus so
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much on friends.
Why was it important to you to
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develop this particular
friendship?
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Well I sort of based ujima no I
didn't sort of I really faced
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ujima on two, very specific
people in my life one of whom I
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worked with very briefly, her
name is Brianna Sinclair and
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she's a transgender Soprano.
And I think she's the first
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transgender soprano to sing like
the national anthem at the at a
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Giants game.
Like she's she's done so much
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and I worked with her briefly,
but it's really mostly based on
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someone that I knew in New York,
that I worked with and I am not
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going to name his name because
he's not trans, but he was a
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contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race
and he no longer does drag, he's
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focused much more on his acting
career, and he is a very
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successful actor.
Now on Broadway, but I base it
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on him because a lot of the book
takes place in New York in that
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sort of theater world, right?
And he was sort of one of the
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first people I met that made a
huge impression on me because he
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was this larger-than-life, just
amazingly funny person who was
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just so good at everything and
then had this Persona, this drag
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Persona who was just incredible
and then underneath all of that.
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That was just this super, super
sweet.
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Wonderful person.
And a lot of times in rom-coms,
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you'll have that sort of, you
know, the comedic best friend or
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whatever.
And I think that helps with, you
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know, with the jokes and
whatever that really wasn't my
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intention at all.
I really wanted to bring in this
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character who helped support
Quito in New York and you know,
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throughout the rest of this.
Story and and and in fact ujima
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as you know is there till the
very end.
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They don't just serve a plot
Point, plot function in the
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leaf.
I'm really glad that you enjoyed
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them because they're probably my
favorite character in the book.
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I need a new Jima in my life.
Oh yes, we all do we all do.
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Let's pause here to reflect on
this question, who is ending
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Jima in your life?
A best friend who's been with
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00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:13,599
you through the tough times
outside of Hosting this podcast.
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00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:17,099
I partner with leaders in the
workplace as they rise up.
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00:17:17,300 --> 00:17:20,400
Perhaps you've gotten a
promotion landed, a new role or
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00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:22,599
taken on a lot more
responsibility.
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And you need a trusted sounding
board to support you.
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00:17:26,099 --> 00:17:30,300
You, as you support your team, I
coach individuals and Leadership
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00:17:30,300 --> 00:17:34,700
teams to rise to the challenge
with my a and blend of
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00:17:34,700 --> 00:17:38,700
analytical and creative.
If any of this intrigues, you
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00:17:38,900 --> 00:17:40,800
reach out to me at Jessica
one.com.
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Now, back to the show, a lot of
your novel deals with the
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experiences of young people we
see Quito and Emmett as high
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schoolers in the 90s.
We also see the high schoolers
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now, Mr. Cruz teaches.
What do you hope?
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Young people will take away from
your book.
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You know, it was important for
me to show diverse characters
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and diverse love and to show it
in a way that was just
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incredibly normalized.
And I don't even like to use the
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word normal because it sort of
assumes that, you know, other
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people say it's not normal but
just that these people are here,
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they exist.
And we don't have to apologize
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for anything.
Thing and we can have stories
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that are not about trauma or
trying to protect ourselves, but
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just that we're here to seek our
own happy ever.
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After is just like everybody
else.
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I want them to know that that
that is a possibility for them
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just like everyone else you
mentioned in our last interview
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that you've always imagined your
book as a musical, your book
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launch event will take place in
a high school auditorium with a
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choir two choirs actually
putting us right into the
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Fireman where much of the book
takes place.
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What does this launch event mean
to you?
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It means so much to me, it's
funny because I don't I don't
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think launch events are really
that big of a deal for most
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authors.
It is something that they're
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expected to do either by their
publisher or their peers and
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most people do do them but
they're pretty low key event.
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00:19:22,300 --> 00:19:25,400
You know, it's in many cases
it's kind of anticlimactic
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because you've done I'm so much
before and you're going to do so
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much after it, but I want it to
be totally extra and I've been
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planning this for months.
It was, I think over a year ago,
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when I first approached my
brother, I do the choir teacher
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pendo Valley high school.
And I say, Hey Joe, what if I
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for my book launch, I know
there's like, super far in
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advance.
But what if I did a whole thing,
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right?
It did it at your school and
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your kids sang because, you
know, the choir is such a big
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thing in all the right notes,
and You know, the choir director
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is Filipino and, you know, keep
their Crews, The Pianist
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Filipino, my brother's is both
the piano teacher and the choir
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director, and let's bring you in
and let me sing and we'll do
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other stuff.
And then later down the line, I
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brought you in, by the way, I'm
so excited that you're going to
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00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:19,600
meet em sing for me, me too,
because it's gonna be amazing.
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And then, on top of that, Joe's
kids are going to sing.
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We're gonna sing you as part of
Of the the group that I had put
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together many years ago called
Nova antiqua, which basically,
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now it's just a bunch of friends
who are very excited to get
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together and sing together.
And I'm getting Filipino food
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and drinks and it's gonna be
it's gonna be a whole thing.
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So I'm very excited about it and
I hope we do have already a lot
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00:20:46,100 --> 00:20:48,900
of people coming and I hope even
more people come because it's a
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big theater.
I can't think of a more fitting
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way to celebrate.
This book.
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Yeah, I think just being in that
environment will be absolutely
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incredible.
So you mentioned earlier that
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the manuscript for your second
book is also due in June.
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How is that going?
And can you share anything with
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00:21:15,300 --> 00:21:19,500
us about two months ago when I
had a basically, a nervous
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00:21:19,500 --> 00:21:22,900
breakdown realizing that it was
due for a night?
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I was like, well, what have you
been doing for the past couple
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months?
I mean, I had written a first
327
00:21:27,100 --> 00:21:29,200
draft.
I just I needed to revise it and
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00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:31,500
revision for me, takes the
longest.
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00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:34,800
I'm pretty good about spitting
stuff out, but revising, I once
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00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:38,400
heard that writing a book is
kind of like making a sand
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00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:42,600
castle and in order to make the
castle, you need to fill your
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00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:46,700
sandbox with sand and that's all
the first draft really is, is
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putting all that sand in there.
And let me tell you, when I put
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my sand in my sandbox it looks
like a pile of poop guess it's
335
00:21:54,100 --> 00:21:57,500
just out, it's just out.
I just get it out, right?
336
00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:04,500
So therefore the revision
process is where I start to put
337
00:22:04,500 --> 00:22:09,000
the walls on, you know, a little
pails of towers and stuff and
338
00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:11,900
and that's where you start
etching in the windows.
339
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And every every draft that you
do is making it better and
340
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cleaner and more beautiful.
And that's what takes so long
341
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anyway.
To get back to your question.
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It's almost done.
It's almost there and it's I I'm
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00:22:24,900 --> 00:22:30,100
handing off a draft to my agent
for First actually on Thursday,
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that's the due date that I gave
myself and to her, so that she
345
00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:36,200
could look at it.
Give me her comments and then I
346
00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:39,800
will revise it because I trust
my agent.
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So implicitly, she has, she's
just incredible.
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And then once I've done that,
then I'll hand it off to my
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editor.
And then she will, she will then
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start the editorial process with
me.
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So it's there and I don't know,
did you ask what it's about?
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00:22:55,300 --> 00:22:58,100
I would love to share more of
what it's about.
353
00:22:58,300 --> 00:23:00,500
Definitely are staring at this
point.
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Okay.
Well, I can tell you because
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00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:04,700
we've already settled on the
name, the title of the book is
356
00:23:04,700 --> 00:23:08,500
karaoke Queen, its kind of
pitched as Kinky Boots meets
357
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Tootsie.
It is about a Filipino drag
358
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queen or used to do drag runs
into an old flame from college.
359
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Who now works at a bar that is
not doing very well.
360
00:23:20,900 --> 00:23:24,500
So the main character decides,
I'm going to put on a karaoke
361
00:23:24,500 --> 00:23:28,100
show to drum up business for the
bar, so that my flavors.
362
00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:30,600
Flame gets impressed and then we
can get together with him.
363
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But then figures out the only
way, really to do a really
364
00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:39,000
successful one is to resurrect
his drag Persona, and to host it
365
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:43,300
as a drag queen, which works.
But then he doesn't want the old
366
00:23:43,300 --> 00:23:45,200
flame to know that he's a drag
queen.
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So it's this kind of Comedy of
Errors, right?
368
00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:50,300
Where he's living, two personas,
he's this guy who's trying to
369
00:23:50,308 --> 00:23:54,300
get with the guy but also he's
the drag queen, making the bar
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better place and trying to be in
two places at once and And there
371
00:23:58,900 --> 00:24:02,200
is a third act that I'm not
going to be all right now.
372
00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:05,600
But it does involve a
doppelganger.
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He has to teach someone to
basically be his double and
374
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okay, maybe I am revealing it,
the double ends up showing him
375
00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:19,200
how beautiful it is to be a drag
queen and to embrace his
376
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femininity, because he was
afraid to show his old flame
377
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that he was drag queen, because
he didn't want him to think that
378
00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:30,500
he was fam or feminine, but he
is Is and this doppelganger kind
379
00:24:30,500 --> 00:24:32,600
of shows him.
You know, it's beautiful about
380
00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:35,100
your Femme and that you're
feminine and that I love that
381
00:24:35,100 --> 00:24:37,300
about you and see how beautiful
you are.
382
00:24:37,300 --> 00:24:40,400
Look, I look like you.
And so the guy basically has to
383
00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:43,400
decide who it's a love triangle
to.
384
00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:46,900
So who does he, you know, really
love and who does he end up with
385
00:24:46,900 --> 00:24:55,000
at the end who I can't wait.
And is there any crossover of
386
00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,100
characters in book, 1 and book
to or no, are they in different?
387
00:24:58,300 --> 00:25:03,000
Of our says there is a very
significant character from book
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00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,000
one that shows up towards the
end of book 2 and you can
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00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:09,800
probably guess who it is just
from the title of the second
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00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:12,400
book.
I love it.
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00:25:12,500 --> 00:25:16,300
I love it.
Yeah, what words do you have to
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00:25:16,300 --> 00:25:21,700
share with aspiring writers
musicians or really anybody who
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00:25:21,700 --> 00:25:25,900
has a story to share?
First of all, be kind to
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00:25:25,900 --> 00:25:28,100
yourself.
That's that's the thing.
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00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:33,500
That I'm going through right
now, to be honest because and I
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00:25:33,508 --> 00:25:37,600
think we talked about this in
our previous interview is that
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00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:43,500
we are both very driven people
and we really want to succeed in
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00:25:43,500 --> 00:25:47,000
the things that we do, and that
is okay.
399
00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:52,700
But we also need to be kind with
ourselves and to say, you know,
400
00:25:52,700 --> 00:25:56,500
if you don't, if you aren't able
to get to all those emails
401
00:25:56,500 --> 00:26:00,200
today, if you aren't able to You
know, meet that deadline.
402
00:26:00,700 --> 00:26:05,600
If you aren't able to, you know,
finish what you set out to do,
403
00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,300
it's okay.
Like, don't beat yourself up.
404
00:26:08,300 --> 00:26:14,000
I think that we naturally
already ask of ourselves a lot.
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00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:19,300
So, if we're even only attaining
fifty, sixty five percent of
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00:26:19,300 --> 00:26:22,400
what we set out to do.
That's already a lot more than a
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00:26:22,408 --> 00:26:25,100
lot of other people have
accomplished or are going to
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00:26:25,100 --> 00:26:29,100
accomplish.
So, I would say, Be kind with
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00:26:29,100 --> 00:26:31,500
yourself.
Be patient with yourself and
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00:26:31,900 --> 00:26:37,100
enjoy every single Milestone
that comes along because the
411
00:26:37,100 --> 00:26:41,000
other part of being an ampersand
is that we tend to keep looking
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00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,500
towards the future.
You know, what's next, I'm going
413
00:26:44,500 --> 00:26:49,500
to be happy when I am going to
be happy if you know and it
414
00:26:49,500 --> 00:26:53,200
isn't, it isn't that you're
going to be happy when you
415
00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:57,800
attain the goal, or if the
certain Milestone happens, it
416
00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:01,200
happens.
Daily, you know, it happens when
417
00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:03,800
someone says, Hey, I just read
your book and I loved it.
418
00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:08,100
Enjoy that, you know, or someone
reaches out to you just to say
419
00:27:08,100 --> 00:27:11,900
hi and how are you going?
And how is everything doing with
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00:27:11,900 --> 00:27:14,400
the book?
I'm so proud of you enjoy that,
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00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:19,700
you know, because if we put all
of expectation on, being happy,
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00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:23,600
at the end of the Finish Line,
well, when you think about it,
423
00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:25,800
finish line is a very thin line,
right?
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00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:29,000
Once you cross, that's it.
If that's where all your
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00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:32,300
happiness is going to be, that's
a very short time to be happy
426
00:27:32,700 --> 00:27:36,000
when you could be happy daily,
as long as you allow yourself to
427
00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:37,700
be.
I love that.
428
00:27:38,100 --> 00:27:43,700
And I think you're so spot-on in
this tendency to look forward.
429
00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:48,800
But, you know, even looking back
at at what you've accomplished
430
00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:52,000
in the last year, in the last
few months.
431
00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:56,800
It's it's actually, it's
astounding, and inspiring and,
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00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:59,400
and wonderful.
Thank you so much.
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00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:02,700
Dom.
It's been such a pleasure
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00:28:02,700 --> 00:28:07,600
talking with you today.
And again, folks, you can check
435
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:11,500
out, Dominic, at Dominic
limb.com and all the right notes
436
00:28:11,500 --> 00:28:14,400
is now available wherever you
get your books.
437
00:28:15,700 --> 00:28:19,100
If you liked this, show hit,
like, subscribe and share with
438
00:28:19,100 --> 00:28:21,000
your friends and fellow
ampersands.
439
00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:24,900
And if you are listening on the
Apple podcasts app, consider
440
00:28:24,900 --> 00:28:28,800
leaving a review, it really
helps new listeners, discover
441
00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:32,200
our show.
I had a chance to reflect on my
442
00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:35,700
conversation with dom and I
wanted to share a few key.
443
00:28:35,700 --> 00:28:40,800
Takeaways one, this analogy of
writing being like building a
444
00:28:40,808 --> 00:28:43,800
sandcastle has really stuck with
me.
445
00:28:44,300 --> 00:28:47,200
And I I think it applies to
other creative Endeavors to.
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00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:51,200
I remember back in my undergrad
days, studying product design.
447
00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:54,400
We had a similar strategy in the
brainstorming phase of the
448
00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:57,400
project.
How could you get all the ideas
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00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:00,600
out?
And like Don said, fill the box
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00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:05,200
with sand you might get weird
ideas unrealistic ideas and it
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00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:09,000
could get messy.
There was only one rule in that
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00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:13,200
phase.
There's no saying no because an
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00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:16,500
off-the-wall idea.
Spark something unexpected
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00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:20,200
leading to something great.
It's all part of the process
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00:29:20,500 --> 00:29:23,700
too.
It's been such an honor to get
456
00:29:23,700 --> 00:29:26,800
an inside glimpse of Dom's
Journey as a writer and
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00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:29,500
musician.
And the role that this book has
458
00:29:29,500 --> 00:29:32,800
played in the process.
Dom mentioned that, when he
459
00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:36,300
wrote the book, he himself felt
at a bit of a Crossroads
460
00:29:36,300 --> 00:29:39,900
creatively and that the process
of writing has helped him, find
461
00:29:39,900 --> 00:29:44,400
a newfound understanding of
making art for the love of it.
462
00:29:44,700 --> 00:29:49,600
I see a similar path for me.
And this podcast, essentially as
463
00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:53,100
a singer, I'm a creative
entrepreneur carving out my own
464
00:29:53,100 --> 00:29:58,000
path and at times the direction
is unclear, but talking to other
465
00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:03,000
a Sands has been a balm for me
and a way to process my own
466
00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:10,000
Story. 3, how can we take care
of ourselves and enjoy every day
467
00:30:10,700 --> 00:30:14,300
for high, Achievers, ampersands
and people who are always
468
00:30:14,300 --> 00:30:15,900
thinking?
About what's next?
469
00:30:16,300 --> 00:30:20,100
This is the question.
We tend to place the lot of
470
00:30:20,100 --> 00:30:23,400
weight on achievements.
Deadlines and Milestones, well,
471
00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:26,700
perhaps forgetting about all the
daily reminders.
472
00:30:26,700 --> 00:30:30,700
We get about how we're involved
and how our work makes a
473
00:30:30,700 --> 00:30:34,200
difference.
But we can focus in more on
474
00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:38,600
these daily Delights.
So, I'll post to you what's a
475
00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:42,500
kind thought that you can bring
back into your focus today?
476
00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:48,100
Don't let anyone else Define who
you are.
477
00:30:48,500 --> 00:30:52,100
That power has to come from you
and that is one of the most
478
00:30:52,100 --> 00:30:58,200
powerful things you can do to
Define who you are in this world
479
00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:00,500
you know.
And that can be your pronouns
480
00:31:00,500 --> 00:31:05,200
that can be your name that can
be your career but the point is
481
00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:09,200
don't let anyone else ever.
Tell you who you are especially
482
00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:12,800
right now.
What's happening with the anti
483
00:31:13,300 --> 00:31:16,500
drag?
Legislation the anti-trans, you
484
00:31:16,500 --> 00:31:22,100
know, initiatives, all these
things where people are being
485
00:31:22,100 --> 00:31:27,800
persecuted for trying to justify
themselves and be given the
486
00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:31,100
right to say, I want to be the
person that I feel inside.
487
00:31:31,100 --> 00:31:34,100
Not the person that's written on
my birth certificate by some
488
00:31:34,100 --> 00:31:35,700
person that I don't know, or
whatever.
