2) Do you identify as an Asian American writer?  Why or why not?

MV: Yes, I identify myself as an Asian American writer,
because, well, just look at me, that's who I am — not only physically, but also
culturally. But, even more
important than identifying myself as an Asian American writer is identifying
myself as an Asian American WOMAN writer; there's loads of difference between
male and female Asian American writers.

3) Do you have a blog?

MV: Yes, I do. And it's somewhat of a guilty pleasure. Because everything I put on that blog
is so instantaneous. And I find the
process of maintaining it so wonderfully liberating.

3A) Does having a blog affect or interfere with your
writing?

MV: Well, I always think that it interferes with my writing,
so I'm constantly trying to cut down, to impose some kind of discipline on how
often I post. But I'm not sure if
my feeling that it interferes with my writing is accurate. Of course, when I'm
blogging, I'm not working on my short stories, but the blog actually uncovers
veins of feeling and situational nuances, that I had never been able to write
about before. So, in that way, it's liberating. And in addition, when writing
my blog, I am careful to maintain a persona ("Self") whose voice is
very distinct from the voice/s in which I write. It's a more antic,
tongue-in-cheek voice. I love creating this voice, and even though the posts
are so spontaneous, there is a kind of discipline and art imposed on them, too.
Another thing:  I think writing the
blog has helped me expand into new modes of writing. For instance, I've found
that I can actually write plays! I don't know why I only discovered this AFTER
I started creating my blog. Whether one has anything to do with the other, or
whether it's mere coincidence, I'm not sure. But I tend to think:  everything's connected.

3B) What blogs/websites do you frequent?

MV: * Amazon, not to look up my own book ratings (though I do
occasionally, I'm only human!), but to read reviews of books I am currently
reading. For instance, right now I am halfway through The
Photograph — it's the only book I brought to read on the plane — and
I STILL don't like it. So, I try and read what others have said about it on
Amazon, and it's really amazing to me that most people call it
"brilliant", etc. So obviously there's some disconnect there, and
maybe I'm going about the book in the wrong way. And this forces me to read
with more patience.

*  For fun:
Box
Office Mojo, Buzzsugar,
and Gawker.

*  I like
looking at Gerry Ruiz's photoblog.
As far as I can make out, he's a photographer based in Tacloban City in the
Philippines, and he always posts pictures of such interesting places.

* I like Michael Janairo's blog. He writes about books and culture for the Albany Times-Union.

* I like Speechless,
which I just discovered last month.

* I like Lavalady's blog,
especially when she gets raw (emotionally) and when she blogs about movies
she's seen. 

* I think Jean Vengua's Okir blog is mysterious
and alluring.  

* To find out what's going on in Manila, I like Wendell
Capili's blog and Dean Alfar's blog. 

* And Luisa Igloria's Lizard
Meanders blog is packed full of information, about writers, process,
family, and events, as well as wonderful poetry. 

* Kathleen Burkhalter's A Glass
Overflowing blog is the best blog about family life that I've ever
encountered, and I read it to imagine myself in the warmth of this woman's
fullness and generosity. 

* I read the Chancelucky blog and am absolutely fascinated by his posts about his mother. 

* Don’t get me started on food blogs, I especially like Eating
Asia and Iskandals.

* Of course I read Hyphen's blog to check out what's new in San Francisco events, and for the interesting articles!!!