In an algae-ridden coastal town, a teen hunts the creatures drowning neighbors but finds monsters closer to home—right at their skin.
THEY BLOOM AT NIGHT:
Add on GR:
Indie:
BN:
Bkshp:
Publishing needs a union.
For people who have never been in one, I’ll share the tangible benefits that I got in the five years I worked in NYC as a data analyst in the health department.
Starting salary for Level 1 analysts:
1st year probationary period: 55k
2nd year: 64k
NAME UPDATE
For my entire life, I’ve always loved and gone by my Viet name. Writing publicly, I went by NV or Naomi for safety reasons, but it doesn’t feel like me.
My name is Trang. That’s who I am, and that’s what I want people—especially teens!—to see with my books.
IT'S GONNA BE A REAL BOOK, YA'LL.
My debut w/ chaotic queers in a scary house is coming for you Winter 2023. Another YA to follow in 2024.
I am so happy and endlessly grateful. (SEE MOM, IT'S REAL!!)
So thrilled to announce that I’m rep’d by
@katedetweiler
at
@JillGrinbergLit
!
I can’t wait to bring this story about a closeted bi Vietnamese American dealing w an ancestral haunting, ghost bride & charming delinquent into the world, w more books to come.
Com art by @/kitsukkit
✨COVER REVEAL✨
I'm so excited to share the cover for SHE IS A HAUNTING. 😭
Meet Jade Nguyen and the house determined for new residents on 2/28/23.
Click for cover and exclusive excerpt from
@tordotcom
.
Two years ago, a week before spooky October, I abandoned a project to start my first horror novel. No plans except an ending, where a Vietnamese American is the final girl.
Tomorrow I get to share the cover. 👀 on this account and
@tordotcom
bc it’s gonna be BEAUTIFUL
Since many people are following me for the first time, let me say:
Trans women are women
Trans men are men
They, non-binary and gender nonconforming folks deserve respect, safety, and love.
Protect trans kids.
So today I was at Bloomsbury and my agent said “wow the event is sold out” and I immediately was like WAIT WHAT I DIDNT EVEN GET A PRESALE CODE YET.
Reader, she was talking about my book launch tonight. I was talking about the agust d concert lmao
PRIORITIES
A whole month on the Indie and NYT Bestseller lists,
#13
and
#6
this time! Thank you all for supporting my angry, queer girl.
She won’t be on the list forever but she IS available on shelves. Step inside Nhà Hoa with her; let her tell you her story.
Happy 9 weeks on the NYT bestsellers list! 😭
For AAPI month, please recommend this story about an angry Vietnamese American queer girl w/ daddy issues deciding whether finally belonging somewhere is worth the price of eternal servitude to a nasty colonial house 🏚️👻
Last year Zoraida Córdova opened up her email to BIPOC authors and their 1st pages. She gave me generous and really hopeful feedback on my work—and now it’ll be my debut.
I’m paying it forward! The first 3 BIPOC authors to DM me w their name & MS title, I’ll critique 5 pages.
Taking pictures is hard for me—I don’t feel reflected in them. It’s always the safest version of me. I also had surgery 10 years ago for cancer, which left my face different. But I’m here, and I took these for author photos. A dream!
Look at the babe I got a few shots with.
An angry, closeted queer teen w/ daddy issues fights a hungry house in Vietnam that just wants friends & eternal servitude in SHE IS A HAUNTING 🏚️🐜
Indie:
Bookshop:
BN:
Target:
My friends sent me BOOK COOKIES 😭😭😭
I’d been so overwhelmed this entire week that I didn’t order a cake or cookies and this came just in time for my Atlanta launch. THANK YOU THANK YOU
SHE IS A HAUNTING is about a bi Viet American girl searching for a place to belong and the house in Đà Lạt that never wants to be abandoned again
👻PREORDER👻
Signed:
Bkshp:
BN:
UK:
so I had the best morning because yoongi sang and played guitar on his birthday live, and almost right after my publicist told me siah is a national INDIE bestseller!!! Can a pessimistic gremlin handle this much joy?
#6
, here we gooooo
~ but trang what is ur book abt?? ~
well, here you go!
A house with a terrifying appetite haunts a broken family in this atmospheric horror, perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic.
SHE IS A HAUNTING (out 1/17/23)
Preorder:
#2023debuts
#AAPIHeritageMonth
I’m Trang and my ya horror SHE IS A HAUNTING comes out in two months. 😱
I like to describe it as Haunting of Hill House but in Vietnam, featuring messy queer girls, too many bugs, and a house pov!
#2023debuts
#debutauthorchat
Twice was nice, but a third time is even better ✨✨✨
🎉 Congratulations
@nvtran
, SHE IS A HAUNTING is on the NYT Best Sellers list for the third week in a row!!! 🎉
icymi 👁️
Noon has always been a late bloomer—until her coastal town became choked with a strange red algae. When neighbors start to disappear, she must reckon with the monsters itching at her skin and the past that’s come calling.
Add on GR:
For a second week in a row, thank you!!! She's
#6
on the NYT Bestsellers list and
#12
on the Indie Bestseller list.
Now that one of my dreams which I never thought would come true did work out, who's going to help me w/ my next one and get BTS's RM to just PERCEIVE my book!!!!
It was a beautiful night launching SHE IS A HAUNTING at Books Are Magic with Emily XR Pan. Tons of friends, family and colleagues came. I got to roast my mother, and talk parasites.
I rewarded myself with an alcoholic pineapple after.
Thank you for all the messages ❤️
Oh look my second book title~
They Bloom at Night features:
🍜 Body horror :)
🖤 Non-binary MC
🌊 Ocean just wants to come closer, that’s all
🐙 Fucked up red algae
⚓️ Family myths & secrets
🌈 Friendship at the end of the world
Links in bio!
My book is up on B&N. Never thought being an author was possible for me. I'm so proud to see my name.
SHE IS A HAUNTING is a gothic horror novel that's Mexican Gothic meets The Astonishing Color of After.
Out 1/24/23
Preorder now~
Writer friends, please listen to artists regarding AI art. These programs steal art and then reproduce in the same/mashed up style, all w/o credit, permission or compensation.
To me, it’s akin to AI taking our writing and then trying to spit out books in OUR style.
This house eats and is eaten.
Come, and see.
Add SHE IS A HAUNTING on GR:
More updates to come in the next few months!
Beautiful illustration by Kaylee Rowena
Please speak up for our very human siblings suffering in Palestine. They need us more than ever with the internet blackout.
This is genocide done on US money and complicity. Call/email your reps, start conversations, share on social media.
It feels like a dream to say but SHE IS A HAUNTING is getting a
@BNBuzz
exclusive edition!
She'll have this beautiful alternative cover, endpapers with artwork, and a bonus chapter from the ghost bride's POV.
Don't miss it!! Preorder:
If you ❤️:
- queers making Bad Choices
- diaspora stories
- girls on motorcycles
- the specific tension of Hannibal preparing meals
- hot ghost
- houses w/ attitude
- gothic vibe
then you might like SHE IS A HAUNTING
More:
art: @/kitsukkit
let's do a little shameless (I mean it) promo this sunday
pitch your wip/book as "if you like these [tropes, comps, vibes...], you'll love [wip]"
my self-deprecation sensor is ON, you're all advised
I will read my ms in a word document 100 times no problem but I flipped the real thing to a random page and immediately said “no this is embarrassing” 🤣 never reading it again thanks
We're excited to reveal the cover AND an excerpt from They Bloom at Night by
@nvtran
- a new YA horror crawling with red algae and haunted by creatures of the past...
WHAT DO YOU MEAN MORE?
she’s back on the NYT Bestsellers list for a 10th week 🥹
The biggest thank you to booksellers and readers sharing SHE IS A HAUNTING with others. You’ve made this gremlin’s day!
Another surprise bucket list item: the NYT quoting me describing myself as a pessimistic gremlin 🤣
If you’re at all curious about some of my music choices, give it a read!
Two years ago, I wrote this book entirely for myself. I never thought this many people would want to read it. Thank you, thank you to all who added to their Goodreads TBR, preordered, and requested at the library. Can’t wait to talk more in Feb!
It’s here - Goodreads members’ Most Anticipated Books of 2023! Check out the list for books ranging from a Victorian mystery to Indian mythology and beyond.
~Introducing SHE IS A HAUNTING characters~
First up is Jade Nguyen, our titular angry and closeted bi teen. She'll learn the price to this home her family's always wanted. Behind her is the ghostly bride of Nhà Hoa—both dream and nightmare.
Artist:
@gildedruin
More tomorrow!
This is important because if there is high inflation and you do not get ANY raise, that means you are being paid LESS for the same labor you were doing.
I skipped lunch to finish
@XiranJayZhao
’s Iron Widow and I have not stopped screaming. What a heart-pounding book with so much beautiful anger reclaiming space in the world. It feels like I’ve finished an anime and need to rewatch. Incredible. 😭😭🔺😭😭
When I first started taking my writing seriously, I made 3 lists: goals, dreams, and accomplishments. The last one is bc I often forget how much work I put to get there. Today I got to move a dream to that list. Wish I could tell younger Trang, it really does get so much better.
✨ SPOOKY SEASON GIVEAWAY* ✨
For a chance to win an advanced reader copy of SHE IS A HAUNTING and character cards:
- follow me
- retweet
- and comment with your favorite horror movie or book
*US only. No final cover on it but the character cards are 🔥
BREAKING: Israel has used white phosphorus in military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, putting civilians at risk of serious and long-term injuries.
White phosphorus causes excruciating burns and can set homes afire. Its use in populated areas is unlawful.
IT'S GONNA BE A REAL BOOK, YA'LL.
My debut w/ chaotic queers in a scary house is coming for you Winter 2023. Another YA to follow in 2024.
I am so happy and endlessly grateful. (SEE MOM, IT'S REAL!!)
Money isn’t the only thing unions fought for either—better work place, more coverage for leave (ie parental leave), and quite frankly, made it hard to fire you lol
I don’t know if this helps but I want to de-mystify what it could be like to have a union actively fight for you.
She Is a Haunting is officially a year old! When I first started writing this story, I couldn’t even dream of the kind of joy this book has given me.
I’m forever thankful to Bloomsbury, booksellers, librarians, teachers, and readers giving her a chance 🖤
SHE IS A HAUNTING is a Kids’ Indie Next pick for Mar/Apr!!!!
Thank you to all the booksellers who read and nominated SIAH. It means the world to me!
If you like the sound of a queer mess fighting a hungry house while also dealing w/ bad dad issues, pick this one up on Feb 28
🐜 HAPPY SHE IS A HAUNTING PAPERBACK RELEASE DAY 🐜
I’m hanging up my wig and glittering hat as Cam the ghost bride now, but she’ll always be there for you. Promise. Just give her a little visit.
Every single year, you get a cost of living increase. This means about 2-4% of current salary added to offset increased costs and inflation. The union fought for this. I paid less than $400 in annual fees but I got this raise ~2k every year. I also paid $0 our health insurance.
It’s my birthday today and I 100% didn’t want to get out of bed. But I got cake.
Throwback to the 90s here; look at those trucks! And SLEEVES! Maybe I should revisit bangs hmm
Did you know I have a short story in NIGHT OF THE LIVING QUEERS, an anthology from queer BIPOC authors reimagining horror tropes? 😈
You can preorder it 25% off at Heartleaf Books!! A steal at only $9!
✨The SHE IS A HAUNTING preorder campaign is live✨
Submit your receipt before 2/28 & get this beautiful enamel pin of Nhà Hoa!!!
Buy:
Signed:
Bkshp:
BN:
UK:
7 weeks on the NYT Bestsellers List!!
If you like spooky stories about tormented families, pick up a signed copy at
@BookPeople
and/or meet me at
#TXLA
! ☺️
Add They Bloom at Night on GR & request on Edelweiss for:
🍜 Body horror :)
✨ Nonbinary MC
🌊 Ocean just wants to come closer, that’s all
🪸Fucked up red algae
👁️ Family myths & secrets
🖤 Friendship at the end of the world
"She Is a Haunting", de
@nvtran
, será lançado pela
@AstralCultural
!
Neste livro sáfico, a família de Jade está reformando uma casa no Vietnã. Ao chegar no local, no entanto, a garota percebe que algo assombra o imóvel. Agora, precisa provar para a família que eles correm perigo.
Congratulations to the 2024 William C. Morris Award Finalists! 🎉✨
YALSA will name the winner at the Youth Media Awards on January 22, 2024!
Visit the YALSA website to learn more about the Morris Award finalists:
4 years ago an author opened up her email to BIPOC writers who wanted feedback. Her generosity gave me hope to keep going.
SO.
First 5 BIPOC writers who share a google doc link via my contact form w/ their first 10 pages—I’ll give feedback!
Four years in, I qualified for a promotion bc of my experience. I applied to a Level 2 position on the same team. My salary jumped, because all these titles were unionized with standard salary increases.
4th year+: 83k
Before any executives freak out, there’s still a salary max per title, so if employees want a more salary for their labor and experience, they would have to apply to higher level positions. It isn’t just infinite raises.
FIRST PASS PAGES ARE HERE 😭 also the proofread for my Vietnamese LMAO
anyway here’s a sneak peek of the first page.
If you drop a number 2-337, I’ll give you a spoiler free line. 👀
SIAH has been on the NYT List for six weeks. Thank you to the booksellers & librarians recommending it, and for the readers finding this story 💜
And pls I’m still manifesting RM finds this book in front of his eyeballs one day
In this position:
- master’s degree
- I never worked weekends. (Unless you were activated to work during a public health emergency)
- worked late ONLY if I wanted to.
- If things were really busy, I could apply to work overtime and get paid for every hour outside of my 9-5.
This exclusive edition of SHE IS A HAUNTING is only available at B&N! If you want the special cover, endpapers, AND a bonus chapter from the ghost bride’s POV, preorder now w/ code PREORDER25 for 25% off 😌
I'm so honored to work w/
@hannansoph
on her YA horror about estranged friends forced to do a final art heist at the manor where something once killed their leader. Her writing is sharp and compulsively readable—I hope it will haunt you too in the future.
#AuthorMentorMatch
A proper thread for
#AMMparty
! I’m Trang, YA horror and dark fantasy mentor. My debut SHE IS A HAUNTING is about a closeted girl who stays w/ her estranged dad in Vietnam in a “quietly” scheming house.
Add on GR:
Jade is straight, Viet & American enough—at least for summer w/ her distant dad. When a beautiful bride haunts her, she must decide if belonging in a dream is worth losing free will.
Use B&N code PREORDER25 for 25% off SHE IS A HAUNTING
Art:
@gildedruin
We need a PERMANENT ceasefire. Keep applying pressure on your reps to do the right thing, which is honestly the lowest bar one can clear.
I’m sick thinking of premature babies IDF left to die and rot for weeks in the hospital they invaded.
Are there any mentorship programs for writers left? The industry can be so opaque so I’d love to mentor a BIPOC writer with my chaos… and no I would never run a program myself.
Are you a librarian or teacher who works with teens? I’d love to send you a copy of SHE IS A HAUNTING!
RT, leave a comment here, have your DMs open & I’ll reach out ❤️
*US only & it may be the paperback
I’m pumped to be a YA mentor!
Send me your horror and deliciously dark contemporary fantasy. If you’re a BIPOC author telling a story that’s scary and queer, I hope you’ll consider submitting to me. I do *not* require a HEA. 😈
📚 GIVEAWAY FOR EDUCATORS 📚
My goal’s always to reach youth who need my book—or just entertainment!
If you work with teens, comment w/ a book they’re really enjoying this year and I’ll send you SHE IS A HAUNTING 🏚️
*US only, as time/$/supply allow
RT pls!
After 6 mths of devastating imposter syndrome, I just sent off the start of a story I wrote before SIAH sold. It’s inspired by years lived in a southern town that’s now mostly gone.
Monster hunting & monstrous transformations; learning to live as who you truly are. I’m hopeful.
Alright writers! At what point in drafting do you feel the threads of your story pull together and become the book you envisioned?
I’m first drafting rn and it feels like one long feral scream. People weren’t kidding then they say every book is different. 🙃
Me, an anxious person: ok I’m just gonna relax
1 hr later: ugh I’m not relaxed. If I don’t relax AT THIS MOMENT OR SOON, I’ll have wasted all this time not relaxing and then by next week I’ll be really behind on recharging and then how will I go back to normal life overthinking