The Seekers of Deer Creek

Coming summer 2026

I’m thrilled to share that I’ll be releasing another novel with Mariner early next summer (exact date coming). The Seekers of Deer Creek is a whirlwind mystery and family saga rooted in sisterhood and the resurrective promise of art. In this book, two estranged sisters travel the world, trailing a Surrealist painting with the power to unleash a storm of secrets about their past.

I began the novel two years ago, shortly before Banyan Moon published, and it took me some time to find the story I wanted to tell. If every novel teaches a writer something, The Seekers of Deer Creek has taught me the art of patience and surrender. As I drafted the novel, each time I attempted to steer the story in one direction, the Nguyễn sisters stubbornly tugged me the opposite way, onto the path they wanted to follow. Back into the dark fairytale of their past. Back to the art, to the love waiting for them there. Eventually, I let go of the reins, and the novel is all the better for it.

In the next months, I’m eager to share more about the inspiration for the book, the cover (forthcoming from brilliant designer Ploy Siripant, who designed my last two covers), and any other news, but for now, I’ll say that I’m grateful that The Seekers of Deer Creek is officially making its way into the world and that you’ll soon meet the sisters, Vivi and Calla, two determined women who’ve crashed into my heart and built themselves a little hideaway there.

At a recent book event, a lovely reader asked when she might expect something new from me. Hesitantly, she asked, “It’s been a moment, hasn’t it?” I paused to consider. By the time The Seekers of Deer Creek makes its way into the world, three years will have passed since my debut novel published. Time has felt elastic in many ways, with a teeming news cycle, disorderly days that domino together, drafts upon drafts that folded under the weight of all I left unsaid. These have been challenging years in which I’ve had to silence the shoulds to make way for the musts. I wouldn’t have been able to keep going without the team around me, professional and personal. My agent and my editors, my husband and daughter, my friends, none of whom ever lost faith. The stardust inside the moments.

A moment can hold so much growth. Growth as an artist, as a person. Private struggles; public humility. That reader was right; it has been a moment, however you choose to quantify that notch of time. But I hope this moment—this novel—is one worth waiting for.

Thanks so much for being here and supporting my work!