
Ryka Aoki’s first novel, He Mele a Hilo, was published by Topside Press in 2014. As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline. Shizuka doesn't have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan's kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul's worth. But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka's ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. Ībout Light From Uncommon Stars:Good Omens meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in Ryka Aoki's Light From Uncommon Stars, a defiantly joyful adventure set in California's San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts.


This event takes place on crowdcast, Charis' virtual event platform. Register here.Ĭharis welcomes Ryka Aoki in conversation with TJ Klune for a celebration of Aoki's Light From Uncommon Starsand Klune's Under the Whispering Door.
