Joshua Luna

TW: Violence, SA

The month of May has come to an end, and with it, both Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month. But our attention to such issues doesn’t have to stop there.

One of the issues that is often overlooked (or avoided) is the prevalence of Asian-Americans who inherit the trauma that comes from colonization, racism, and displacement. The initial trauma is damaging in and of itself, but when left untreated, it has the added effect of passing on to subsequent generations via epigenetic inheritance and learned behaviors.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Through dialogue and healing, we can break the cycle.

Happy Lunar New Year! In our house, we’re jokingly calling it the Luna New Year. I’m proud and excited to announce that my partner, Alexis, is about to publish her debut novel! LOVE IN THE OCCULT TRAUMATIC is a paranormal romance set for digital release on March 1st. I provided the cover art for the characters, and Alexis and I worked on the cover design together. Here’s what the story is about:

𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐑𝐁 𝐻𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑠. 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑢𝑚𝑎 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒.

Heidi Bauer would give anything to not be able to read people’s memories. Yet every time she sees blood, she loses consciousness and gets a glimpse into the private inner worlds of the wound’s owner, tracing through the events that caused the injury—with frightening precision.

She can’t tell anyone this, of course. It’s bad enough that she has severe PTSD and hemophobia, but unexplained magical powers as well? She’d rather spiral into jobless poverty than admit the truth and risk getting locked up in some kind of mental institution.

That is, until she meets the handsome and caring Dr. Bùi Đức Khiêm. Despite Heidi’s intentions of telling no one her secret, she finds herself opening up to the psychiatrist better than her own therapist—in more ways than one.

And yet, while Dr. Khiêm may not have any powers, he’s hiding secrets of his own. So when a mysterious figure starts to stalk Heidi in pursuit of her hidden gift, it isn’t just her safety that’s threatened, but Khiêm’s too. Together, Heidi and Khiêm learn that not all wounds are visible—and healing them may cost one of their lives.

𝐎𝐂𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐓 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐔𝐌𝐀: 𝐴 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑖𝑛𝑗𝑢𝑟𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑟 𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑥𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛. — Just a warning, it’s steamy! So if you’re interested, know someone who would be, or even if neither apply, we would really appreciate it if you could spread the word about the book and help find readers. It’s been a joy to witness Alexis’ journey through the years, from a CPA working for one of the big four accounting firms to pursuing her talent and passion as a novelist. Although I sometimes feel a little guilty for inspiring her with my comic book career—the path of following your dreams is definitely not easy. But Alexis’ fire gave me the gift of helping reignite my own fire, especially when there have been many people throughout my journey who’ve tried to snuff it out. So in this year of the dragon, let’s remember to protect those dreams and the inner fires that fuel them. 🐉