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Irene Te | Author

Author of cozy contemporary fiction

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I’m Irene, author of This Place is Magic, a cozy contemporary novel about K-pop, found family, and waffles. Learn more about me over here!

Grab a copy of This Place is Magic, available in eBook and paperback from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and more!

Signed copies of my books are available through my local indie, Blue Willow Bookshop. Learn more on this page!

Sign up for my monthly newsletter to get all the latest updates and exclusive bonus content, including two extra chapters for This Place is Magic

irenewritesthings

Cozy contemporary author + honorary K-pop scholar

📸 Sunday Photos 10/13/24 ➡️➡️ 1️⃣

📸 Sunday Photos 10/13/24 ➡️➡️

1️⃣ - My desk for October 🎃

2️⃣ - We will not speak of the blood magic required to make these Lego flowers stand in the vase according to my artistic vision

3️⃣ - RIP to me, for I am chained to my desk resolving the 278 comments I left on this manuscript ⛓️⛓️ and there will be more to fix before the book reaches you in January, so we'll just call this Irene's Initial Final Pass™

4️⃣ - Oh, another book I bought because of Tara @magnoliapigeonbookblurbs 😂😂 (but she ends up buying books because of me too, so it works out lol 🐱☕)

5️⃣ - So you may have seen it in my stories but I stayed up to catch Seventeen's concert livestream from Goyang, which was at 5pm KST but 3am clown time CDT for me 🙈💎 I went to bed at 5:30am and got up again at 7:30am because my child doesn't understand that we should sleep in during Fall Break?? Anyway I'll sleep when I'm dead I guess 💐💀

6️⃣ - USD finally got around to sending my diploma 🎓

7️⃣ - Switched out the back of my Kindle specifically to debut a new Eunjae and Jiyeon sticker 👀👀 which will be part of preorder gifts for 🌙🎶 This Song is Ours 🎶🌙 Art by @joe___lx (who can never leave me because I can't live without her) (you already know this but I'll say it a million times)

How are you?? 😘💐

#irenete #sundayphotosbyirene

I've been getting through books so very slowly whi

I've been getting through books so very slowly while in revisions, but here's one that I finished some time ago and just never posted about yet - 🐲🌊 THE NIGHT ENDS WITH FIRE 🌊🐲 by KX Song, which is easily one of the prettiest books in my collection! Swipe ➡️➡️ for the beautiful details on this edition 😩

To say that this is a retelling of Mulan is to sell it a bit short, in my opinion. A few weeks ago I saw it featured in a Book Riot newsletter where they ventured to call it more of a "repudiation" of Mulan's story, and I can agree with that description a lot more. Mei Lin is starved for power, greedy for control of her own destiny. Rather than trade her abusive father for marriage to an abusive husband, she runs away to become a soldier. And when she wakes the dragon god who dwells inside her mother's jade tablet, Mei Lin discovers that both power and greed can be as bottomless as the sea. (If you've read this, you'll know why I chose ocean waves for that second photo 👀)

Another thing I want to say about this book: it contains a love triangle, and normally I'll pass on love triangles because they're just not my thing. However, I can respect when the trope is written in an intriguing and skillful way. I think a love triangle is done right when the author can manage to sell both love interests as viable, causing genuine conflict not just for the protagonist but for you as a reader. (How about that second lead in a k-drama, guys??) In this book, we get two options who are both walking, talking bundles of red and green flags 🙈🙈 They're both right. They're both wrong. It's not merely about which guy is less toxic than the other when the stakes are this high. If the decision is too easy, has the trope really worked to be as divisive as it's meant to be? So I respect this love triangle. (And I'll be back for the next book to see if Mei Lin chooses NONE OF THE ABOVE which is one of my most favorite ways to settle a love triangle. BURN IT ALL DOWN MEI LIN 😘)

🔥🔥 What's a retelling that you've enjoyed reading??

#irenereadsthings #thisnightendswithfire #kxsong #fantasyreads #fantasyretelling #mulan

Happy #WaffleWednesday! I'm so excited to tell you

Newsletter friends, look for me in your inbox tomo

Newsletter friends, look for me in your inbox tomorrow (9/27) 👋🏼👋🏼 Also, it's your monthly reminder that subscribers get 2 bonus chapters of This Place is Magic + other random extras that I write for the series here and there! Subscribing is free, will always be free, and is the best way to stay updated on my book news. Email buddies get the gossip first 👀 I send one email a month!

In tomorrow's email...

📬 Release date for my next book!
📬 And the blurb!
📬 And I'll tell you who's illustrating the cover!

You can sign up for my newsletter at the URL on the second slide ➡️➡️ or find the link in my bio!

See you tomorrow, pen pals 👀👀👀

#irenete #thisplaceismagic #irenewritesthings #newsletterday #gossipbyirene

🎵🌞 SHINE BRIGHT! It's the world's worst co-w

🎵🌞 SHINE BRIGHT! It's the world's worst co-workers!! How chaotic will your shift be??

You can meet this absolute clown show by reading my book, 🧇✨ THIS PLACE IS MAGIC ✨🧇 It's about a runaway kpop idol, having too many brothers, and finding your way home. Grab a copy from Amazon, BN, and other major retailers; signed copies + goodies can be ordered from my local indie, Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston. All 🔗🔗 to all the things are in my bio!

And all of this adorable character art is by @joe___lx, who will never leave me because I can't live without her 💖

#thisplaceismagic #irenete #shinebrightapollo #irenesfakekpopmen2024 #kpopbook #cozyreading #cozycontemporary #wafflesupremacy

📸 Sunday Photos 9/15/24 ➡️➡️ "Irene wh

📸 Sunday Photos 9/15/24 ➡️➡️

"Irene why are all the photos taken from your desk??" BECAUSE I AM SHACKLED HERE... WORKING ON BOOKS I SAID I WOULD WRITE... But I've also played 30 hours of Coral Island 🏝️ (Please ask my friends about me and "casual farming sims" so they have a chance to complain after ten years of bearing witness lmao)

1️⃣ - This is a candle! And you'd think the fragrance would be something like "waffles" but instead it's "butterscotch and whiskey" 🤔🧇

2️⃣ - My windowsill for September

3️⃣ - Most mornings I spend 20 minutes reading a book about craft, a few pages or a chapter at a time. Right now I'm re-reading Reflections: On the Magic of Writing by Diana Wynne Jones. She's my fav 😩 I love her 😩

4️⃣ - Some flowers from my backyard because I need to prove that I DO go outside sometimes

5️⃣ - 'Tis the season 🙏💖🍂🍫

6️⃣ - Okay did anybody else watch Pop Star Academy: Katseye and if so, do you want to gossip about it with me and @ayaragus 👀😂

7️⃣ - Currently reading A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand, which is a sequel to The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. The original novel is one of my favorite spooky books and I enjoyed the Netflix adaptation as well. So far I absolutely despise every character in this sequel but I don't think they were written to be likeable 😬 ("I can't wait until something haunts you bc you deserve it" - me on every page)

Here's a question if you feel like chatting: would you rather be stuck in a haunted house OR end up stuck with a haunted object in your own house? 👻🏚️🎃

#irenete #sundayphotosbyirene

Pack bookstore goodies with me! 💝🎶 I stoppe

Pack bookstore goodies with me! 💝🎶

I stopped at Blue Willow Bookshop yesterday! If you'd like a signed copy of 🧇✨ THIS PLACE IS MAGIC 🧇✨ and some waffle swag too, you can order from my local indie and write a note at checkout if you'd also like it personalized. I throw in random merch but it's always some combination of what you see in this video. They ship anywhere in the US and also internationally! Houston friends can order online for pickup in store. 🔗🔗 In bio!

Everyone who chooses to order from Blue Willow is letting them know this book is worth keeping on the shelf and I'm endlessly grateful. Thank you 😩💖

Much love to the artists who bring TPIM to life, btw!! My cover illustrator is @erion.makuo and character art is by @joe___lx 💐✨ Be sure to follow them bc they are much cooler than I am!!!

#thisplaceismagic #irenete #kpopbooks #cozyreading #cozycontemporary #indiebookstore #bluewillowbookshop #houstonauthor

✨🧇 My monthly update goes out to newsletter f

✨🧇 My monthly update goes out to newsletter friends tomorrow, August 30th!

📬 Subscribers get an early look at an art print that will be a future pre-order gift 🥸

📬 To go with this art reveal, I've got an interview with the illustrator, @starry_nad 🎨 She shares a bit about working on this commission, from initial references to final sketches and rendering... I love to hear how artists do the amazing things they do!

📬 I also have some news to share about my next book! Subscribers always get first dibs on the gossip 👀

I skipped sending out a July newsletter due to (you'll never guess) grad school BUT the subscriber bonus from June is still up for download until tomorrow. So if you missed the total nonsense disaster that was Apollo playing the compliment game, you can subscribe and access my archives for the BookFunnel link! 🤡🌞🤡🌞

⛓️⛓️ in bio or just head to irenewritesthings.substack.com! And if you're one of my email buddies, thank you for letting me show up in your inbox once a month!!

#thisplaceismagic #irenete #authornewsletter #monthlynewsletter

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