Author of "Potato Queen" does Book Signing & Reading

San Francisco Asian American Author Debuts New Novel

Rafaelito V. Sy, a new asian american author starts off national book tour reading & signing at BOOKS INC, 2275 Market Street located in the castro on August 9th, Tuesday at 7:30pm. His new novel "Potato Queen," (http://www.palaribooks.com) explores love, relationships, and US Citizenship.

Potato Queen starts off in Manila, Philippines, where a young Juancho Chu is living vicariously through reruns of US television sitcoms and dreaming of a life in the less oppressive land of America. As a young man, Juancho makes his way to San Francisco to establish a life for himself in the United States. While working at a travel agency ironically selling tours to "exotic" locales like the Philippines, Juancho works toward his US citizenship.

Rafaelito V. Sy was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. He has also lived in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris, Boston, and New York. He earned his B. A. in English from Tufts University and his M. F. A. in Creative Writing from Cornell University, where he taught the personal essay and creative writing. He currently resides in San Francisco where he volunteers and is involved with many civic organizations.

With his story, Mr. Sy hopes to shine a much-needed focus on the process of becoming a US citizen and learning to accept your own truths. Sy says, "I hope this book reaches out to others who feel alone in a new country."