Grubbies

Thien-Kim's Works

• Full Exposure

  A rom-com set during the divine madness of Mardi Gras as two lovers ask: Can a Big Easy fling become the real thing? Boudoir photographer Josie Parks never ever takes a vacation. But when a client cancels a New Orleans shoot at the last minute, she decides to fly out from her Washington, D.C., studio anyway. Maybe the trip will reawaken her recently stagnant muse. After all, it’s Mardi Gras season… Spencer Pham has come home after twelve soul-sucking years in corporate hell to pursue his passion: making a docu-film on his family’s history as the first Vietnamese Mardi Gras krewe. The last thing he expects is getting whacked in the head by a beautiful woman trying to snag some parade beads. Over some beignets and coffee, Spencer and Josie connect over their artistic pursuits. He offers to show her the real New Orleans, if she’ll help him with the camerawork for his film. Despite Josie’s type-A personality clashing with Spencer’s laissez-faire attitude, they seem to make a great team, and soon, the good times are rolling both on and off camera. But Josie has a life in D.C., and they both have big dreams they’re chasing. When this Big Easy fling starts feeling awfully serious, can they find a way to choose between personal and professional passion?

  Type: Book

• Something Cheeky

  Two friends get the opportunity to work together on their dream project—a Cinderella rock musical with an all-Asian cast—and discover that falling in love was the easy part… Zoe Tran is living her best life, designing plus-size lingerie at her own award-winning clothing boutique, when suddenly her college best friend reenters her life. Derek Bui is offering a tantalizing chance to recapture a forgotten dream: designing costumes for the musical they created together years ago. Derek has loved Zoe since freshman year but never had the guts to confess his true feelings. Now he’s directing the Vietnamese Cinderella rock musical they dreamed up in college. The stakes are high: it’s the first production with an all-Asian cast and creative team at Washington, D.C.’s largest theatre and if they can make it work, they’ll head to Broadway. But his real goal: get Zoe back in his life. A proud demisexual, Zoe only ever saw Derek as her best friend, but working on their dream production together brings them closer than ever. Sparks ignite under the hot spotlights. But when the theatre’s artistic director pressures Derek to make the musical “less Asian,” he and Zoe clash on whether to stay true to their vision or compromise to keep the production alive. Will Zoe and Derek finally let love take center stage or will their creative differences close the curtains on them forever?

  Type: Book

• Happy Endings

  A sexy second-chance romance about exes with unfinished business. When working together reignites their passion, will these former flames sizzle or get burned all over again? Trixie Nguyen is determined to make her sex toy business a success, proving to her traditional Vietnamese parents that she can succeed in a nontraditional career—or any career. She’s trading a string of false starts for a clean slate, and her first pop-up event is going well—until she runs into the ex who dumped her. With a Post-it note. The last person Andre Walker expected to see in his soul food restaurant was the woman he left behind in New Orleans. However, he has no time to focus on the past—or Trixie, even if their chemistry is still scorching. Two years after his mother’s death, Andre’s restaurant is struggling thanks to all the new hipster eateries in his gentrifying neighborhood. Desperate to save the family legacy, he’ll try anything to ward off developers—even if it means partnering with his ex to turn Mama Hazel’s into a vibrator pop-up shop for hungry and horny clients. Thanks to their steamy truce, both businesses pick up. But when their feelings deepen and Trixie receives an incredible career opportunity, will Andre support her or will his pride make him walk out on her again?

  Type: Book