maya rushing walker
hawaii-born and raised. New England resident. writer. asian. Japanese culture vulture. homeschool mom. music nerd.
not necessarily in that order.
just all these things, all the time.
what the heck is this crazy place?
just trying to make sense of all the stuff in my head. have a look around, or not.
scroll down to find the thing that interests you, or not.
each of these areas of interest probably has a link to the place that specifically addresses it (like my fiction website, or my music podcast, or my mixed-Asian newsletter). which might be the best way to escape this mud puddle.
but hey, mud puddles are fun, right? splash away.
writing
mostly fiction.
my fiction website is mayarushingwalker.net
go there to join my weekly fiction newsletter where I write about random things and give away free books.
my indie publishing company is at apollogrannus.com
if you like genre hopping, i'm your gal. romance, historical fiction, YA. also check out allegra m. walker's horror novels! everything i publish is there, but to talk to me about books, go to my fiction site and sign up for my weekly newsletter. i answer all my email!
being asian. ahem, half-asian.
yes, there's a difference
music nerd
the super frustrating experience of not being good enough to be a professional but knowing way too much to just listen to whatever is on the charts
academic interests
i study.
a lot.
like, a LOT.
Japanese: language
currently on level 56 out of 60 using the wanikani kanji study app (go to tofugu.com for more info). years of Japanese school every day after English school gave me a good foundation, but frankly i still think i suck. but this is an Asian-immigrant-kid thing, you know? so i'm still studying but i'll never be as good as i think i should be. i also have a most brilliant tutor twice a week for advanced reading, both classical and modern. it's brutal but he is awesome.
Japanese: culture
student of japanese dance and shamisen. the Japlish logo is a manga rendering of me in the exact kimono i wore for dance recitals as a kid. like i literally have that kimono hanging up in my study..
Korean: language
i know a bunch of words. and the grammar makes sense if i translate into japanese first. i'm working on it.
mom stuff
i homeschooled four kids. they're all athletes (i'm not). they all made it into college and got way better grades than i ever did. i clearly did something right but can't say my parents should have homeschooled me (OMG no). i have opinions. about education in general, homeschooling in particular, youth sports, college admissions. maybe opinions isn't quite the word. laments?
homeschooling
i thought i kept my kids out of school because schools are so mediocre and full of schoolyard social crap. but i think i mostly kept my kids out of school because i didn't want them to be confused by mainstream culture, since our family isn't and will never be part of it. i wanted them to know that they have a culture of their own, and mainstream culture is something to be imbibed...carefully...not obeyed, just tolerated. our curriculum was very orthodox, great-books-western-civ-oriented with a strong dash of cynicism and understanding that it's all rigged. my kids question everything.
sports
youth sports culture is toxic and terrible. if you want to see bad parenting, enroll your kids in sports. if you want to see gross, incompetent coaches, enroll your kids in sports. at the same time, if you want to see kids doing amazing things with discipline and dedication...enroll your kids in sports. just be prepared to interfere if you want to stop the damage to your own kids.
maya rushing walker © 2022