My new book Automatic Noodle is coming out next Tuesday, August 5, and it’s a special one for me. Set entirely in San Francisco, it’s a gift to the city I have loved since I first visited at the age of five. I’ve lived here for a quarter century, and it’s where I found my community, my family, and my voice as a writer.
If you live in the Bay Area, please come to the FREE book launch this Sunday afternoon, August 3, at Bethany United Methodist Church (1270 Sanchez Street)! Doors are at 2:30 and event starts at 3:00. RSVP here! It’s hosted by Noe Valley Books (a store which also makes an appearance in my book), and there will be sticker giveaways, a reading, and a conversation with AI researcher Alex Hanna, co-author of The AI Con.
The San Francisco of Automatic Noodle is almost unrecognizable. It’s the year 2064, five years after California has won a war of independence against the United States. The peace is fragile, and the city is struggling to rebuild in the ruins left by bombs and atmospheric rivers that pummel the coasts with storm after storm. Our main characters are four robots, left behind in a ghost kitchen, and their human friend. None of them are exactly citizens of this new nation, but they want to make a life here.
Want to see me on book tour? In August, I’ll be coming to LA, San Diego, Phoenix, St. Louis, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver BC. More details here. I’ll also be part of a very special Writers with Drinks at Seattle Town Hall — don’t miss it!
Together, they decide to open a modest noodle restaurant in the Noe Valley neighborhood (renamed Kite Hill neighborhood, after one of the iconic peaks in the area). It’s a story about recovering from war, dealing with trauma, and finding joy even under horrific circumstances. Most of all, it’s about how we nourish our communities, and offer each other comfort in troubled times. I hope it will offer you some comfort too.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been writing some articles about how this book came together, and why the heck I chose to imagine robots who make noodles. For New Scientist, I analyzed why negative fantasies about robots and immigrants often take the same forms. For 48 Hills (which also makes an appearance in the book!), I explained how Automatic Noodle is a sharp rejoinder Silicon Valley’s vision of a future where democracy dies and oligarchs rule us with crypto and AI. And for Flaming Hydra, I explored California’s dark history of secessionist movements, which were originally inspired by the Confederacy during the Civil War.
The early reviews for Automatic Noodle are tasty af. Automatic Noodle has gotten starred reviews in Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, Library Journal, and Booklist. Plus, it's an August "Indie Next" pick, chosen by indie bookstores, and the August TOP PICK from Library Reads, chosen by librarians.
I hope that I’ll see some of you while I’m on the road! Also, I’ll be doing a book giveaway next week, so stay tuned.