So glad to share that I had three poems published in The Poetry Lighthouse last week! Read them here! (CW: pregnancy loss, perinatal depression/anxiety) - www.thepoetrylighthouse.com/poems?author...

For the Mid-Autumn Festival, I wrote a review for @thekitchn.bsky.social about some of my favorite mooncakes and where you can find them here in the US! From budget-friendly picks to more high-end treats, these are the ones worth trying. Check it out here: www.thekitchn.com/rong-shing-m...

So many great lit events this October! From MTSU’s In Process series to the Southern Festival of Books (with a strong Rutherford County presence), plus Writers Mingle, Poetry in the Boro, and more—it’s a great month to celebrate stories and community. 🔗 www.rutherfordartsalliance.org/news/2025/9/...

Exciting news! My poem "Firecrackers on the Mountaintop" was just published in @lunchticket.bsky.social ! 🎆 It’s a bilingual English/Mandarin piece about life as a foreigner in China—navigating what you do (and don’t) understand. Read here: lunchticket.org/bian-pao-zai... - #poetry #poem #poets

New article up on Renew.org: Do Animals Go to Heaven? 🐾✨ It’s one of those questions so many of us wonder about. In this piece, I dive into Scripture and explore what the Bible has to say about Heaven, salvation, and whether animals might share in the afterlife. renew.org/do-animals-g...

Got another rejection yesterday. The pitch wasn’t timely enough, but the editor ended with "please keep pitching, you’re exactly the kind of writer I want to hear from." Rejections sting, but kind ones remind me it’s worth pressing on. 💪 #writers #writingcommunity #amwriting

Like many writers, I get lots of spam about book promo. I understand the ones asking for pay for reviews. Clear scam. But what's the deal with all the ones asking about where to a review? I've had obvious bots asking for Goodreads links and then leaving me lovely reviews! I don't ... understand ...?

Death should never be celebrated.

Deadlines projects all turned in ✔️ Kids (and me) on the mend from HFM 🙌 Coffee in hand ☕ That rare in-between space: wanting more work but also loving a little time for my own projects. ✨ How do you spend your in-between times? #writers #writingcommunity #amwriting #AuthorLife

🍂 The -ber months are here, and with them comes a full calendar of local literary events! I put together this month’s roundup for the Rutherford Arts Alliance blog, which you can find here: www.rutherfordartsalliance.org/news/2025/8/... Come support our vibrant literary community. 📚💙

When I heard “hand, foot, & mouth disease,” I pictured an Oregon Trail nightmare. 😱 In reality (for my girls) it was 4 days of fever, rash, and sore throats .... Not as dire as I feared. Just enough to throw off a week of deadlines. 😅 #writers #writingcommunity #parentlife

Flat, round… or both? 🌍 That’s what the Bible seems to suggest in some places. I dig into the details in my new article on Renew.org. Read it here: renew.org/does-the-bib... #Faith #Apologetics #BibleStudy #FlatEarth #RoundEarth #Renew #RenewNetwork #TaffetaChime

You ‘run the gamut’ and ‘run the gauntlet.’ You don’t ‘run the gambit.’ gamut = entire range or series gauntlet = severe trial Gambit = Alpha-level mutant who can convert potential energy to kinetic energy

Another writing conference in the books! Time to kick back with tea and a good book. What do you do when a con ends? Besides check out all the panelists' websites and books, of course! Bonus points for gifs #virtualconference #writingconference #writing #WritingCommunity #writingq

Grateful to have been part of the @storyvalley.bsky.social Conference this weekend 💛 Huge thanks to Amber Scott for moderating & to fellow panelists for an encouraging convo on work/life balance & self-care. Looking forward to next year! ✨ #writers #writingcommunity #StoryValley2025 #AuthorLife

I'm speaking at the @storyvalley.bsky.social Con this weekend! Catch me Sun, Aug 17 (8:15 AM EST) on the Work-Life Balance & Self-Care panel! We’ll talk about protecting creativity + avoiding burnout. $35 gets you all sessions + recordings: www.bit.ly/storyvalley2025 #writers #writingcommunity

It’s my birthday today! 🎉 And all I want is for you to talk books with me. Drop: 📚 Your favorite book you’ve read this year OR 🛋️ Your favorite place to read Bonus points if you’ve read something of mine and leave a quick review today 💛 bio.site/taffetachime Go on. Indulge the birthday girl. 🥳

After 18 years of writing, crying, reading, napping, studying, binging, and more, I said goodbye to my beloved chouch. No space in the toddler shuffle. I cried. It's off to live with international students now. RIP, chouch. 2007–2025. You were loved.🪑💔 #ripchouch #chaircore #writerlife

I was recently featured in Nashville Voyager as a local creative! In this interview, I share about my writing journey, what inspires me, and the vision behind my work. If you’re curious about what drives me as a writer, I’d love for you to give it a read. nashvillevoyager.com/interview/me...

🎮 Throwback Thursday: My parents busted out the old Intellivision on the 4th. A huge part of my childhood—and I even wrote about Utopia for Lost in Cult's Console Chronicles last year. Find it on Amazon or my site. 💾✍️ www.amazon.com/Console-Chro...

Even the raccoons are taking today off. Found this guy napping on the Workmate bench at my parents’ cabin. Who knew Workmates were also Napmates? Happy Fourth! 🇺🇸🦝 - #4thOfJuly #RestDay #NatureFinds #HolidayVibes

Feeling grateful to have two poems in the debut issue of Abundance Literary Magazine. Always special to see work out in the world. online.fliphtml5.com/FunInTheZine... - #poetry #writingcommunity #abundanceliterarymagazine

Author life: chaotic but iconic. 😂 I fell in the parking lot on Saturday before my signing—rolled my ankle, scraped my knee. BUT I KEPT THE SHOW GOING! And it low key went pretty well. So … worth it? Totally unrelated: drop your fav fold-up wagons for hauling books. 😅

Latest publication is live! I wrote this guest post for @patrickklepek.bsky.social 's @crossplayblog.bsky.social all about how to connect with a gaming kid if you yourself are not a gamer. www.crossplay.news/p/never-too-... #videogames #parenting #parentingtips #gamerkid #Parents

Come see me tomorrow morning! (Taffy Xu down the bottom right? That's me!) Buy a book, have some coffee and treats, and meet other great writers too! - #booksigning #bookevent #indieauthor #localauthor #author #book #taffetachime #novel #stoodie #thelast #poetry #scifi #ya #nickhorton #murfreesboro

Across many Al chatbot apps, these things keep happening. When it comes to creative writing, it's pretty easy to spot AI. Spoiler alert: it ain't em dashes. #Al #writing #generativeai #creativewriting #storytelling #character #characterai #polyai #emochi #talkie #chai #cai #aiwriting #taffetachime

Proud writing momma moment! My daughter has won several awards throughout the year (humble brag lol), but this one is probably the one I'm most proud of: she won the library award for all of kindergarten for the whole year! So proud of my girl! ♥️

It's National Taffy Day! How are you going to celebrate ME?! Ask me anything, compliment me, roast me, buy a book, read some of my work, share my stuff, drop a follow ... Whatever! #taffy #nationaltaffyday #taffetachime #laffytaffy #taffyday #ama #fyp #askmeanything #me #celebrate #nationalday

I've made it a point to look for creators on socials and let them know when I've enjoyed something of theirs. Not just authors but columnists, journalists, video creators, musicians, artists... Is there ever not a good time to support someone in their craft?? I think not!

I had a great time at the quarterly Bloom Stage multi-genre storytelling show on Thursday night. You can see from the pictures below, we had music, art, storytelling, fiction, poetry, and even aerial choreography! Bloom is always amazing, and this time didn't disappoint!

www.tiktok.com/t/ZTjUk5pEo/ May is #mothersday but also #MentalHealth awareness month. It's a hard time for me for several reasons given here. If you resonate with any of this, you are not alone. You are strong. You are whole. You are loved. - #miscarriage #depression #poetry

Hello to the 200 of you who are okay with sharing your corner of the Internet with me!

Had a poem accepted yesterday to a literary magazine I was REALLY hoping to get into. Writers: Keep going, keep going, keep going!! ❤️ #writers #poetry #poem #poems #freelance #freelancing #submit #submissions #litmag #magazine #cfs #keepgoing #motivation #inspiration #motivate #inspire #acceptance

Just a reminder that, yes, the world is broken and, yes, there are a lot of serious problems around us right now. But if you are struggling with mental health, don't downplay it because it feels "less important." If you need help, you need help. #mentalhealth #ppd #depression #anxiety #trauma #ptsd

Another explainer for Complex Magazine is up! If you're looking to understand what Twitch is all about, here's a good place to start! www.complex.com/pop-culture/... #twitch #complex #taffetachime #livestream #stream #streamer #streaming #justchatting #irl #writing #writer #newpub #journalism

I'm so happy to have another article for Apartment Therapy! This one's about how my mother handled my autistic sister's triggers and spun negatives into positives. Check it! www.apartmenttherapy.com/fire-drill-c... #writing #apartmenttherapy #taffetachime #firedrillcake #neurodiverse #asd

New piece is up! renew.org/what-does-th... #renew #taffetachime #bible #grief #wordstudy #biblestudy #grieving #loss #jesuswept #writing #writer #newpub #editorial #article #freelancer

I was so happy to attend an online craft chat from @thewriterscenter.bsky.social last night with author Karen Russell, and I'm still thinking of the last words of wisdom she gave us: "It's okay to write what delights you. Write in the direction of pleasure." Y'all, I nearly cried. #writer #author

So today is #PiDay, right? And English speakers are all eating pie to celebrate because "pi" is pronounced "pie," right? I have bad news for you .... The Greek letter #π is pronounced "pi," as in "pee." So, um ... Happy Pee Day! 🙃 #iruinedit #thanksihateit #language #linguistics #greek #english

Rutherford County people! If you're looking for reading and writing events through the month of March, look no further! I just dropped this blog for the Rutherford Arts Alliance that highlights all kinds of great things happening this month! www.rutherfordartsalliance.org/news/2025/3/...

Did my hair and makeup today, so you know what that means ... #selfie

When your #wfh husband says you can use his #setup... Left: Lofi Girl Pomodoro stream Middle: revising a poem for Lunch Ticket's multilingual contest (poem, contest guidelines, email) Right: Lots of @chillsubs.bsky.social ! And email for a freelancing client. #writer #writing #office #poet #author

I don't post much about my partner because he's more private, but he's my forever Valentine. Here's us when we were dating back in China, 13 years ago! 10 years of marriage and 2 kids later, and we still make each other laugh with silliness like this. 我永远爱你，帅哥❤️ - #valentinesday #marriage #我爱你 #情人节

Y'ALL. First writers' mingle was a blast! What a wonderful time connecting with writers of all kinds in the area! I was so honored to be the first host, and I hope my words were good inspiration and motivation to give you all a shot in the arm to keep those pens moving and fingers typing! #writers

Come hang out with ME(!!!) for our first ever Writers' Mingle! All writers of all backgrounds, levels, ages, and places are encouraged to come and, well, mingle!! We'll have writing games, a Shut Up and Write space, a pep talk, and a lot of writing buddies! RSVP here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Y'all. Poetry in the Boro has become a haven to me and so many others. We are CONSISTENTLY a standing-room-only POETRY EVENT. Let that sink in. Sunday night, as usual, was ELECTRIC. Charles Thomas DELIVERED, as did all the open mic readers. Come join us next month ❤️ #poetry #poetryreading #poems

The other night, I heard my husband putting our 5yo to bed, and she asked him to tell her a story. He said, "Oh, I'm not good at that. Momma is the storyteller. How about you start a story, and I help you?" "But I can't tell stories either!" Unacceptable. New goal unlocked. #writer #storyteller

So I recently rewatched #Disney 's #Atlantis with my 5yo. This movie has always landed flat for me, and this time I wanted to figure out why. It has some great character designs and beautiful artwork and--hello--a linguist is the hero! Why do I think it's bad? Two reasons:

A soft storm of silence forces the world to be still. This was at sunrise yesterday, right when the snow was beginning. We got about 4" of snow, and most of it is still on the ground today. My 5yo has been loving it! #poetry #poem #POEMS #snow #snowday #snowday2025 #tennessee

I want to PR on my TBR ... #read #book #gym #newyear #fitness #nerd #books #reading #reader #booklover #wellness #alwaysbereading #tbr #pr