Dominic Lim

AUTHOr.
singer.
storyteller.

A romance with the irresistible melody of a Broadway hit. Lim offers up a swoony, joyful rom-com to take readers into a love story worthy of a Broadway stage.” 

Entertainment Weekly on All the Right Notes

 

PRAISE for ALL THE RIGHT NOTES

  • Entertainment Weekly: The 27 Best New Books to Take on Your 2023 Summer Vacation
  • Entertainment Weekly: The 6 Best Romance Novels of Summer 2023
  • SF Chronicle: 17 Books We Can’t Wait to Read this Summer
  • USA Today: The 10 Best Romance Novels Coming Out in Summer 2023
  • Goodreads: The Hottest New Romances for Summer
  • Goodreads: 11 New Reader-Approved Romances for June
  • Buzzfeed: 25 New and Upcoming LGBTQ Romance Novels You’ve Got To Read
  • BookRiot: 40 of the Most Anticipated Beach Reads of 2023
  • BookRiot: 25 of the Best Romance Books for Summer 2023
  • Playbill: 9 Theatre Books to Read this June
  • We Are Bookish: 30 Books by Asian Authors to Read in 2023
  • BookBub: The Best Books of Summer 2023
  • BookBub: 18 Must-Read New Releases by AAPI Authors
  • SheReads: Most Anticipated LGBTQIA+ Romances of Summer 2023
  • LGBTQ Reads: Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Romance of 2023
  • Library Journal: Shining Stars | The Best Romance Books of the Year (So Far)
  • Bella Magazine: The Coolest Reads for the Hottest Summer Days
  • Instinct Magazine: 5 Books to Read After Watching the ‘Red, White, and Royal Blue’ Film
  • AudioFile Magazine: Fall for 8 New Romance Audiobooks

“With its incisively etched, marvelously inclusive cast of characters, perfectly polished writing lightly dusted with sly wit, and swoon-worthy sexual chemistry, Lim’s soul-nourishing debut not only perfectly captures the hope and heartbreak of two people falling in love, but also music’s power to transform lives.” Booklist – *starred review*

“With a relatable queer protagonist, this uplifting book portrays the power of owning one’s truth. Heartfelt, poignant writing and iconic supporting characters boost Quito’s story. The friends-to-lovers trope is wonderfully accomplished, full of sweet yearning and perfect harmony. A lyrical, romantic debut with tender, moving notes about Filipino American families and queer love stories. Perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Alexis Hall, this is a must-have for library shelves.” Library Journal – *starred review*

“Lim debuts with a delightful queer second-chance romance between Quito Cruz, the gay Filipino narrator, and Emmett Aoki, biracial heartthrob of Sunvalley High…Light and charming, with a hint of snark, this is a promising start for Lim.”  Publisher’s Weekly

“Fun and effervescent…There’s a lot of promise in Lim’s debut…with its dual-timeline storytelling, charming cast, and love of show tunes.”  Kirkus

“All the Right Notes is a love letter to family, queer love, and music, handled with passion and skill. The romance burns with tension, and the details of Filipino food had me continuously hungry. I loved it.”  Anita Kelly, author of Love and Other Disasters and Something Wild & Wonderful

“All the Right Notes is a rainbow-sprinkled delight that hits the perfect beats of a rom-com. The inventively-told story features fun, moving and complex characters, wrapped in Dominic Lim’s fresh voice. I particularly loved all the music references. The only way to best express how much joy you’ll feel is to break out into song.”  Sid Karger, author of Best Men

This book will make you sing. Lim has composed the perfect second chance romance. All the Right Notes blends laugh-out-loud humor with the poignancy of imperfect people finding joy in an imperfect world. The alternating past-present storytelling perfectly captures the longing of youth and the regrets of lost love. I couldn’t stop cheering for Quito and Emmett. They can live rent free in my mind for a long time. There’s no way you will finish this novel and not be in love with Quito, Emmett, Ujima, and Mr. Cruz.”  Karelia Stetz-Waters, author of Behind the Scenes

MUSIC VIDEO for ALL THE RIGHT NOTES 

The main character, Quito Cruz, composes a song his freshman year in high school when he realizes he is gay. As I was writing Quito’s story, I knew that in order to be fully immersed in his world I had to have solid idea of not only what the song’s lyrics were, but also what the music sounded like. So I collaborated with the incredible composer, Martin McGinn, to actually bring it into existence.

As a special preview of All the Right Notes, please enjoy the lyric video of “A Part I Play,” with music and lyrics by Quito Cruz (IRL: music & keyboard by Martin McGinn and lyrics & vocals by yours truly)!

EVENTS

TUSCON FESTIVAL OF BOOKS
Presenting Author

March 9 & 10, 2024

University of Arizona Mall
Tuscon, AZ

 

ROOTED & WRITTEN 2023 CONFERENCE
Keynote Speaker

November 12, 2023 @ 2pm

VIRTUAL (details to come)


Rooted & Written is the first fully funded, tuition-free premiere professional writing conference offered for Writers of Color in the country, if not the world.

LIWANAG LIT FEST
Panel Author

October 21, 2023 – 10am to 4pm

Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library
5870 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90805


A free literary festival shining a light on the vibrant diversity of Filipinx storytelling, organized by the Long Beach Public Library and Bel Canto Books!

LITQUAKE – Porchlight Storytelling: Tricks Up My Sleeve
Storyteller

October 13, 2023 @ 8pm

Verdi Club
2424 Mariposa Street San Francisco, CA 94110


Porchlight storytelling series returns to Litquake with Derrick Brown, Dorothy Lazard, Dominic Lim, Ahmed Naji, Amy Schneider, & Dan Stuart.

In Conversation with AARON J. ALBANO
Narrator of the All the Right Notes Audiobook

September 25, 2023 @ 7pm

The Ripped Bodice Bookstore
218 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215


An evening of discussion, behind-the-scenes stories, and singing!!

BOOKMARKS FESTIVAL OF BOOKS & AUTHORS
Panel Author

September 23, 2023

634 West Fourth St. #110
Winston-Salem, NC 27101

800 W Katella Ave, Anaheim, CA 92802

 

THE STEAMY LIT CON
Panel Author

August 17 & 18, 2023

Anaheim Convention Center

800 W Katella Ave, Anaheim, CA 92802

Celebrating the romance genre and amplifying the identities in it which have been historically underrepresented.

SUMMER BOOK FESTIVAL – B&N and HAPPY TO MEET CUTE
Participating Author

July 28 & 29, 2023

 

Barnes & Noble

23630 Valencia Blvd., Santa Clarita, CA 91355

Reading & Meeting at the Writers Grotto

July 21, 2023

 1663 Mission Street, Suite 602
San Francisco, CA 94103

Book Reading & Discussion for AMYRIS Employees

June 20, 2023

 

Amyris, Inc,

5885 Hollis St., Ste. 100., Emeryville, CA 94608

BABYLON SALON – SUMMER SHOW

June 10, 2023 @ 5:30 pm

The Sycamore

2140 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94110

with:
🤩 Rita Chang-Eppig (Deep As the Sky Red As the Sea)
🤩 Nina Schuyler (Afterword)
🤩 Toni Mirosevich (Spell Heaven)
🤩 Keli Dailey (Surviving San Francisco) 

ALL THE RIGHT NOTES – THE BOOK LAUNCH

June 6, 2023 @ 7:00 pm

Pinole Valley High School Performing Arts Theater

2900 Pinole Valley Rd, Pinole, CA 94564

In partnership with The Booksmith

OBERLIN COLLEGE 2023 Commencement and Milestone Reunion Weekend

May 20, 2023

Moffat Auditorium (Career Exploratory Center)
Seeley G. Mudd Center
148 W College St, Oberlin, OH 44074

Reading & book signing

 AWP | A Very Important Karaoke Party

March  10, 2023

9:00 – 10:00 pm

Hugo House – Lapis Theater

1634 11th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122

I’ll be singing some karaoke parody songs about being a writer (one of which I wrote)! Dancing might be involved…

AWP CONFERENCE & BOOKFAIR 2023

March 8–11, 2023

Seattle Convention Center

705 Pike St, Seattle, WA 98101

 

SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY: Grotto Nights (Virtual)

“Queering Up Traditionally Straight Spaces”

March 7, 2023
6:00 – 7:30 pm

ABOUT DOMINIC LIM

 Representation:

Gina Panettieri, Talcott Notch Literary

Dominic Lim’s debut novel, All the Right Notes, will be released in June 2023 by Forever (Grand Central Publishing/Hachette). His stories have appeared in The Jellyfish Review, Ghost Parachute, and Solstice Literary Magazine (as a finalist for their Annual Fiction Contest). He is a member of the Writers Grotto and is a co-host of the long-running Babylon Salon reading and performance series in San Francisco. Dominic holds a Master of Music from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, is an alum of Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music, and has sung with numerous professional early music and choral ensembles. As a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association he has performed Off-Broadway and in regional productions throughout the US. He works as a paralegal for a biotech company in the Bay Area and lives in Oakland with his loving and supportive husband, Peter, and their whiny cat, Phoebe.

 

DominicStanding

SIGN UP FOR UPDATES

I will email you announcements of my upcoming events so you can stay in the loop. Be sure to drop your name and email in the fields below: