Meet Dorina.
why she writes
Happy AANHPI & APIDA Heritage month! All month, I’ll be featuring phenomenal humans from the Asian diaspora, along with a snapshot of their creative work. Each of these friends is someone I treasure deeply and think you should know, learn from, support, and follow.
Meet Dorina Kailani Lazo Gilmore-Young.
Why I Write Books
by Dorina Kailani Lazo Gilmore-Young
My fingers float across the smooth book pages as a kaleidoscope of colorful illustrations dance before me. Kailani’s Gift. Here she is - my book baby. Finally.
Seated at my feet and in rows of chairs around the room, are kids and families eager for a book reading. I see my dad, donning his Filipino barong, and my Italian mama with a proud smile that turns up at the corners of her mouth. There is a flurry of excitement spreading throughout the room. In my pink floral dress with signature puffy sleeves, I feel like Kailani with butterflies dancing the tinikling in my tummy.
I first wrote this manuscript 14 years ago as a sequel to my first illustrated picture book, Cora Cooks Pancit. My editor was interested, but through a series of events that publisher got bought out by another and the story was set aside.
I sent children’s manuscripts to other editors, but received rejection letter after rejection letter. Some editors encouraged me that the stories were good, but not the right fit for them. I worked with a reputable agent for two years, but she couldn’t land any contracts for me either. We parted on good terms but she knew she didn’t have any contacts interested in multicultural books, and especially not the specific niche of Filipino-American or mixed-race stories.
Month after month, I attended meetings with my writing group. My friends signed multiple contracts, and I genuinely celebrated with them. The disappointment deep in my heart stung. In the quiet, I questioned why God would give me inspiration for these children’s stories and then let them sit in a file.
Then one January day – eleven years after my first picture book was published – I received a message from a children’s book editor through Instagram. She said she was interested in talking to me about writing more books. My heart leaped.
Was this the meeting I had been waiting for all those years?
My agent and I met with the editor and discovered she was interested in so many of the themes and types of stories I had been writing for years. She valued the stories I valued. I didn’t have to convince her to embrace my ideas. She was already on board.
Eventually, she invited me to meet with the editorial board. I tried to hold back the tears as they praised my writing and creativity. They offered me a two-book contract with interest in some of my other book ideas as well.
The first book they published was Chasing God’s Glory, which released in April 2023. This book carries my heart message that we are all invited to chase after God’s glory through our everyday experiences.
The second book contract was for Kailani’s Gift, which released April 2024. I reframed the story with a new little girl, but with the same nod to Filipino-American culture and still including the traditional Filipino dance, the tinikling. Kailani’s Gift is a celebration of family, Filipino heritage, and dance that showcases the value of patience, perseverance, and blessing others with your gifts and talents. As Kailani watches her siblings practice a traditional Filipino dance for their grandparents' anniversary party, she longs to join them. But keeping up with the rhythm and hopping in time with the beats of the tinikling is much harder than Kailani imagined! With Daddy's help, Kailani practices the motions of the dance step by step. But will she be able to learn the tinikling in time to surprise her Lolo and Lola? I was thrilled when my publisher Waterbrook Multnomah Kids (part of Penguin Random House) also offered a contract to award-winning illustrator Lynnor Bontigao. I’ve admired Lynnor’s work from afar and love how her illustrations are colorful, imaginative, and true to her own Filipino-American heritage. What a gift to collaborate with someone so passionate like me about seeing our culture celebrated through good kids literature.
Waiting can be so hard. And when waiting extends beyond months and years it can feel downright demoralizing.
And sometimes you wait for something for so long it feels surreal when it finally arrives.
When I was a child I was a voracious reader. I was always looking for myself in the pages of books. And while I certainly found ways to connect with characters like Lucy, Jo March, Meg Murry, Anne Shirley, Harriet and Ramona Quimby, I didn’t see anyone who looked like me. These characters were not eating lumpia and puto. They were not trying to tame their curly, island-girl hair or wondering how to process racial microaggressions. They were not grappling with their mixed-race cultural identities in the way I was.
There was an unspoken longing rising up in me.
When I started writing books for kids and pursuing a masters of fine arts in children’s literature, I knew I wanted to publish stories for kids like me.
In the revisions for Waterbrook Multnomah Kids, I named my main character Kailani to celebrate my Polynesian heritage. My birth name was Dorina Kailani Lazo, but when I married Shawn the county clerk told me I could not keep my middle name Kailani and last name Lazo Gilmore and add Shawn’s name Young. They couldn’t handle so many names. I wanted to keep my Filipino last name Lazo. I also wanted to stand in solidarity with my children, whose last name was Gilmore, honoring their daddy in heaven. Embracing my new husband and the next chapter of my life was also important to me. Alas, Kailani was not added to my marriage certificate and won’t appear on my passport or other IDs. The clerk told me it was too many names.
This little book keeps the legacy alive of my name and mixed heritage alive. My Hawaiian name Kailani means “heavenly daughter of the sea.” This name on the cover of my book is a reminder to me that though I have experienced the ebb and flow of publishing over the last 15 years, my stories still matter. They always mattered.
Last November, I had the opportunity to preach at a live event called Someday is Here for Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Christian women. My friend Vivian Mabuni and our leadership team carefully curated this weekend with speakers, workshops, vendors, and a worship team that featured AANHPI sisters. I loved getting to be a part of planning this event but also participating as a preacher and poet, encouraging the women.
As I stood on the stage, I looked out into the crowd. My eyes chased down the long tables adorned with flowers and rested on my own daughters with their chai latte freckled skin and eyes that kiss in the corners. My eyes bounced to my niece who glowed with anticipation. Dozens of other mamas, grandmas, daughters and aunties were there in the audience, poised and ready to learn and grow. My oldest daughter was serving in the tech booth, using her gifts and talents. My friend Vivian’s daughter helped lead her older aunties like me in worship of our Risen King.
I could feel the gravity of the moment like a wave cresting in my heart. When I was a teenager grappling with my identity as a mixed-race Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Christian woman, I didn’t have anything like this. I didn’t have a space where I felt like I truly belonged, where my presence was not too niche or token.
And this is why I write books. This is why I speak and preach and plan. This is why we all need to think about ways to build longer tables and throw open more doors. It’s for the next generation. It’s for my daughters, and eventually their daughters. And it’s for you and me. This is the gift we can offer the world
Dorina Kailani Lazo Gilmore-Young is a mixed-race, multi-published author, remarried widow, teacher, mentor and mother to three daughters. She is passionate about helping people discover God’s glory on life’s unexpected trails and flourish in their God-given callings. She lives in Central California with her family. When she’s not out running trails, you will find her at the table, savoring her food and welcoming conversation. Check out her newest books - Kailani’s Gift, for kids and her devotional journal, Breathing Through Grief, for adults.
Find Dorina and her work, and follow her, here:
Author of Cora Cooks Pancit, Kailani's Gift, Breathing Through Grief, Walk Run Soar, and more.
Speaker for conferences, retreats, class visits, and more.
Podcast host for Eat Pray Run.
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