Coffee with a Canine: Me and Koda

We’re almost at the end of book release week, and what better way to celebrate that than with Koda (BTW, a whippet does make an appearance in Deep Roots!)?

He’s our little whippet, and if you want to know more about him and me, Coffee with a Canine is the place. Thanks for reading, as always.

Get To Know You ~ Siobhan O’Brien

Siobhan here. I find it hard to believe that somebody wants to know more about me, but this very nice lady Dru Ann asked, so I said why not. But then I saw the number of questions and I was like, Jeez Louise, this is a lot of questions! Luckily, I was in my car, watching a door for the last three hours (third stakeout this week), so I had time to kill, I suppose. And as I kept writing my answers into my notepad, I must say, I enjoyed doing this quite a bit. Anyway, here you go. It’s back to the grind for me.

Get To Know You ~ Siobhan O’Brien by Sung J. Woo

Shepherd, 1 of 3: “The best debut novels by Korean American writers”

Big thanks to Shepherd, a new website that proudly states its noble intention right there next to its logo: Discover the best books. The amazing Ben Fox is the man behind the site, and here’s my contribution to their noble mission, The best debut novels by Korean American writers. As my post states, this is my first of three “best of” lists! Stay tuned for the next batch.

5/22/2021 2PM ET: In-Person Jersey City Free Public Library Event — Yes, In Person!

I almost can’t believe I’m typing these words, but folks, I’ll be at the Jersey City Free Public Library next Saturday, 5/22/2021, at 2pm. Like physically. Like I will drive and park and walk over to Hamilton Park! I will not be sitting in front of a laptop. Me, human Sung, will be at the park to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month. If you are in the area, please stop by! They have a few more programs after me, so stick around. Check it out!

AAPI Heritage Month Celebration at Hamilton Park: Author Discussion with Sung J. Woo

May 22 @ 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm EDT

Sung J. Woo, author of Everything Asian (2009), Love Love (2015), and Skin Deep (2020) will talk about his experience growing up Korean American and his journey as a writer.

Join us for this event at Hamilton Park! Meet us by the gazebo (center of park) for some library fun.

Masks are required for all participants above the age of 2. Social distancing will be respected.

Hamilton Park, 25 W Hamilton Pl, Jersey City, NJ 07302, https://goo.gl/maps/jC6rMveEBM3jTxz79

[library event link]

And the Lefty for the Best Humorous Mystery Novel Goes to…

…one of six people! That’s right, folks — next Saturday, the winner will be announced the nominees will be presented. I think it’s quite likely that the Lefty Award Ceremony this year will resemble the Oscars themselves — that is, the nominees will be inside their own personal, socially-distanced rectangles and the awards will be given out equally remotely. (To be announced in April.)

I’ll be on for sure — and you can watch, if you feel like it! Here’s how.

The 411:
https://leftcoastcrime.org/2022/Awards.html

The Zoom registration link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0mHuzPVaTpymPCFj5-EHkw

Buy the books:
https://bookshop.org/lists/2021-lefty-award-nominees

Haiku and Reviews: Saga, To Catch a Thief, Rear Window

A Horn and a Wing
star-crossed lovers in wartime
trying to save their child.

I don’t read comic books often, but I think it’s about time I started to, because if they are anything like Saga, I’ve been missing out big time.  Saga is written by Brian K. Vaughan and drawn by Fiona Staples, and it’s been going on for years (the title of the series is very apt) — since 2012.  I just caught up to the last issue, #42, and it is a humdinger.  Even though this story takes place in another world, in space, the kind of stuff you’d expect from comic books, it is extremely accessible and very much a story for our times.  It’s got elements of Romeo and Juliet and Star Wars, and it’s just an epic, epic story.  Great characters, exciting storylines, what we love about fiction.

She drives her car as
if the road does not exist.
All for a picnic.

A single suitcase.
Pink gown, pink slippers, for night.
Then we hear the scream.

Old movies, these two.  Both by Alfred Hitchcock, and both starring Grace Kelly.  To Catch a Thief felt a bit more dated than Rear Window; it is definitely the lesser of the two films, though still quite entertaining, especially the scene where Kelly drives Cary Grant to a picnic lunch.  Even though I’d seen parts of Rear Window before, I never actually sat down to watch the whole movie from start to finish, and I must say, I think it’s my new favorite Hitchcock (Vertigo was my previous #1).  Not only are the lines hilarious (especially Thelma Ritter’s Stella but really, all the characters), the movie is really about movies — how we all are voyeurs when we watch.  The script is impeccable, the balance between humor and suspense just right.  Also, there are times when Grace Kelly here is so incredibly beautiful that I almost had to avert my eyes!  What great casting — she had to be the perfect woman, and she delivers in form and function.  This is a very difficult part for Jimmy Stewart to play, too, as he’s stuck in that wheelchair and so much of his acting is subtle expressions.  There are so many scenes where he has no one to act against, just himself with his camera or his binoculars, reacting to what he sees.  Rear Window is just a gem of a movie.  Roger Ebert, as always, does a fantastic job of reviewing this film.  Watch it, and then read him.

Interview in Slice Magazine

The lovely folks at Slice were kind enough to conduct this interview with both myself and artist Dina Brodsky.  Last fall, they published our work, Desert Places, in the magazine, and now you can read it online in addition to the interview.  Here’s their intro:

After all of the pieces for an issue of Slice have been edited, we send them over to our art director, Jennifer K. Beal Davis, who then strikes up a dialogue between art and prose. Jennifer and associate art director Matt Davis have a knack for selecting artwork that invites the reader to look at a story, an essay, or a poem in an unexpected way.

When writer Sung J. Woo mentioned that he’d written some stories that were inspired by Dina Brodsky’s paintings, we were immediately intrigued. What if we could capture an even more deliberate conversation between writer and artist?

We published “Desert Places,” which is posted below, in Issue 19 of Slice. What follows is an interview between Sung and Dina about their collaborative creative process.

Read on!

[link]

Columbia Journal: Cycling Guide to Lilliput (11-13)

Check out the latest batch of my ekphrastic endeavor in Columbia Journal, the magazine published by Columbia University School of the Arts Graduate Writing program.  It’s available online, three little interrelated stories inspired by the fantastic paintings of Dina Brodsky.  FYI, the first ten of these flash fiction stories can be found in Juked.