Ever since watching Sliding Doors back in the late 90s, I’ve been fascinated by forking narratives. I don’t know if I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t love that “what-if” spark–what if I chose this job over that one? Who would I have met? Who would I have married? Who would I be? That last question, I believe, is the kicker–we all only get to live this one life, so our choices are our choices. Only in the realm of fiction can we really be in someone else’s head, and writing my fifth novel, Lines, and its twinned/entwined plots was doubling the fun.
Huge thanks to Jae-Ha Kim for giving me a chance to talk about one of my favorite subjects — travel! Syndicated through the Tribune Content Agency, this article will be posted on various outlets. Read on!
F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote that “there are no second acts in American lives.” That may well be true, but you know what? There most certainly is a second act for an American book, or in my case, two books.
Skin Deep and Deep Roots, my series of mystery novels, was published through Polis Books. Skin Deep came out in 2020, during the pandemic — which made promotions difficult. Deep Roots was supposed to be published two years later, but it took another year, and by then, Polis was a shell of itself. This spring, its doors were officially shuttered, and I thought that was the unfortunate end-of-life for Siobhan O’Brien, my intrepid private eye.
Except that wasn’t the case at all. Jason Pinter, Polis’s publisher, was able to find a new home for my novels, and goodness, what a beautiful home it is. To really drive the point, the books themselves got a makeover. The new editions can even be preordered from Datura Books, an imprint of Angry Robot, a UK-based publisher who distributes through Penguin Random House. Voila!
The books won’t come out until June 2025, but they can already be pre-ordered:
Of course, they will be available via the usual outlets such as Bookshop, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble as we near the pub date.
You can read the official news in Publishers Weekly — there’s even a quote from me at the end of the article. Happiness and authorship are rare combos for me, but there are very bright days like this one that makes the struggle worthwhile.
Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Miramax, HBO, Fine Line Features, and Universal Studios.
I’m in a shoe store, trying to buy sneakers. (The last time I bought sneakers in a store…I guess Foot Locker, most likely…was maybe thirty years ago, if not longer. And yet here I am.) Nothing fits — my feet are too wide, not to mention the prominent bunion on my right foot (which is unfortunately not a dreamed-up condition!). And there’s Paul, looking at me with sad, understanding eyes. Then speaks in that beautiful raspy voice of his.
“You know, I’m about to break for lunch, and I know you’re busy, but I think we can take care of this. My father is a podiatrist and we can just go over there, and he’ll see you and fix you up.”
(FYI, Paul’s father in real life was definitely not a shoe salesman.)
So we go. And there’s Mr. Bart Giamatti, standing behind a gas grill, cooking up a variety of meats. I’m lost for words — why is the podiatrist not…podiatristing, and instead, grilling? But now that I’m here, what can I do? I wait, because that’s what you do in a doctor’s office. You wait for the doctor to see you. Eventually.
I wait a long, long time. So long that I eventually wake up from this dream.
As the piece below informs, May is indeed Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month — and how lucky am I to have a friend who also happens to be an avid reader at NHPR, New Hampshire Public Radio? Very lucky indeed. Huge thanks to Jim for including my first novel, Everything Asian, to this extremely storied list! To paraphrase Wayne and Garth, I am not worthy!
Everything Asian by Sung J. Woo
My friend Sung emigrated from South Korea to New Jersey as a young man. So has the protagonist of this novel. The funny moments and the sad ones will be familiar to anyone who’s no more than a remove or two away from the immigrant experience – which is most of us. And anybody who’s ever cringed at their parents’ behavior will see their teen years brought to life in this slyly serious picaresque.
Happy Valentine’s Day to all! To celebrate this day filled with roses, chocolates, and overpriced dining out, let me share a bit of poetic history with you. You can choose to receive this “gift” of mine via my Substack or my Medium. 💘
Turns out there were a whole bunch of novels and short story collections by Korean American authors last year, quite likely the most ever — and I was one of them! Super cool news — read all about it.
