Ask the Author: A.H. Kim
Answered Questions (4)
A.H. Kim
Yes, absolutely, I was nervous, partly about the story but mostly about their critical reaction. Both my brother and sister-in-law are terrific readers and I thought maybe they'd feel bad if they didn't like my writing. But they couldn't have been more supportive both in terms of the story and writing. Although the basic set-up -- brother with wife in prison -- and some of the prison details were drawn from reality, most of the juicy stuff (Big Pharma, whistleblower lawsuit, the luxe houses in Princeton and St. Michaels) is pure fiction. Thank you for asking!
A.H. Kim
A Good Family is inspired by my personal experience supporting my older brother and his children while his wife was serving time at Alderson Women's Prison. I had been frustrated by my inability to get an agent interested in my first book, a heartfelt YA novel, and decided I would try to write a juicy page-turner that no one could resist. Orange is the New Black had recently come out on Netflix, and I realized my insider's view into women's prison could form the basis for a compelling family drama.
A.H. Kim
Perseverance and perspective. I was 47 when I decided that I wanted to be a published author. I set my 50th birthday as my target. Looking back, of course that was a laughable goal, but I think setting goals -- even laughable ones -- is helpful. After I wrote my first book, I sent out a lot of queries and received mostly silence and a few rejections. When my 50th birthday came and went without any hope of being published, I started on another book, which ended up being the one that got me an agent and book deal. I'll be 55 when my debut comes out. I missed my deadline by 5 years, but when you think about it, 8 years from dream to reality is pretty phenomenal.
A.H. Kim
I'm going to be in conversation with Lydia Kang and Tosca Lee on July 12, so their books Opium & Absinthe (Lydia) and The Line Between (Tosca) are on the top of my TBR pile. I bought a bunch of books in May for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (check out my Instagram: ahkim.writer), and I'm catching up on those. And finally, I'm working my way down the the list of debut books at 2020debuts.com -- an amazing source of great reads.
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