An Interview with Angie Kim

Angie Kim is the debut author of the national bestseller Miracle Creek, a literary courtroom drama that has been named an IndieNext and LibraryReads pick, a Best Book of 2019 So Far by Time Magazine and Amazon, a Washington Post Summer Reads selection, and a Top 10 AppleBooksDebuts of 2019. Her writing has appeared in Vogue, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Salon, Slate, and numerous literary journals. Angie Kim moved from Seoul, Korea, to Baltimore as a preteen, and attended Stanford University and Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Please enjoy my interview with Angie Kim.

How do you describe your occupation?

Now that my debut novel is out in the world, I’d describe myself as an author.

Talk us through a typical day for you…

Drive my 10-year old son to school, read and respond to emails, write (or procrastinate by checking on social media), drive my kids around to various activities with reading or social media while I’m waiting for them in the car, dinner with the family, read or watch TV with my husband, read in bed until well after midnight.

What are you reading at the moment and what made you want to read it?

I’m reading Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips. I first heard about it months ago because Julia Phillips is a fellow debut author who’s become a close friend. But more than anything, I wanted to read it because it sounded amazing. It’s a literary mystery (my favourite kind of read) about two sisters who go missing on the remote volcanic peninsula of Kamchatka, with each chapter being a different perspective about the ways in which this disappearance impacted various people in the community. I’m loving it so far!

Can you remember the first book you read by yourself?

I grew up in Korea, and the first book I remember reading (and re-reading and re-reading) is a book called Candy. (I don’t remember the author’s name). Candy is an orphan girl who grows up in a UK orphanage, I believe. Her best friend Annie gets adopted by a wealthy family, and the story is about what happens to their relationship when Candy ends up being sent to the same exclusive boarding school Annie attends.

Are you a page folder or a bookmarker?

Bookmarker for sure. Page folding horrifies me!

When did you fall in love with reading?

I don’t remember a time when I didn’t love reading. My mom says I learned to read when I was two, and I loved reading the same books over and over again. (We were very poor in Korea so we couldn’t afford many books.)

Can you remember the first story you ever wrote?

I remember writing a sci-fi story in place of the final paper for a college class on Medical Ethics. The story was about a guy in a car accident who wakes up to find that they transplanted his brain into a woman’s body (or maybe it was vice-versa).

If you could gift yourself books at age 16 and age 25 – what would they be and why?

Age 16, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling because I love it and love re-reading the whole series but there isn’t enough time to do that every year as I’d like to do. I had a lot more free reading time as a teenager during the summers, and I would have loved reading the whole series every summer. Age 25—Visit from the A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. I think this book is what made me fall in love with short stories and literary books, and I wish I’d gotten started reading more short stories (and being inspired to write them) a lot earlier in life.

Can you talk us through your writing process, from the first spark of an idea, to having your first completed draft?

A lot of freewriting, usually handwritten in a notepad. Writing a skeletal outline. Sitting down in front of a computer and writing the first paragraph and revising that over and over again until I feel like I have the right beginning. (This could take months!) Then writing the rest of the scene, and a few more, until I realize that my outline is completely wrong. Iterative process back and forth between writing, revising the outline, writing some more, revising the outline again, and so on until the first draft is done.

For someone starting out in your career, which three books would you make required reading and why?

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, Birds of America by Lorrie Moore, and any of the 23 novels by Laura Lippman. Because writers need to read more short stories (Egan and Moore), stuff that’s hilarious (Moore), and more women (all three), especially more noir/crime fiction by women (Lippman).

If you could invite 5 authors (dead or alive) to a dinner party – who would they be and why?

Celeste Ng, R.O. Kwon, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Nicole Chung, Jimin Han, Jung Yun, and Crystal Hana Kim. (Sorry I invited 7 authors, but it’s my party!) Because I want to talk to these women about what it’s like to be an Asian-American woman in the literary field today and vent and celebrate each other. Plus, I’ve met all of them and they’re super fun and game for karaoke!

What was the last book you purchased, and why did you buy it?

I bought The Other Americans by Laila Lalami because I love her writing and because a literary murder mystery that delves into the immigrant experience is my kind of book!

What is your favourite thing about reading?

Becoming immersed in a world that feels real even when I know it’s not, and getting to know characters I feel strongly about (whether it be love or frustration or even hatred).

What’s the best book you’ve read in the last 6 months?

I read an advance draft of The Evening Hero by Marie Myung-Ok (forthcoming in late 2019 or early 2020), and it blew me away. Such a witty satire, touching, gorgeously written…I can’t say enough about it!

If you could insert yourself into any book, which would you pick and why?

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling—because it’d be fabulous to see myself as a witch. Plus, I’d be famous and everyone in the world would know my name!

What two pieces of advice would you give a young aspiring writer?

1. Read, read, read—stories and novels outside of your genre as well as within it. 2. Write the stuff you’re afraid to tell other people you think.

What is the book that you feel has had the single biggest impact on your life? What impact did it have?

This is easy. In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien. I read that book in the Cliff House in San Francisco on a blustery day when I was the only customer in that restaurant. I was a lawyer in my 20s and I’d just finished three trials. I was entranced, and I read the book from cover to cover in one sitting over a bottle of wine. I loved the experience, and when I finished, I thought how I hadn’t been that happy in a long, long time, and how my life as a lawyer in a big firm didn’t allow me any time to do things like read for pleasure. I decided that day to quit being a lawyer.

Are there any books you haven’t mentioned that you feel would make your reading list?

So, so many. But I’ll mention just two because they had a huge influence on my writing of Miracle Creek: The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks, and Mystic River by Dennis Lehane. When I was trying to decide on the structure for Miracle Creek, these two books helped me to figure out that I should use a multiple-POV approach with flashbacks woven throughout in order to explore the aftermath of a tragedy and to heighten the suspense and mystery elements.

Which book sat on your shelf are you most excited about reading next and why?

I’m so excited to read Laura Lippman’s new novel, Lady in the Lake, forthcoming July 4th this year. I have loved every single one of Laura Lippman’s novels. Every. Single. One. I can’t think of another author I feel that way about; every other author who’s written 10+ novels like she has, there is at least one book that I’ve enjoyed but didn’t LOVE. I have absolute confidence that reading her book will be a magical experience, and I can’t wait to take it out by the pool when it comes out in July!