We chat with author Christine Ma-Kellams about The Band, which is a whip-smart, darkly funny, and biting debut that follows a psychologist with a savior complex who offers shelter to a recently cancelled K-pop idol on the run.
Hi, Christine! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m an Asian American author and social psychologist based in LA who works as a college professor in the Bay Area (at San Jose State). When I’m not writing stories or flying to work, I like to bake, watch stand-up comedy, and/or discover new music on Tiktok.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I moved around a bunch as a kid—I was born in China, then lived in Puerto Rico before settling across different states in the continental U.S.—so it took me a long time to learn English. But even in ESL class, as soon as I could put a sentence together, I was writing down that when I grew up, I wanted to be an author. It just took me multiple degrees in unrelated fields and two more decades of life experience to figure out how to make that into a reality.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Little Red Hen, the very memorable fable about how not to be a mooch
- The one that made you want to become an author: This is How You Lose Her, by Junot Diaz
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong
Your debut novel, The Band, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
International Kpop thriller, but funny
What can readers expect?
A snarky ride, replete with footnotes and social commentary, following a cancelled Kpop star whose escape to a therapist’s house in America creates more problems than solutions. From fans and stans to mental health and ethnic conflict, nothing is off the table when it comes to The Band’s journey from global music sensation to the target of an award show incident whose aftermath becomes the trial of the century.
Where did the inspiration for The Band come from?
Once upon a time, I was a diehard N’Sync fan. 20 years later, I discovered BTS. By the time I found out about A.R.M.Y., my entire worldview changed about music idol-dom and what it’s capable of—how exactly it can change the world. Unlike the fans of yore, modern day fandoms seem be far more powerful identities. I’d argue that they’re up there next to race, gender, and religion (Swifties, like Armies, might be able to attest to this). So I thought it’d be really interesting to build a fictional universe on this premise.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved crafting the five members of The Band and using real-world Kpop idols as their inspiration. And spoiler alert—there’s an incident at a musical awards show at the end of the novel that, albeit tragic, was really interesting to research and and write because it involved coming up with twisted ways things could go terribly wrong when people least expect it.
This is your debut published novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
Convoluted! Back when I was a postdoc, I wrote a nonfiction book on psychology that I signed with a literary agent for. She wasn’t able to sell it, but a few years later, Rowman & Littlefield approached me at a psychology conference and asked me to write a book for them, so that’s what the once-rejected manuscript morphed into. After I wrote my novel (that’s the prequel to The Band), I signed with another literary agent, but she wanted me to hire an outside editor out-of-pocket before going on submission, which I didn’t have the budget for and wasn’t comfortable with. Then the pandemic struck. During that period, I wrote The Band, and found my current agent—Emmy Higdon Nordstrom at Westwood Creative Artists. They sold the book at record speed: upon going on submission, it was a matter of days.
What’s next for you?
My editor currently has the prequel novel to The Band, along with a short story collection about the love lives of anti-heroes.
Lastly, are there any book releases that you’re looking forward to picking up this year?
I just started reading Sloane Crosley’s Grief is for People this past week after waiting breathlessly for its release. Already I can tell that this woman can write about the phonebook (do Gen Zers even know what that is?) or doing her own taxes and I would be excited to read it. Crosley is so good at being funny and tragic at the same time. She is my latest hero.
