We chat with author Jenna Lee-Yun about The Last Rhee Witch and the Nine-Tailed Fox, which is the sequel to The Last Rhee Witch and packed with creatures straight out of Korean folklore. Who’s ready for winter camp alongside a gumiho, a dokkaebi, and several witches?
PLUS we have an excerpt to share with you at the end of the interview!
Hi, Jenna! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m a clinical psychologist and children’s author writing stories featuring Korean American characters navigating complex emotional and social landscapes—often for the first time and with some magic thrown in. My books explore themes of identity, relationships, morality, and resilience. I live in Washington state with my husband, son, daughter, and mini-goldendoodle named Boba.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Although I discovered the joy of reading as a young child, I didn’t begin writing my own stories until much later in life. I had moved to New York City for graduate school, and perhaps it was the change in environment that helped open up my perspective and foster a newfound creativity, because the idea to write a book appeared one day, out of the blue! That’s when I wrote my first novel from start to finish over a couple of months. Then, I set that story aside to finish my doctorate program and start my career. It wasn’t until about ten years later that I returned to writing—in earnest and with the goal of publishing.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Young Elites by Marie Lu
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Vegetarian by Han Kang
The Last Rhee Witch and the Nine-Tailed Fox is the second installment in your Last Rhee Witch series and it’s out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Winter, Magic, Mystery, Friendship, Deception
For those who haven’t picked up the first book, what can readers expect?
The Last Rhee Witch combines all the fun and drama of a sleepaway camp (from campfires and bunkbeds to frenemies and enemies) with inescapable monsters from Korean lore, such as the gwishin (ghost) haunting the campgrounds, and the dokkaebi (goblin) that murdered that gwishin in the first place, who is now hunting his new victim at camp.
And for those who have, what’s to come?
In the sequel, The Last Rhee Witch and the Nine-Tailed Fox, readers are introduced to a new creature from Korean lore called a gumiho, also known as a nine-tailed fox, that hides among the campers with its shapeshifting ability. Ronnie and her friends must uncover and stop the hungry gumiho before it consumes the entire camp—friends and frenemies alike.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?
I’ll admit that when it comes to stories, I love a good villain—maybe more than the hero! So it should come as no surprise when I tell you how much I enjoyed writing the gumiho. In The Last Rhee Witch and the Nine-Tailed Fox, I adapted the gumiho from the stories I grew up with to make it appropriate for younger readers. In doing so, I ended up creating a character arc that I hadn’t expected at the start. I am so pleased with how the gumiho is depicted in this book, and I hope readers will enjoy meeting Gumi and joining her on this unexpected journey!
Did you face any challenges whilst writing the sequel? How did you overcome them?
The hardest part of writing the sequel was figuring out how to tell a story that was as much about a secondary character, Olivia, who is a beautiful, fashionable, Black ballerina, as it was about the main character, Ronnie, who is, like me, Korean American. Figuring that out led to exploring all the secondary characters more deeply and fleshing out their character arcs, which was both challenging and a lot of fun! I hope diving deeper into secondary characters this time around makes for a more meaningful and enjoyable reading experience!
What’s next for you?
I have several works in progress at various stages of development, including two contemporary middle-grade novels that are being co-authored with some of my favorite, most talented authors I know, a young adult fantasy, an adult contemporary, and an adult psychological horror. I think it’s apparent in my writing interests that I read widely, across genres and age categories, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
I have preordered so many books coming out later this year, but a few I’m super excited about that all happen to release in August 2025 are Ali Terese’s sophomore contemporary middle grade novel, VOTE FOR THE G.O.A.T., Joanne Yi’s young adult contemporary debut, ALL THE TOMORROWS AFTER, and TEO’S DURUMI, the sequel to Elaine Cho’s debut space opera, OCEAN’S GODORI. If you haven’t preordered these, I urge you to do so now!
EXCERPT
FOUR
NOT-MOM
A gwishin of any origin is the disembodied soul of the dead, cursed to roam the earth with an unfulfilled life purpose. However, there are two key differences in witch gwishin. Although they too seek to fulfill an unmet purpose, their severe memory loss impedes their progress. Further hampering their e orts is the presence of a magical tether that anchors them to the scene of their death.
—“Witch Gwishin,” Haunting the Haunted (grimoire) within French Cuisine (cookbook)
“Mom? Is that you?” Ronnie asked, barely breathing, heart hammering, and mind reeling.
It was like a picture come to life. In fact, it was a very specific picture that came to mind—one in which her mom was wearing the same coral-colored linen smocked midi-dress with wide, fluttery sleeves. The picture was taken on a summer day in the Rhee gardens, and a very young Ronnie had been by her mom’s side, holding her hand. It was Ronnie’s favorite picture of them.
But now it was close to midnight, about twenty degrees out, and they were shin-deep in snow . . . and her mom was in a summer dress. A dress that lifted up slightly in the back, swaying side to side as though it concealed something that moved of its own accord.
Ronnie took a step forward, squinting. “Mom?”
“Ronnie.”
She sounded exactly as she did in the Rememberings. That was all it took to send Ronnie running into her mom’s arms. She couldn’t believe it—it was her mom! And she wasn’t a gwishin this time. She was solid. She was alive.
They pulled apart, and Ronnie looked up at her mom’s face: mono-lidded eyes, freckles across the bridge of her small nose and the tops of her cheeks, and a mouth that turned up at the corners whether she smiled or not. This was her mom’s face, but the longer Ronnie stared, the more she began to doubt what she was seeing with her own eyes. Because her mom died over twelve years ago. If her mom was alive, she’d have aged. And if she wasn’t alive, then she’d be a gwishin, who Ronnie had released from this world.
Her mom smiled hesitantly. “Ronnie, is everything all right?”
Ronnie took a step back, her heart sinking. “You’re not my mom . . . are you?”
Not-Mom’s smile faltered. “I may not be your mom exactly. But I’m not not your mom either. I’m the mom you know. The one you remember. The spirit of your mom that is with you always.”
Disappointment dug a crater in Ronnie’s heart like a sharp and heavy shovel. For a moment, she had actually believed her mom was back. “Then who—or what—are you?”
“I’m the living embodiment of your mom,” Not-Mom said, the back of her skirt fluttering strangely. “I could sense it, you know. Your desire for more time with your mom. You called for her. You hoped for her.”
“But you’re not her.” Ronnie pulled back another step and shot a glance over her shoulder. All she saw was darkness behind her. Why had she separated from the group?
“No, I’m not.” Hearing her mom’s voice had a calming effect on Ronnie even though she knew it was just an imitation. “Consider me like a living memory. What you see and hear from me is a reflection of your mom’s gi. You hold it within you. Even after death, a part of her is always with you.”
Ronnie gasped. “That’s what my mom said before I released her!”
Not-Mom bobbed her head once. “I can mimic her because of her gi, which you shared with me when you called out to me.”
Ronnie considered Not-Mom’s Photoshop appearance.
“Gi? Is that like some kind of artificial intelligence?”
Not-Mom’s head tilted as she thought about that. “Gi is life energy, which is present in all living things on this earth. Like how all humans and animals have blood. It serves a similar function, but there are differences that make your blood yours, specifically. In this case, I think that your AI analogy can work. So while I’m not your mom, I’m like her, because I’m created from her gi that remains within you.” She glanced at Ronnie’s right wrist.
“The combination of the magicked gi from you and your mom is what makes that Remembering bracelet work as well. Only I am much, much better.”
That particular Remembering bracelet held her mom’s memory of when she was about sixteen years old and talking about crushes with Sam’s mom, Lia, one summer. It had been an unbearably hot summer day, but Min-Young and Lia had found a shady spot in the gardens. Ronnie thought it was a good memory to dip into on especially cold days—or nights.
Not-Mom’s eyes gleamed, and Ronnie noticed for the first time that this was one thing that did not match the photograph of her mom. Her mom had light brown eyes, but this figure’s eyes glowed a deep orange. “It means a lot to you, doesn’t it?” Not-Mom asked. She sounded . . . hungry
Ronnie ran a finger over the threads, soft and worn. “Other than my magic, these bracelets are the last thing I have that connect me to, um, my mom.” It felt awkward talking about her mom in front of someone who looked just like her.
Not-Mom’s strange eyes lingered on the bracelet a moment more before she looked up with a gentle smile. “You know, Ronnie, I can help you get what you want.”
