From the author of the “genuinely funny” and “delightful” Loathe at First Sight (NPR), a young Korean American woman’s journey to finding a new career and new love means learning to embrace the awkward and unexpected – exploring familial expectations, finding your voice, and unimaginably falling for your childhood rival.
We chat with author Suzanne Park about her latest book release So We Meet Again, along with book recommendations, writing, and more!
Hi, Suzanne! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m a second-generation Korean American who was born and raised in Tennessee. I take pride in being a Korean Tennessean, even though I live in Los Angeles now. Careerwise, my formal training was in marketing, but I also performed stand up comedy for over 10 years. It took me a while to figure out I wanted to be an author, but now that I’m here, I know this was what I was meant to do!
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I had always wanted to become a humor writer (is “Humorist” a real job title these days?), and through a series of random events, I tried out stand-up comedy, thinking that was a good start, and it definitely helped me learn how to tell comedic stories with a punch. My career was going well, but over the years it didn’t feel like it was what I was put on Earth to do. I enjoyed stand-up — not the performance part necessarily, but definitely the joke writing. Some people say performing gets easier each time you go up on stage, but for me it never felt comfortable, even after performing at hundreds of shows. I was good at faking it, though. After shifting gears, I took a lot of writing classes in the evenings after work and after writing a collection of comedic essays and a few poorly-thought-through sitcoms, I drafted my first novel.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
The first book I remember reading is MORRIS THE MOOSE GOES TO SCHOOL— it was the first time I remember seeing humor in a book. ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY by David Sedaris is the book that made me want to be an author, and the book I can’t stop thinking about is PACHINKO by Min Jin Lee.
Your latest novel, So We Meet Again, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
“Food, finding yourself, falling in love” would be the publisher-approved version. I wrote this book to shed light on how women are poorly treated on Wall Street…so those five words in the view of the main character would probably be “FU*K THIS SH*T, I’M DONE!”
What can readers expect?
A comedic comeback story about a Korean-American woman who navigates a new chapter in her life while falling for her childhood rival. Publishers Weekly reviewed SO WE MEET AGAIN recently and said the following about what you can expect: “Jess flourishes as a budding entrepreneur, rediscovering how important her cultural roots and family are to her; meanwhile, she slowly comes to terms with the fact that dashing Daniel may be the perfect fit for her after all. Park is a master in crafting comedic yet endearing moments that become the foundation for intricate character development.”
Where did the inspiration for So We Meet Again come from?
I have several friends who work in finance, and over drinks one night they told me about some of the racist and sexist things that had happened to them in their Wall Street jobs. When I left the restaurant I knew I needed to write about this.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
I wrote this entire novel in the pandemic, right after writing my YA book SUNNY SONG WILL NEVER BE FAMOUS (which I also wrote in 2020). When I think back to those days, when I had two looming deadlines, the image that comes to mind is the gif/meme of the dog who is drinking coffee while surrounded by a ring of fire, saying “This is fine.” I took baby steps when I started writing in quarantine. First, I wrote only 100-150 words a day for a few weeks, then 200, 500, and eventually ramped up to 1200 words a day which seems to be my maximum daily word count. By starting with small word count goals, it helped me get my projects turned in on time.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I had a great time writing about Nashville, my hometown. It made me a little homesick! I also really loved writing both absurd and emotional scenes between Jessie and her mom.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
The best advice is to celebrate your wins. I take time out now to celebrate all the smaller milestones because those are true accomplishments, and some can also be stepping stones to bigger wins. I tend to tune out bad writing advice so I don’t have any to share.
What’s next for you?
I have a YA holiday romantic comedy coming out in fall 2022 about two teen enemies who work at the local mall who find out its being torn down and have to work together to save it. I also have an adult comedic coming-of-age novel coming out in spring 2023 about a woman who finds out through a job-related background check that she never completed her college degree and has to go back to earn her final credits. There, she finds out her grad student TA is her old college boyfriend.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
I loved PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION by Emily Henry, THE SOULMATE EQUATION by Christina Lauren, INCENSE AND SENSIBILITY by Sonali Dev, Helen Hoang’s THE HEART PRINCIPLE, and currently reading Alexa Martin’s MOM JEANS AND OTHER MISTAKES and enjoying the ride!
