On the Cusp is a regular series I do on this blog, comprising an interview with another writer who’s about to become a debut novelist. I send them the standard list of ten questions and ask them to please pick five, and to also answer the bonus question, since it always leads to unexpectedly interesting answers.
This week we have the California-based Christine Ma-Kellams, who I know through an online group for new authors, and who is also being published with a Simon & Schuster imprint. Her K-pop inspired literary fiction novel (what a combination!) The Band will be out this April. Pre-order links can be found here.
Why this genre? Why this age group? Why these characters?
I think K-pop in particular and boy bands in general have this long-standing association with teenyboppers—that’s the stereotype, at least—but now more than ever, the fandom is so much more diversified in terms of age (and everything else). So I wanted to write something strictly in the adult category because I do not miss being a teenager. Literary fiction (or “upmarket”) is in my blood because I love when a beautiful sentence takes your breath away, or lives rent-free in your head for years to come. As for these particular characters, they were all inspired by my favorite K-pop band, BTS. If you’re A.R.M.Y. you’ll probably be able to guess who’s who.
What’s surprised you the most during this whole pre-publication process? What have you enjoyed the most?
Before I sold this book, I had no idea that social media was “a thing” for authors. I thought social media was for influencers, and writers, in my head, seemed like the opposite persona of an influencer: solitary; thin-skinned; introverted vs. walking, talking case studies in FOMO. But now it’s become apparent that many authors—especially debut ones—feel the need to have a social media presence at minimum, if not engage in full-on personal branding efforts.
So if I weren’t an author, I’d probably post on Instagram an average of once per year (that was my going rate forever) and never touch TikTok. But ironically, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the content on TikTok in particular—I’ve discovered bands I wouldn’t have heard about before, I’ve been amused to death. Recently, I discovered a pair of German indie rock bands (Annenmaykantereit; Giant Rooks) and a London street busker (Luke Silva) on the platform that are inspiring the new novel I just started writing. Their music is that good, it almost sends me into an existential crisis. That feeling when you’re convinced your heart is going to burst when you’re listening to a song? For which the only antidote is to just follow the feeling and see where it takes you no matter where it goes (in my case, even if it takes me down the road of writing a second novel about a totally different band, from an entirely different part of the world, set under a whole new set of extenuating and drastic circumstances).
Any plans yet, for publication day?
I’ll be doing my launch at the Barnes and Noble in Torrance on April 19 at 6pm. There’ll be reading, signing, and tons of book swag!
What’s next?
I have another novel that’s actually the prequel to The Band that I wrote before this one. In it, two mixed-race couples on the eve of their seventh anniversary confront the age-old lull of their marriages by attempting polyamory, ultimately proving that nothing destroys quite like desire. I also have a linked short story collection centered around the love lives of anti-heroes that contains many of the pieces I’ve published in literary magazines. And because I can’t help myself, I’ve started writing something new too.
Most writers on their path to publication think about giving up at some point. Was there anything that made you feel this way? What kept you going?
At the risk of sounding too cocky, I have to say: never. I have unstable self-esteem about everything except my writing. It’s my favorite thing to do; it’s also the thing I’m best at (at least relative to my other talents).
Bonus question: Is there anything else you wanted a chance to talk about?
This sort of relates to the last question about what keeps me going. I just have to say: watching other writers succeed is my greatest teacher. I don’t have an MFA; I’ve never taken a creative writing class. So everything I know about writing I learned by either doing it myself or watching someone else do it. When I discover an author do something that’s never been done before, or execute a story in some kind of brilliant new way—there’s no better inspiration than that. Even if they don’t do it perfectly, that, too, is a lesson in what works and what doesn’t.
That’s part of the reason I love discovering debuts myself as a reader—sometimes it delights and other times it disappoints, but either way I walk away convinced of something new.
Lisa Tirreno 