"I read your book." | Sung J. Woo

1. If Tony Soprano is alive, and for better or worse we know his mortality will always be in question (I vote for “better” myself), he might have opened up Friday’s edition of the Ledger and read a story about a South Korean author.

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2. That’s me with my Troy Polamalu impression.  The photo was taken in Long Branch, by the piers, for a story with a rather long title:

South Korean man draws on his experience of immigrating to Jersey as basis for award-winning book and his coming to terms with his cultural differences

It’s strange to read about yourself on paper.  Mostly, what I feel is a sense of dissociation, that the person the reporter is talking about is not me.  Yet there I am, sharing the name and the visage with this character, and possessing a personal history not unlike my own.  Yes, this is my story, but in order to create the most compelling drama, stresses have been placed on certain facets of my life while other parts were minimized or not mentioned.

In addition, as a writer, what I feel is powerlessness.  I’m used to being the one in control of the written word, but in this case, I’m standing on the other side of the glass, looking in.

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3. It finally happened, as I knew it would at some point — you can now buy a copy of my book in hardcover for a penny from Amazon!  Of course shipping cost is about 400 times that amount, but hey, it’s nonetheless a genuine bargain.

The good folks at The Nervous Breakdown are currently featuring me on their home page and in the Fiction section for the following:

• my self-interview (which was a rather odd but good experience)
• an excerpt of what used to be the second chapter of Everything Asian

Last year, I drove into Brooklyn to record a segment for Bootleg Books.  It took a while for the video to be edited and for the bells and whistles to be added, but it was well worth it!  Many thanks to Jeff Rivera for interviewing me and putting it all together.

The interview I gave a little while ago has made its way to another part of the Internet, The Denver Post.  It also features a few more questions than one in the Hartford Courant, plus a gorgeous photo of Homer.  Enjoy!

A week ago, I was contacted by Contemporary Authors.  They told me I’ll be included in the next edition of the reference and asked me if I wanted to answer some questions for the sidebar part of the entry.

I have fond memories of these reference volumes.  I used CA a number of times when I wrote term papers for my English classes, both in high school and college, so to be actually listed in one is quite an honor.  True, I’ll be one of 112,000 writers listed there, but hey, I’m thrilled to have joined the fray!

And now, the questions they asked and the answers I provided.

What first got you interested in writing?

Two words, one name: Stephen King.  Back when I was a sophomore in high school, I was introduced by a friend to The Dead Zone, the first book I read purely for pleasure, and after reading King’s first short story collection, Night Shift, I attempted to write my first short story.  I’m fairly certain it featured some supernatural storyline, and I’m absolutely certain it was terrible.  But we all have to start out somewhere.

Who or what particularly influences your work?

I met Stewart O’Nan at Cornell back in 1992, when he taught my first creative writing workshop.  His editorial eye is unparalleled, and his body of work inspires me to write truthfully, to stick close to my characters.  Stewart also introduced me to Richard Yates, another writer whose literary currency was brutal, beautiful honesty.

Describe your writing process.

I write an hour before work.  On the days I’m not at work, I write from nine to noon.  But of course, life gets in the way, and sometimes the hour becomes half an hour, but I still try to sit in front of the laptop every day.

What is the most surprising thing you have learned as a writer?

There always seems to be a part – it may be as small as a sentence or as large as an entire chapter of  a novel – that seems so good, so perfect, that I won’t want to change it, even if it isn’t quite working.  But then I finally do rewrite it, and it actually turns out better than what I had before.  There’s nothing so flawlessly written that it cannot be improved.

What kind of effect do you hope your books will have?

When fiction really works, it has the power to make you forget about everything else going on in your life.  For those hours you spend reading, you’re living the life of the people in that book, a completely immersive experience, and perhaps an enlightening one, too.  That’s what I want for my readers.

I was recently interviewed for a travel Q&A by Tribune Media Services.  The piece should be making its rounds this Sunday in various newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, though the Hartford Courant gets a gold star for having it up faster than anyone:

With his critically acclaimed debut novel, “Everything Asian,” Sung J. Woo succinctly and poignantly captures a year in the life of a 12-year-old immigrant who tries to navigate life in the United States while trying to understand his estranged father. A resident of Washington, N.J., the 38-year-old author chats about his recent trip to Alaska and how he gets the best hotel deals.

[read more]

For the full text of the interview (parts that didn’t make the cut), check out the wonderful website of Jae-Ha Kim, the interviewer.

A few months ago, I gave an interview for the revamped website for Cornell’s Colleges of Arts & Sciences:

Sung Woo’s first novel, “Everything Asian,” has just been released. Yet Sung began at Cornell in the College of Engineering, “on a practical career path,” studying material science engineering. “I’ve always been decent in math,” he explains, “and I thought I could grin and bear it for four years.” He lasted one semester.

You can read the rest of it at the Alumni Profiles section.

I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by two excellent publications recently.  The first one is in Fiction Writers Review, conducted by Jeremiah Chamberlin when I was in Ann Arbor for the book festival this past May.   We gabbed for a good hour and had a grand old time about my novel and writing in general.  If you haven’t visited Fiction Writers Review, do so immediately.  The number of wonderful writers who’ve contributed so many sharp analyses about the art of fiction is nothing short of staggering.

The second interview was with The Browser, and this one is a little different.  Anna Blundy asked me to name five books about the Asian American Experience, and although I was initially stumped (five is tough!), I managed to come up with a list that is representative of my very personal view at that specific point in time (i.e., totally, completely subjective).  Regardless, it was a great opportunity to discuss a quintet of very different Asian American works.