Book Tour!

Seventeen events in twenty-one days. Phew! What a whirlwind as I wrap up a three-week book tour that took me from LA to NYC, Chicago, back to NYC, Northampton, and finally Boston. It was the most exhilarating marathon ever! I loved speaking to readers, interacting with conversation partners, and connecting with friends, especially my generous hosts who welcomed me into their homes. This tour was a dream come true for a debut author and I’m so grateful to everyone who helped make it happen.

When I was writing WHITE MULBERRY, I had no idea whether my book would ever make it out in the world. There was self-doubt, fear of failure, and plenty of rejections, but I was compelled to keep going. When I eventually found an agent and publisher, I was elated. But then my concerns turned to whether reviewers and readers would like my book and how it would be received. And then uncertainly crept in whether I would ever be able to write anything again. A vicious cycle for an author!

As they say, you want the best for your book baby, but it isn’t yours anymore once it’s born. It belongs to the readers, and I was so happy when the ones who enjoyed it or wanted to read it showed up to hear me speak. My heart warmed when members of the audience commented on their own stories and felt seen in the book, that they didn’t know much about this period of history and wanted to learn more, or they asked for advice about the writing process.

There were many fun moments on this tour. A memorable one was at Sunday Salon New York at Von Bar in the Village when Nina Noveto, the organizer, encouraged me to dance to my walk-up song, and I did! I chose Dreams by Fleetwood Mac because my protagonist has dreams too big for her poor farming village outside Pyongyang, and as it turns out, it was a very danceable song too! I also loved how people showed up dressed in my book colors, as I did. They got the memo

A sad moment was when a Japanese government entity got involved in one of my events and changed the scope of questions to focus less on the history of the Japanese Occupation and more on my journey as a writer. I was disappointed and reluctant to attend the talk because my novel reveals the racism my grandmother herself experienced. But I didn’t want to be a no-show when people had already rsvp’ed. It ended up being a fine conversation as there are many themes to explore in my book, but I was hurt and angered that history is still being censored in America in 2025. This is why books like WHITE MULBERRY should be read so that dark moments in history are revealed and mistakes are not repeated.

The most heartwarming part of this journey was how my college, grad school and law school each rallied to put together wonderful events for me to speak to the students. A big thank you goes out to my publicity team, bookstores, libraries, alma maters, my family, conversation partners, and also their pets, for making my book tour fantastic! They featured me in their social media, newsletters, and magazines, and helped me get the word out to bring an audience. I couldn’t have done it without them! They kept me company on a long tour, and I appreciated it so much!

I’m glad I get to rest a little before I go out on the road again to some book festivals and other bookish events, but I wouldn’t change a minute of my first book tour. Thank you for letting me share these few behind the scenes photos of my host pets and silly moments.