We've had a fascination with names and the power they hold, along with the ways people choose to honor their culture/heritage. This episode's guest, Graci Kim, has committed her current creative endeavors to exploring the myths and folktales originating from Korea! Her book, The Last Fallen Star, is about a Korean American girl who discovers her heritage and her magic on a perilous journey to save her witch clan family. As if in parallel, Graci shares how she's navigated her own labels/identities as a hyphenated Asian, at one point going by the pen name Graci Goldheart and continuing to experiment with her pen names. Amidst these confusing explorations of names and identities, she opens up about how magic and childlike wonder are pillars in her life that she is committed to infusing in her works, career, and family as she is raising her 1 year old daughter.
If you love conversations about names, fantasy, books, parenting, you don't want to miss this episode!
Read The Last Fallen Star!
https://bookshop.org/books/the-last-fallen-star/9781368059633
More about Graci:
Graci Kim is a bestselling author of magic-infused middle grade books, who was vine-picked in Korea and sun-ripened in New Zealand… Her Korean mythology-inspired debut, The Last Fallen Star, published by Rick Riordan Presents, became an instant US bestseller. It was named by Indigo as a Best Book of 2021, was an Amazon Best Book Ages 9-12, and was selected by Publishers Lunch as a 2021 Buzz Book. It’s also already been optioned by the Disney Channel for a live-action television series. In a previous life, Graci was a diplomat for the New Zealand foreign service, a cooking show host, and once ran a business that turned children’s drawings into cuddly toys. She lives in New Zealand with her husband and daughter.
⟡ instagram: @gracikimwrites
⟡ website: https://www.gracikim.com/
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