Author Interview: Christine Ma-Kellams
Debut author Christine Ma-Kellams (she/her) has arrived in the Rambling Realm. During her stay, she kindly agreed to chat with me about herself, her debut novel The Band, and the secrets of her writing process.
About Christine Ma-Kellams
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m a social psychologist/college professor by day, novelist by night! In my debut novel, The Band, I combine the two by citing real psychological studies in a fictional story about a cancelled Kpop boy bander whose escape to America produces more problems than solutions.
What inspired you to start writing?
Storytime at the library—somewhere between high school and grad school, I had stopped reading for fun, and it took picking up a short story collection randomly at the library during storytime for my toddler that made me remember what I love most in life (reading & writing).
About The Band
What can you tell us about your debut?
Sang Duri is the eldest & visual of a Korean boy band at the apex of global dominion. But when his solo accidentally kicks up rivalries between East Asia’s 3 superpowers, he suddenly finds himself cancelled by a fandom known as much for their commitment as their obsession.
What was the inspiration for The Band?
Kpop groups including BTS, Girls’ Generation, GLAM, plus the people that make them possible, like music producer Bang Si-Hyuk and the ARMY fandom.
Are there any fun behind-the-scenes moments or any hidden easter eggs in your novel that you’d like to share?
The Band is actually chock-full of Easter eggs inspired by real-life Kpop bands and incidents (black ocean, I’m looking at you), along with several pop cultural references outside Kpop as well.
Can you share a favorite quote or excerpt from The Band?
Yes!
“It is hard not to clutch my own sternum in search of something to squeeze or anything to say to this boy, who, through the kind of hard work nerds and overachievers like myself can only dream of, managed to scale the tallest monuments known to men: worldwide fame, glory, worship by the young, admiration from the old, Grammys, Billboards, MNET, MAMA, iHeartRadio, IPOs, imitation in the absence of duplication, the pride of their countrymen, the respect of outsiders who heretofore had never given two thoughts to this little peninsula of a country dangling from China into the East Sea. His was a country that had invented neither gunpowder nor pasta nor philosophy nor Western civilization but instead, at the turn of the second millennium, managed to do something much more exciting: convince the world that Asians were now cool, and their men could be known for something other than dick size, and their talents extend beyond math and following directions. But having scaled the kind of heights reserved only for dreams, he can’t help but look down from the apex, wondering what to do with himself next.”
About Writing
If you could choose any place—real or fictional—to write your next novel where would it be and why?
I love this question because there are so many places I’d love to visit and situate my next book in. The novel that I’m currently working on is actually inspired by specific Tiktok influencers, so I’d love to go to some of these places that are frequently mentioned in their videos that I haven’t been to yet, like Gstaad or Zermatt, and I’d love to revisit places that I have traveled to but, since returning, discovered all the things I missed. London and either Berlin or Kohn would probably top my list.
What's the most unusual place where you've found inspiration for your writing?
Waiheke Island off the coast of New Zealand inspired me to attempt my first ever novel—I say “attempt” because I was 22 and the novel was no good but Waiheke I’ll never forget.
Are there any resources or tools that were particularly helpful to you during your writing journey?
I know people bemoan social media as a time-waster, but I got so much inspiration from watching Youtube videos when writing The Band—particularly catching up on BTS content that I had missed, like their American Hustle Life series.
Christine’s Plans for the Future
What are you working on next?
I recently started writing a new novel: a social media influencer stuck in a financially dependent relationship with a cryptocurrency scion starts to experience abrupt memory lapses, but when one of her followers tries to save her, only do we come to realize that people are never quite what they appear online.
Where can readers find The Band and connect with you?
The Band is widely available wherever books are sold (Target, Amazon, Barnes, Bookshop, and most indie booksellers). I’m on all the socials, which are all linked at my website: christinema-kellams.com.
