March 12 marks two years since The House Before Falling into the Sea entered the world. Sometimes people ask if life feels different now, so I thought I’d share a Q&A with myself.

Do you feel different now that the book has been out for two years?

Yes… and no.

There are small moments where it feels different, but they come and go. Most days I’m still doing the same thing—working hard and trying to write the best stories I can.

Publishing, turns out, is a long game!

What has meant the most since publication?

Honestly, the kids.

During one school visit, a boy kept asking question after question. Afterward his teacher pulled me aside and said that that student hardly speaks in class.

I was stunned. I thought he was one of her most gifted students!

She told me he rarely participates and doesn’t usually try very hard academically, but hearing him talk about stories made her realize he had imagination and thoughts she hadn’t seen before. She said it inspired her to try to draw more out of him.

I felt honored to be part of that moment. Sometimes it only takes a spark to wake up a kid’s imagination. I pray he finds his way to something he loves.

What surprised you about seeing the book out in the world?

Once a book goes out into the world, it takes on a life of its own.

People have shared ways they use the story that I never imagined. One person told me they read it with children living in extended families because their own families had lost homes. I hadn’t thought about the book being used in that way at all.

That’s the beautiful thing about stories. You write honestly, and then they go out and meet people where they are.

Has anything about the journey surprised you?

I’ve been deeply grateful for the way the book has been received. Along the way it received three starred reviews (Horn Book, Kirkus, and Booklist), was named a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, won the Freeman Book Award, and became a finalist for both the Jane Addams Award (focusing on peace) and The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrator’s Golden Kite Award (an accolade from fellow writers, my peers.)

The book has also been translated into Korean, published in Korea, which feels like a meaningful full-circle moment for a story rooted in Korean history.

But those milestones are really pauses along the way. The real joy has been hearing from readers and seeing how the story lives in the wild, in classrooms and homes.

What has been challenging?

Finding the right agent.

I’ve been searching for someone whose communication style and vision fit well with how I work. Waiting and sending work out again can be difficult, and I know many writers understand that feeling.

But it has also sharpened my writing. When you know you must bring your very best work forward, it pushes you to elevate your craft.

What keeps you grounded?

Remembering that publishing isn’t my whole life.

My church, my relationship with God, my family, and my friends gave me life before this book existed—and they still do now.

Also the basics: eating well, sleeping well, and exercising. When I get busy those are the first things to go, but creativity needs a healthy body and mind to live in.

Who keeps a book alive after publication?

Teachers. Librarians. Parents. Booksellers.

They are the quiet champions who keep stories moving into children’s hands. Stories about overlooked histories (ike the Korean War) can still speak powerfully today, reminding us how important it is to care for our neighbors, both near and far.

So THANK YOU — students, teachers, librarians, parents, booksellers, Rosie Ahmed (then Editor at Dial,) Nancy Mercado (publisher), Penguin Random House and the many creative staff there, Hanna Cha (talented illustrator,) and so many helpers and cheerleaders along the way.

What’s next?

I have more stories ready, worthy to live out there in the wild. But books don’t enter the world alone—they need the right people who will champion them and help them reach readers.

So I’m querying, writing, waiting, and praying.

Because publishing, remember, is a long LONG game.