Las Vegas-based author Axie Oh is the kind of storyteller who creates worlds you’ll want to experience. Through his upcoming young adult fantasy novel, The girl who fell under the sea, readers will be whisked away to the “Spirit Realm”, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts.
The story follows Mina, whose village has been ravaged by deadly storms for generations. To appease the god of the sea, whom the people of Mina believe to be responsible, a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea each year in the hope that the suffering will end. Mina finds herself in the spirit realm after sacrificing herself to save her brother’s beloved, Shim Cheong, from sacrifice.
It is the retelling of a classic Korean folk tale, The story of Shim Cheong, about a devoted daughter who sacrifices her life to restore her father’s sight by throwing herself into the sea.
The girl who fell under the sea hits shelves — physical and virtual — on February 22. Oh, 32, who also posted rebel seoul (2017), thug heart (2019) and last year XOXO, will be at the Writer’s Block for a reading and signing on Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. Weekly caught up with her to talk about her journey to becoming a YA author, her new book, and more.
How long have you been in Las Vegas? I was born in New York and raised in New Jersey. Came here when I was 16, so over 15 years ago. I left Vegas for a bit to go to the University of California, San Diego, and then got my graduate degree at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. I also lived in New York for a year.
When did you know you wanted to be a YA author? I went to UCSD with a declared literature major, simply because it was my best subject. I didn’t really know what I wanted to be, but I always loved reading. Then, while I was in San Diego, I went to my first book signing to see other authors. It was like a panel of authors, and one of them was an Asian American author named Cindy Pon. She kind of became a mentor to me. I didn’t know I wanted to be an author until I knew it could be a job…I saw her and I thought, “Oh, Asians can be authors? Literally, a light bulb moment.
Why had you never thought before that Asians could be authors? It never occurred to me that Asian Americans might be authors, especially young adult authors, because there were so few books written by Asian American authors when I was young. And I had never been to a book signing where the author was Asian American.
Do you have a favorite YA novel? It changes all the time. I think the classic childhood – it’s not necessarily YA, it’s actually the middle level – is Gail Carson Levine Ella, enchanted. I loved this when I was a kid. My favorite book of all time is The little Prince.
Your new book is a reimagining of the classic Korean folk tale The story of Shim Cheong. Why did you choose this? I think it’s because it was my favorite Korean folktale growing up. It is also the most famous Korean folk tale. It’s like the Cinderella of Korea… I had a picture book growing up as a kid that was exactly that folk tale.
What important changes have you made to your version? It’s more inspired by the tale. The only crossover is the character Shim Cheong, who is a supporting character in my book. The main character is an original character. And they go to another world. Shim Cheong in the original folk tale goes to the Dragon King’s palace. In mine, Mina jumps into the sea and goes to what I call the spirit realm, which also has the sea god’s palace. In that way there’s a similarity, but otherwise it’s completely different.
Who do you think would appreciate The girl who fell under the sea? I think it’s very family friendly. All ages can enjoy it. It’s very like [Hayao] Miyazaki. People who love Studio Ghibli, people who love Pixar movies.
Were you also inspired by Studio Ghibli films? Definitively. I may have watched them all, and I grew up with them. This book was [pitched as Miyazaki’s] Taken away as if by magic meets [Naomi Novik’s] Uprooted, which is an adult fantasy novel about a girl who gets caught by a wizard. … It has that atmosphere and that Ghibli magic.
Do you have a favorite Studio Ghibli movie? My favourite film is Taken away as if by magic, but my favorite heroine comes from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
What advice do you have for budding writers? Here we have a Las Vegas chapter of SCBWI, which stands for Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. I am part of this group. They’re mostly doing things online right now, like virtual meetups with agents, [in which] agents make reviews. There are also other groups that come together to write reviews. They have a lot of really cool opportunities.
What is the most valuable lesson you learned there? Being around other writers actually helps you in your writing because they motivate you. Show passion for what excites you [makes] you feel validated in what you do. And many of these writers have supported me in my career.
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