K-Pop and Contemporary Culture in The Band by Christine Ma-Kellams

My guest today is Christine Ma-Kellams, author of The Band listed in the Music category on Art In Fiction.

View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZopqRgR9xG4

• Inspiration for The Band and its relationship to pop music, K-Pop, and popular culture.
• Motivation for writing The Band as a commentary on what may be happening behind the scenes of a successful K-Pop boy band.
• The novel as a scatching indictment of fandom and how the industry often turns a blind eye to the mental health of its stars.
• How our brains are not wired for interacting via screens with people we will never meet--what this is doing to our mental health.
• Discussion of the novel's narrator and the concept of situationships.
• The role of cancel culture in the novel and in contemporary culture.
• The Band as fan fiction meets literary fiction.
• Is all fiction essentially fan fiction since we write about what we love?
• Use of first and second person in the novel--breaking the fourth wall and inspiration from the TV series Fleabag.
• Is The Band a thriller?
• Outlining vs. starting to write and hoping for the best.
• The theme of The Band.
• Reading fromThe Band.
• Things that Christine learned from writing her novel - the wisdom of authors rewarding readers.
• What's next for Christine.

Read more about Christine Ma-Kellams on her website: https://www.christinema-kellams.com/

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Also, check out Art In Fiction at

Are you enjoying The Art In Fiction Podcast? Consider giving us a small donation so we can continue bringing you interviews with your favorite arts-inspired novelists. Click this link to donate: https://ko-fi.com/artinfiction.

Also, check out Art In Fiction at https://www.artinfiction.com and explore 2300+ novels inspired by the arts in 11 categories: Architecture, Dance, Decorative Arts, Film, Literature, Music, Textile Arts, Theater, Visual Arts, & Other.

Want to learn more about Carol Cram, the host of The Art In Fiction Podcast? She's the author of several award-winning novels, including The Towers of Tuscany and Love Among the Recipes. Find out more on her website.