WCC 002 Leslie Kung

Working Class Creatives

Subscribe via: iTunes | Google Play | RSS Leslie Kung was born in the 80’s, a child of immigrants. She survived speech delay as a child, Sensory Integration Disorder, the Chicago public school system, growing up Asian in America, the upheaval and reinvention of college (earning a dual bachelor’s of English and Philosophy), the traumatic birth of her first child, domestic violence and PTSD. She writes a variety of fiction, all enriched with cultural, social and experiential depth drawn from lived experience. She resides in Iowa with three small humans, two leopard geckos, and a mysteriously self sustaining tank of guppies. Links

• Leslie's Patreon Read her works in progress, support her here
• Click Here to go to the first chapter of her serial
• Follow Leslie Kung on Facebook

Show Notes Author Leslie Kung shares with us her story as an author and single mother trying to make it as a creative professional. You'll have to forgive me if the audio is a little wonky; there was a little bit of lag on the call, but I patched it up as well as I could.

• Leslie is a single mother, and writing is currently her sole income. She releases science fiction and fantasy stories through her patreon.
• Last year she published a short, "At Long Last," in the anthology Story of a Kiss. She was not a romance writer, but knew someone who was putting the anthology together and took advantage of the opportunity.
• The most difficult part of being an author as a single-mother is that there is little time to work, and the difficulty of building creative momentum with the constant interruptions. The patreon serial format works well for this.
• A large part of the author's job is the organic process of self-promotion.
• Leslie tells us about how Sensory Integration Disorder shaped her growth into books and writing as a child. Speech delay meant she didn't communicate much, but she had a rich inner life, and reading written dialog was a way she could process interaction visually.
• She wanted to write things that moved people.
• In 2017 she wants to take the Twinborn serial and rewrite them as a cohesive series grouped by character viewpoints.
• She has shifted in view from wanting to write as doorstoppers to more manageable sized books.
• She submits writing to open submission calls.
• Check out Elm Books, they're just getting started and are looking for writing.
• She has found tremendous value in her local writing group, the Ceder Room, an extension of the Iowa Writer's House.
• Creative careers may be the only way some people can work around their situations to provide for their families.
• There is hope.

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