Interview With Lyla Lee (Mindy Kim and the Fun Family Vacation)

Today we are very excited to share an interview with Author Lyla Lee (Mindy Kim and the Fun Family Vacation)!

Meet the Author: Lyla Lee

Lyla Lee is the bestselling author of YA books about K-pop, K-dramas, and reality TV as well as the Mindy Kim series for younger readers. Her books have been translated into multiple languages around the world. Originally from South Korea, she’s lived in various cities throughout the United States, worked various jobs in Hollywood, and studied Psychology and Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. She now lives in Dallas, Texas. Visit Lyla at lylaleebooks.com or on social media (IG, X, and TikTok @literarylyla).

Website * Instagram

About the Book: Mindy Kim and the Fun Family Vacation

Fresh Off the Boat meets Junie B. Jones in this adorable chapter book series following Mindy Kim, a young Asian American girl—in this twelfth and final novel, Mindy and her family vacation to South Korea.

Mindy is so excited to go back to Korea—not only are she, Dad, and Julie going to the popular tourist spot, Jeju Island, it’s baby Charlie’s first big international trip! Mindy can’t wait for some lazy days on the beach and to see the natural sites unique to the island. But the trip gets off to a rocky start, and Mindy finds herself hoping this first vacation together won’t be memorable for all the wrong reasons!

~Author Chat~

YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?

I got the idea to write Mindy Kim and the Fun Family Vacation because I wanted to send Mindy and her family on one last big and fun adventure at the end of the series. The general spirit of the book was also inspired by the real, sometimes disastrous but mostly fun vacations that I went with my family and family friends as a child.

YABC: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I always loved books and storytelling, but I first seriously wanted to be a writer in fourth grade. I had an amazing teacher named Mrs. Brown who was an aspiring author herself. She would tell us these amazing and creative stories and also tell us about her experiences with trying to get published. All of this really inspired me and I started writing my first book, although I wouldn’t finish my first novel until four years later, in eighth grade. Although I actually started out trying to get published through my YA books, I think it’s rather fitting that my first actually published books were The Mindy Kim series since I started writing my own stories as I was reading chapter books like Junie B. Jones and The Magic Tree House series as a kid myself.

YABC: How do you keep your ‘voice’ true to the age category you are writing within?

Before I went full-time as an author, I used to teach kids for a private tutoring company. Due to the nature of my work, I ended up teaching kids from first to twelfth grade in the six years that I was at this company. I think having everyday interactions with such a broad range of kids helped me pick up on how kids “sound” like and easily craft a realistic kid voice. Whenever I had any doubts while writing the Mindy Kim books or any of my books for older kids, I’d be like “would so-and-so say that?” and that usually helped a ton. Fun fact: Mindy’s outfit in the first book, Mindy Kim and the Yummy Seaweed Business, is actually inspired by a real kid I taught during this time. The clothes were entirely the work of my brilliant illustrator, Dung Ho, but the pink crocs and the little pins on them were inspired by the girl’s, haha.

YABC: What is your favorite reading space?

I can read from pretty much everywhere; I think the beauty of reading is that you can do it anywhere you go and even read on your phone through e-books and audiobooks. I actually do most of my reading through audiobooks from the public library that I have on while I do chores or drive around doing errands. That being said, I did recently set up a reading nook in my new home office that I’m pretty proud of. I was never really allowed to decorate my own space growing up so I had a lot of fun with it. Hanging from the walls are various mementos from my close friends throughout the years as well as quotes that changed my life/helped me in my darkest times. The main attraction, though, is the super cute and comfy turquoise green armchair that I found by test-sitting on every armchair I could try sitting on at IKEA, Rooms To Go, Lowe’s, At Home, and Nebraska Furniture Mart.

YABC: How do you plan to celebrate the launch of your book?

I’m actually going on my first national tour next month to celebrate five years of the Mindy Kim series. This is a tour of my heart that was fully funded by me to thank readers for their love and support for Mindy after receiving requests for a national tour for several years. Admittedly, I’m kind of scared to be embarking on this tour but I’m also so excited to finally meet readers in different parts of the country!

YABC: What hobbies do you enjoy?

My number one hobby used to be reading, but unfortunately one of the biggest tragedies of being an author is that reading just becomes something you have to do for work, haha. That being said, I’m still a huge fan of other narrative forms, like movies, TV shows, and video games. So in my free time, I’m always consuming a lot of pop culture and exciting, new stories through those other media.

YABC: What is your favorite holiday or tradition and why?

My favorite holiday is New Year’s Day because I’m an optimist at my core. I love the promise of a new year and how many people start the year filled with hope and with the best intentions at heart.

YABC: What’s up next for you?

2025 is sort of a transition year for me, where I’m moving away from writing for younger kids and focusing on YA and adult romance, instead. I would definitely love to come back to writing for kids (since I love kids and they’ll always have my heart <3) but for various reasons, this is the way things will have to be for now. My adult romance debut, Love in Focus, comes out from Forever/Grand Central Publishing on May 27th while my next YA romance, The Cuffing Game, comes out from HarperCollins on November 18th.

Title: Mindy Kim and the Fun Family Vacation

Author: Lyla Lee

Illustrator: Dung Ho

Release Date: 4/29

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing / Aladdin

Genre: Chapter Book

Age Range: 6 – 9

Tags: Aladdin, Interview, Lyla Lee, Mindy Kim and the Fun Family Vacation

Interview With Lyla Lee (Mindy Kim and the Fun Family Vacation)

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