Ms. Q&A: Authors Aimee Liu and Cai Emmons Talk Motherhood, Shame and Releasing Books Mid-Pandemic

Some 30 years ago, an established nonfiction writer and a screenwriter decided to write their first novels. They met in a fiction writing class, and have been friends ever since, with eight books of fiction now between them.

Those two writers are Aimee Liu and me.

What we never anticipated was that we would both have books coming out in the midst of a global pandemic.

Aimee’s new novel, Glorious Boy, will be released on May 12.  My short story collection, Vanishing, came out in March.

Both of us now find ourselves sheltering at home and woefully contemplating a social and commercial landscape that is forcing booksellers, publishers and authors to reinvent the very definition of a book launch.

Since Aimee is still in the process of planning her book launch, I wanted to chat with her (virtually, of course) about her book and what’s changed in the month since my tour simply—well—vanished.