Finding Mimi

Hi! I’m looking for Korean women to read and give feedback on my novels.

Mimi, one of my most important characters, is a young Korean woman. I’m Irish, not Korean, so I worry about cultural appropriation.

The mission

You read a novel (80,000 words) and point out where I’ve gone horribly wrong (for example, “he would never call a grown woman 우리 막둥이”). I pay $200 for your time and insight.

If you’re an experienced sensitivity reader or cultural consultant with published novels on your resume, please send me a link to your rate sheet.

About you

If you fit this profile let’s chat. There are more details in the FAQ (after the contact form).

Must haves

Woman, mid-20s to mid-30s
Born and raised in Korea
Live(s)(d) in Seoul
Not a famous performer

Nice to haves

Excellent English
Sensitive to and fascinated by the inner lives of other people
If you’re an xNFx this is probably you!
Interested in street fashion
Part of (or adjacent to) the world of performing arts, especially acting or popular music

I’m not looking for a Single Perfect Person.
If you think what I’m up to is interesting I want to talk to you!

Send me a message

FAQs

I’m currently looking for feedback on Old Fashioned, a contemporary romance:

“Princess” Mimi Ko is idling in neutral. As the baby sister of a famous K-pop idol, she lives a life of luxury. She’s fed up with being a decoration, but her brother’s fame – and the expectations of their traditional family – make her ambitions impossible. Her alter ego, though, can have the life Mimi craves… as long as no one finds out.

When she meets a provocative Irish bartender, life gets even more complicated. Mimi needs to figure it out quickly; her family is selecting an appropriate Catholic husband, and her secret identity is becoming uncomfortably popular.

Mimi grapples with abandoning the gilded cage of privilege for the terrifying and exhilarating prospect of life on her own terms.

I am an actual human being writing a novel. I’m happy to tell you my name, then you can pretty easily verify that I am who I say I am.

Only time will tell if I’m a legitimately good author.

Korean women who were born and raised outside of Korea (especially in the US / UK / Ireland)

have a very different experience than ones born and raised in the country.

None of the characters in the Half Lives series are famous (although Mimi is fame-adjacent). One of the main characters in Sibling Rivalry is stupidly famous, but I’ve not yet started deep character background on him. The “Finding Byeong Ho” project will start in 2026.
Fame changes the way people view the world. From over here, “famous” in Korea, particularly in the spheres of acting and music, looks to be on a completely different level. I imagine the psychological consequences are even more intense.
The value exchange is skewed: I’m not a journalist, I’m not an influencer, there’s nothing I can do to advance a celebrity’s career.
I have zero interest in leveraging someone else’s fame. I’m a very private person with an infinitesimal social media footprint. At some point Aisling Orá (my nom de plume) will be required to have a professional social media presence for promotion. The thought of it makes me itch.
People who have a certain level of public renown understandably find it more difficult to be open and authentic with a random stranger.

In the extraordinarily unlikely event that you’re a famous performer and, after reading all this, you really really want to talk with me, hello! Please don’t tell me who you are. Use a pseudonym.

I’m so sorry, this is my limitation. I wish it were different, but I’m only fluent in English. No matter how hard I try, my brain is terrible at learning other languages.

If you really really want to talk with me even though your English is marginal or nonexistent then yes, please! We’ll figure something out. Professional translators exist, as do apps. We might also just have our conversation in writing.

Yes! Jamming with other people is the best. I’d love a credited consultant or co-author.

If you have ideas about we might work together send me a message.

This entire project has been shoved along by beautifully random coincidences that have shown up just as I needed them. (Seriously, I have a ridiculous list.) At this point I’m just going with it. I trust that the right people will find me.