Author Interview: Hope Lim and Sourgrass

Today I welcome author Hope Lim to the Grog Blog! I first heard of Hope with her first picture book, I Am a Bird (2021). Since then, she's had two more picture books published, with her fourth one, Sourgrass, a beautiful friendship story, out on March 26th from Beach Lane Books. 

1. Tell us a little about yourself.

I love to run. I started to run when I came to America and did not enjoy it at first because of cramps I would get. But I kept running because I felt much lighter in my heart and body in the end. After I experienced a runner’s high for the first time, running became an integral part of my daily life. I use my running as time to reflect or connect with the many sights and sounds around me. It’s amazing how I encounter something new every time I’m out running. In addition to the wonders in nature, seeing so many people out running and being in that anonymous group of people with the bond of running always lifts my heart.

 2. What inspired you to write Sourgrass? How did you get the idea?

The idea for SOURGRASS came to me when I spotted the single stem of sourgrass poking through the tiniest crack in our fence. Its five leaves were in my yard and the rest of stem and roots were in our neighbor’s yard. I pondered about its meaning and named it ‘hope,’ after noticing how the way it grew through the fence, a wall of separation, seemed to showcase nature’s wonderous power of making the impossible possible. I knew there was a story in that single stem of sourgrass and later created a first draft, which marked the beginning of a year long journey to SOURGRASS, a story of friendship, memories, and hope. I also happened to ruminate on the meaning of trust and wanted to convey the act of placing trust in a friend as something beautiful and perhaps even noble. 

3. How long did it take to write this story?

I wrote my first draft shortly after I spotted the single stem of sourgrass back in February 2021, and spent much of that year writing and re-writing SOURGRASS until it was finally ready for submission. After it was sold, I revised it more following my editor’s thoughtful revision notes that not only resonated with me at every level but also added depth of emotion to SOURGRASS.   

4. How long did it take to sell this story?

After I finished my “final” version of SOURGRASS in November 2021, my agent submitted it in February 2022, and it was sold in the same month. The flurry of exchanges with two amazing editors was quite unforgettable, and I’m so grateful for their vision and love for bringing SOURGRASS to the world.

5. What do you hope readers take away from reading this book?

I love how spring returns every year with so much hope and promise. In SOURGRASS, a story of return and renewal, Sofia learns to live in hope, trusting that what she loves will eventually return and appreciating her friendship with May. I think hope and trust go together, and like Sofia, I want readers to feel hopeful and optimistic in a difficult time of inevitable changes, such as parting with a friend. Sofia rises above the uncertainty and doubt brought by distance and finds a way to keep her trust in May and their friendship. I wanted to write a story where this take on the world prevails and gets rewarded in the end.

6. What is your favorite part of the illustrations?

This was a hard question to answer, because I can’t pick just one. I love everything Shahrzad Maydani did in SOURGRASS, including her choice of vibrant colors reminiscent of spring, the additional storyline she created using two stuffed animals, and the child-like expressions and movements Sofia and May share. I was particularly impressed by the cinematic way Shahrzad captured significant moments in SOURGRASS, where readers are facing the same direction as the characters, and this perspective is repeated later in other meaningful scenes. The two stuffed animals coming alive is another magical touch, and they always make me smile. One of the best parts of being a picture book writer is when the final art of the book arrives like a gift, and I get to re-live that special moment every time I open the book. 

7.  What was most surprising about the illustrations? 

I remembered my heart beating fast during the first read of the color proofs of SOURGRASS, and I was moved to tears when I closed the last page. Some of Shahrzad’s illustrations brought back memories from childhood, which had been stored in colorful still images inside me, mirroring what sourgrass does in the story. I often use the word, ‘glorious’ to describe one bright afternoon when I ran through the golden fields, catching dragonflies, and tasting wild berries off bushes. Those childhood images have a dreamy quality, even surreal, in part because they only exist as memories. And I see and feel the same emotive quality in the way Shahrzad captured Sofia and May’s shared memories. And I would say that was most surprising about her illustration. I am still awed by the bittersweetness she conveyed in her art.

8. What advice do you have for writers?

 Once I was told that every book has its own journey, and I think the same thing applies to writers. I have learned the importance of being gentle and patient with ourselves while making our journeys uniquely our own. 

9. What’s next for you?

I have a new book, AT THE WINDOW, illustrated by the amazing Qin Leng, scheduled to come out in spring 2025 by Candlewick Press. It’s a story about a special connection, changes, and a shift of perspective told through the eyes of a child whose relationship with her neighbor enables her to discover new things in an unexpected way.

HopeLim is the author of I AM A BIRD by Hyewon Yum; MY TREE by Il Sung Na; and MOMMY’S HOMETOWN by Jamie Kim. She lives in San Francisco, where she spots the yellow flowers of sourgrass every spring. Her upcoming book, SOURGRASS, will be released by Beach Lane Books/ S&S on March 26, 2024

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