Loathe at First Sight - Suzanne Park Page 0,108
lot and unlocked my new black Fiat with my personalized license plate, “GRLGAMR,” a gift to myself a few weeks after UA’s release. Nolan stirred in the passenger seat, waking from his nap. Even with his eyes closed, he managed to reach out his hand and place it on mine. “How’d it go?”
Being surrounded by so many welcoming and enthusiastic people in the university gaming community filled my heart with hope. “It couldn’t have gone any better.”
Acknowledgments
When I started writing this book in 2016, I had this blob of an idea in my head that I wanted to tell a story about a woman working in the video game industry. Nerdy me went into full MBA research mode by attending industry panels, reading a ton of articles and books, and interviewing friends who worked at game companies, and I quickly came to the realization that the game industry wasn’t exactly always fun and games for those who came from marginalized backgrounds. With the support of so many people, this story evolved and grew so much over the years, and through writing this book I found a stronger voice and discovered what kind of author I wanted to be.
To my MVP agent Brent, my fiercest advocate, this book wouldn’t have been written (and rewritten 473,168,392 times haha) without your support. You’ve always believed in my stories and seem to have Suzanne ESP when you send emails or check in by phone. Thank you for everything.
To my brilliant editor, Carrie Feron, who brought out the heart of my story (with more levity) and whose insightful comments gave my characters much more depth, thank you so much. Asante Simons, a huge thank-you for being the behind-the-scenes ingenious editing wizard that you are.
I owe a debt of gratitude to all the folks at Avon/Morrow/HarperCollins who played significant roles in the design, editing, sales, and marketing of LOATHE. Massive thank-yous to Imani Gary, Julie Paulauski, Angela Craft, Ploy Siripant, Ashley Caswell, Diahann Sturge, Evangelos Vasilakis, and Laurie McGee for your time and dedication. Ellen Whitfield at JKS, I can’t thank you enough for your invaluable assistance (and infectious enthusiasm!).
I’m deeply grateful for the earliest readers of this book: Helen Hoang, I honestly don’t know what I would do without you. I can’t wait till we write our publishing musical! Roselle Lim, when you first asked to read my book, I was so honored . . . and now I’m honored to be your friend! To the talented Whitney Schneider, thank you for being my longtime CP and putting up with my first-draft ramblings for so many projects. Alexa Martin, thank you so much for finding time to read the pre-sub version. Ken Choy, you cheered me on through the early drafts of this book, it means so much to me.
Julia K., thank you for giving me advice along the way as I was writing this book. And thank you for reading LOATHE and sending me game production and character motivation notes that were so incredibly helpful. It’s funny how far we’ve come since that accounting class together. Chris O. and Adam O., your game industry expertise helped me so much in my final edits, thank you immensely. Yoko N., Jeremy M., and Elizabeth W., endless gratitude to you for giving me invaluable insight into your professional worlds.
To Kathleen Barber, Chelsea Resnick, Kristin Rockaway, Sheila Athens, Nancy Johnson, Alison Hammer, Janet Rundquist, Gwynne Jackson, Annette Christie, Judy Lin, Sarah Henning, Kellye Garrett, Liz Lawson, Jeff Bishop, my WFWA friends, and the LA WFWA gals, I appreciate you so much. To the present/past members of my MAPID writers group, especially Ken, Curtis, Michael, Jason, and Ben, I’m eternally grateful to you for all the years of helpful feedback.
Thank you to my family (shout out to the Parks and Brimers!) and my dearest girlfriends for supporting me through this writing journey. Trevor, you’ve believed in me since day one. Sorry about the human-size laundry backlog during my deadline season. CJ, you are the sweetest kiddo in the world, thank you for downloading my picture off the internet and making a minute-long book trailer of my face.
And finally, to my readers, there are literally millions of other novels out there, so it means the world to me that you chose mine. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
About the Author
SUZANNE PARK is a Korean American writer and comedian who was born and raised in Tennessee. Suzanne graduated from Columbia University and received an MBA from UCLA. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, female offspring, and a sneaky rat that creeps around on her back patio. In Suzanne’s spare time, she procrastinates.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
Praise for Loathe at First Sight
“Loathe at First Sight bursts with humor, heart, and great energy. I loved it! Park is a hilarious new voice in women’s fiction.”
—Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss Quotient
“Hilarious and poignant, Park’s debut sparkles as a great addition to the new voices of the rom-com renaissance.”
—Roselle Lim, author of Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune
“Park gives us the story that only she could create. It’s hilarious, smart, and the rom-com we need!”
—Alexa Martin, ALA Award–winning author of Intercepted
“Park has created a wholly original, smart, fierce heroine (with a hilarious inner voice) who takes on an industry hell-bent on underestimating her. . . . Just like the ‘entertaining, fresh, snarky’ video game she conjures in her novel, Suzanne Park has written a fast and fun debut, putting females in the lead.”
—Amy Poeppel, author of Musical Chairs and Small Admissions
“[A] punchy adult debut set in the world of video game design. . . . Park . . . makes tough topics go down easy by couching them in wry humor and lighthearted romance, and her fierce, snarky heroine is irresistible. This smart rom-com is a winner.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Melody’s characterization and voice sparkle throughout. . . . Smart, punchy, and memorable.”
—Library Journal
Also by Suzanne Park
The Perfect Escape
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
LOATHE AT FIRST SIGHT. Copyright © 2020 by Suzanne Park. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Cover design by Ploy Siripant
Hand lettering and illustration by Joel Holland
Cover image © GoodStudio/Shutterstock (woman)
FIRST EDITION
Digital Edition AUGUST 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-299070-9
Version 06262020
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-299069-3
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
Canada
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower
22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor
Toronto, Ontario, M5H 4E3
India
HarperCollins India
A 75, Sector 57
Noida
Uttar Pradesh 201 301
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007