MIRA Books announced it will publish LIFE IS A K DRAMA by Sherri Shepherd and Jayci Lee, on April 6, 2027. Michele Bidelspach, Executive Editor at MIRA, acquiredWorld rights from Albert Lee and Lisa Grubka at UTA.
Sherri Shepherd is a Daytime Emmy Award-winning talk show host, comedian, actress, and New York Times bestselling author and Jayci Lee is a USA Today bestselling author of sexy contemporary romance and epic romantasy, featuring Korean American main characters. In their first book together, and Sherri’s debut novel, LIFE IS A K DRAMA is a sweeping, cinematic love story glowing with humor, heart, and hard-won hope.
LIFE IS A K DRAMA is a heartfelt, interracial, contemporary romance and a love letter to K dramas, featuring a single mom whose chance to turn her neighborhood restaurant into a household name is upended by an unexpected spark with a swoon-worthy Korean business magnate.
Keisha Thomson loves K-Dramas, but she never thought her life would turn into one. Keisha is a 37-year-old divorced mom of her beloved autistic son, Kai, and the ambitious owner of True Soul, a Harlem soul-food restaurant. Set between Harlem and Seoul, the novel follows bold but pragmatic Keisha, charming yet duty-bound Han Seojun, and the viral red velvet cake that brings them together. What begins as a cultural and culinary clash becomes a whirlwind romance that upends everything they thought they knew about love, ambition, and what it means to put yourself first.
Part escapism and part self-discovery, LIFE IS A K DRAMA is for anyone who’s ever rebuilt themselves from scratch, and, importantly, it’s not just a romance between Keisha and Seojun, it’s also a love story about family, food, and culture.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Sherri Shepherd is a Daytime Emmy Award-winning talk show host, comedian, actress, and New York Times bestselling author. She most recently hosted the nationally syndicated daytime talk show SHERRI for four seasons, where her warmth and relatable humor radiated through topical headlines, celebrity interviews, comedy, and uplifting stories. A multiple NAACP Image Award winner, Sherri co-hosts her popular podcast Two Funny Mamas with Kym Whitley and recently launched a new podcast, Auntie and Ajumma, with author Jayci Lee.
Sherri’s career spans three decades across television, film, Broadway, and stand-up comedy. She was a co-host of the daytime talk show The View for seven years and has also hosted Dish Nation, The Newly Wed Game, Best Ever Trivia Show, among others. Her television credits include 30 Rock, Friends, Sex Lives of College Girls, Mr. Iglesias, Trial & Error, Sherri, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Jamie Foxx Show, and Less Than Perfect. Her film credits include STRAW, Brian Banks, Precious, and Beauty Shop, with her upcoming film Angel in the Rubble set for release later this year.
On stage, she made history portraying the first African American evil stepmother in Cinderella on Broadway and frequently tours nationwide as a stand-up comic, often selling out theaters.
Beyond entertainment, Sherri Shepherd is a dedicated advocate for inclusivity, representation, and children with special needs. Visit her website at sherrishepherd.com.
Jayci Lee is a USA Today bestselling author of sexy contemporary romance and epic romantasy, featuring Korean American main characters. Her books have been featured in O, The Oprah Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, Hollywood Reporter, E! News, and Women’s World.
She also co-hosts a new podcast with the incomparable Sherri Shepherd called Auntie & Ajumma, where they connect over their love of K-dramas, their shared experiences as women of color, and everything in between that life throws their way.
Jayci is retired from her fifteen-year career as a litigator because…she’s a lover, not a fighter. She lives in sunny California with her husband, her son (plus one away in college), and a rescue dog, who is a silly furball.
About Harlequin Trade Publishing/HTP Books
Harlequin Trade Publishing is a leading publisher of commercial fiction and narrative nonfiction. The company publishes more than 100 titles a month, in both print and digital formats, that reach audiences globally. Encompassing highly recognizable imprints that span a broad variety of genres, the publisher is home to many award-winning New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling authors. Harlequin is a division of HarperCollins Publishers, the second-largest consumer book publisher in the world. Through HarperCollins’ global publishing program, Harlequin titles are published in 17 countries and 16 languages. For more information, please visit HTPBooks.com and @HTPBooks on Instagram.
About MIRA
With more than 30 years of publishing experience across a wide variety of bestselling commercial fiction, MIRA Books publishes a diverse cross-section of trending and trend-setting fiction in the growing and evolving romance fiction space, including modern love stories, Rom Coms, and romantasy. MIRA welcomes to its list of established and award-winning authors both new and seasoned voices telling the freshest stories in romantic fiction today.