During the final episode of her daytime talk show on Thursday, May 21, Sherri Shepherd announced her next career move as a fiction writer.
Shepherd revealed during her final opening monologue, wearing a Schiaparelli blazer dress, Esor Marie shoes and Alexis Bittar jewelry, that she’s been working on a new book alongside USA Today bestselling author Jayci Lee, titled “Life is a K Drama,” which is scheduled to be published by MIRA Books on Tuesday, April 6, 2027, with Michele Bidelspach, Executive Editor at MIRA, acquiring the world rights from Albert Lee and Lisa Grubka at UTA.
“Just because this is my last show, it does not mean that you’ve seen the last of me,” said Shepherd during the broadcast. “I’m going to tell you, you know, I’m like a good lace front. I’m not going anywhere. I’m stuck to you like wig glue.”
Mira Books
“I’m so excited because I’ve been working on something very, very special. And I’ve talked to everybody,” continued Shepherd. “So, if you know me, you know how much I love, and I am just obsessed with K-dramas. I watch them all the time. Sometimes till 4 in the morning, and then I’m sleepy when I come here. I love K-dramas so much that I did something huge. I wrote a book and my book is called ‘Life is a K Drama,’ and I’m writing it with USA Today bestselling author Jayci Lee. And this is about a single mom named Keisha. She’s trying to turn her Harlem neighborhood restaurant into a household name. But then Kesha meets a fine Korean business magnet named Seojun. And you know, if anybody watches K-dramas, you know, it’s like a slow burn. It’s a slow burn. You get to the end, and then it’s exquisite, the intimacy factor. And so I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is going to be good.’ I’d never gotten to write some good sex scenes, but whoa, they are in here.
In addition to the new book, Shepherd and Lee have also launched a new podcast series called “Auntie & Ajumma,” which she said is “all about K-drama connections and everything that we learn and just all fun stuff.”
“Life is a K Drama” is described as a sweeping, cinematic love story glowing with humor, heart, and hard-won hope that is a heartfelt love letter to K-dramas, following an interracial, contemporary romance between 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.
According to the publisher, the novel 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.