It’s July now and hard for me to believe that Something to Say my “sophomore” book will be out in two weeks. Somewhere in the last year I forgot about the lead up asks prior to launch date: the videos, the interviews, the guest blogs, the photos. None of it is too much but it’s a flurry of things all at once and it makes it seem as if it is a whole bunch of things. That in combination with the pandemic still raging, it’s been an odd time for me.
Not a bad time, just odd. Which is interesting considering the main character of Something to Say—Jenae—self describes herself as odd. Which just means different than expected. When you think of that definition, don’t we all wish to be just a little bit odd?
During the last several weeks I’ve seen renewed interest in my debut book, A Good Kind of Trouble. How fabulous, right? Well, sort of. The killing of George Floyd, or rather the broadcasting of his death, over and over again, did something to the world. What was different about this particular video? Why this death? There’s been SO many, and there’s been more even after Floyd’s murder. Personally, I think it was the complete disregard on the officer’s face as he killed the man he was kneeling on. He didn’t care. Not even a little bit. And so of course, it was once again clear for all to see: Black lives don’t seem to matter in this society. And that is unacceptable. And a renewed urgency came to the Black LIves Matter movement, and with that came interest in books that talked about police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement. So Trouble got some renewed interest. Happy for sales? Of course. Sad and depressed that it’s for a tragic reason? Of course.
And now a second book is about to be born and this one had as a subplot the issue of problematic heroes and the need to stop honoring them. In Something to Say the community is battling over a proposed school name change. And I consider in the story the legacy of John Wayne’s acting career vs. what he said about Black people and Native people and white supremacy. It’s ironic that this book comes out while confederate statues are being torn down and names of military bases are being reconsidered. There’s even the possibility that the John Wayne International Airport may be renamed.
Of course I didn’t know this would be the societal landscape when I was writing Something to Say two years ago, but talk about interesting timing, eh?
I hope what doesn’t get lost is the heart of the story, in which an odd girl who hopes to remain invisible, is seen. And how that changes her. And how it matters.
I hope this book finds some love.