#25 - We Gotta Keep The Faith
AKA "how yallwest cured my burnout"
PROLOGUE
Happy May! This marks my last month in my apartment, because at the end of the summer I am moving across the country to Seattle. (The amount of people at Yallwest I shocked with this information is hilarious.) It’s a huge change, since I’ve never been further west than New Orleans, but I love Seattle and I’m excited for this new chapter in my life. Of course, I’ll miss all of my friends in the New York/New Jersey area, but I’ll be back. Many of them will be debuting, after all, and I wouldn’t dare miss their launches!
I skipped a month in April, my birth month, and honestly I’m glad I did. I was on deadline, and to meet one of them I ended up writing 30K in a day and a half (don’t ask how I did this. I don’t even know how I did this). As a result, I am incredibly burnt out, and I’ve had to cancel more than a few engagements I had booked for May. I feel bad about it, but the burnout is so real, you guys. I had friends texting to ask me if I was okay at least once a day! And the answer is no, I am not!
In the meantime, I’m currently re-reading Ebony Gate by Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle so I can read the arc I have of the sequel, Blood Jade. I’m watching a lot of my mom’s favorite game show, Press Your Luck. And, of course, I have The Tortured Poets Department on repeat—although I do keep juggling it with Cowboy Carter.
Finally, I want to give a shoutout to my friends who have birthdays this month: Grace, Ebony, Christina, and Sam. Christina also has her YA debut coming out this month (see Chapter 3), so I hope you’ll all grab a copy to celebrate her and her amazing writing. Now on with the show~
CHAPTER 1: I WENT TO YALLWEST, Y’ALL
Confession: for the weeks leading up to Yallwest 2024, I was absolutely dreading it.
You see, my adult book—for which I wrote a total of 30,000 words in a weekend—and my sequel—for which I did copyedits—were due on the same day, and I’d left the bulk of the work for the last minute. I was so burned out that I was falling asleep right after work, drifting in and out of conversations with friends, curling into a metaphorical ball and letting texts fall by the wayside… and Yallwest was approaching, a massive author festival in which I would be socializing with so many people.
Couldn’t I just stay home with my cat?
Well, I’m glad I didn’t, because it was one of the most magical weekends of my life. I got to meet three of my agent siblings in person: Kaylie Smith (A Ruinous Fate), Sydney Langford (The Loudest Silence), and Hayley Dennings (This Ravenous Fate). I also got to meet several friends and mutuals—Zoe Hana Mikuta, Justine Pucella Winans (above), Ann Zhao, Ava Reid, Aiden Thomas, Angela Montoya, Emily Charlotte—and see others again—Racquel Marie, Nia Davenport, Namina Forna, Layla Noor, Hannah Sawyerr, and more. I had an hour-long signing that was packed with people who had either read or were so excited to read my book. I finally got to try In N’ Out.
And, above all, I got to connect with readers and other book folk who were so kind and enthusiastic about it all that it refreshed my creative well and made me even more excited to get more stories out there.
I think I said this on one of my panels, but I am here and writing today because of the work of incredible Black authors that inspired me, and it was amazing to get to meet so many of my peers who are laying the groundwork for even more of us to share our stories. Ayana Gray and Namina Forna. Tracy Deonn and Kalynn Bayron. Lamar Giles and Jordan Ifueko. Jason Reynolds and Angie Thomas. Hayley Dennings, Bethany Baptiste, Nia Davenport, and so, so many more.
In the words of Black Panther actor Danai Gurira,
"I stand on other people’s shoulders.I stand on the shoulders… of people who broke through in a much trickier time than this, believe it or not. We have no excuse. I have to make my shoulders sturdy enough for others to stand on."
And now, after Yallwest, I am so, so ready to get out there and do that. Thank you again to everyone who attended. I can’t be an author without incredible, enthusiastic, and kind readers like you!
CHAPTER 2: THE REC ROOM
Welcome to the Rec Room, the section of my newsletter that I use to highlight books coming out each month I’m really excited about. For May, we have…
THE HONEY WITCH by Sydney J. Shields
The Honey Witch of Innisfree can never find true love. That is her curse to bear. But when a young woman who doesn't believe in magic arrives on her island, sparks fly in this deliciously sweet debut novel of magic, hope, and love overcoming all.
TRUE LOVE AND OTHER IMPOSSIBLE ODDS by Christina Li
In award-winning author Christina Li's YA debut, Grace will have to make a choice between the tidy equations she knows will protect her from heartbreak or the possibility that true love doesn't follow any formula.
THE SINS ON THEIR BONES by Laura R. Samotin
Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, C.S. Pacat, and Katherine Arden and set in a Jewish folklore-inspired reimagining of 19th century Eastern Europe, this queer dark fantasy debut pits two estranged husbands and a daring spymaster on opposite sides of a civil war.
CHAPTER 3: LOOK AT MY CAT!!!
As you may know, I adopted a shelter cat in December 2021, who I named Sora Mittens. I’m always trying to catch a photo of her sleeping, but she always opens her eyes—it’s like she can SENSE the camera. What a model. Knows her angles.
EPILOGUE
Thank you for subscribing and/or for sticking around! I hope you like rambles, shenanigans, and nonsense, because that’s truly all this is. I’ll (hopefully) see you next month with all kinds of exciting updates, but, until then, stay safe, speak out against injustice around the world, and get some bubble tea to kick off the summer.
