#5 - My Debut YA Fantasy So Let Them Burn (2024) & Other Things I Won't Shut Up About
AKA "why did none of you tell me dracula is so queer"
PROLOGUE
Happy June! This month marks my baby sister’s birthday — oh my goodness, she’s twenty now; TWENTY; I can no longer go to her for my Teen Culture questions?? — as well as my darling Sophie Kim’s birthday and my dearest Suzanne Samin’s birthday. This month also includes the first day of summer and the start of Summer Fridays, which I’m REALLY enjoying. I get to stop working at 1PM, y’all, it’s brilliant. I mostly take naps, but maybe one of these days I’ll take a walk. I hear sunshine is good for you, or something.
Since it’s Pride month, I’ve been reading one of my most anticipated sapphic reads: Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May. It’s a historical fantasy pitched as kind of like a sapphic Gatsby with witches, and I love The Great Gatsby, so of course I bought it. I’m so in love with the lyrical, atmospheric language, and Annie is way too relatable. She thinks of herself as a mousey coward and can’t figure out why she’s so fascinated by this alluring woman. Mood. Big mood.
I’ve had Harry’s House by Harry Styles on loop. I mean, I loved One Direction, but of all the boys’ solo careers, Harry and Niall Horan are making my favorite music. This is my favorite album that’s been released so far, and I’ve cried to “Matilda” far too many times to be healthy. I’m also very in love with “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” and “Late Night Talking”, and I’m still in love with “As It Was”, but there are no skips on this album, you guys. Perfect summer tunes.
Despite my earnest interest, I still can’t focus enough to watch anything new, so I’ve been watching the two seasons of The Chase that are up on Netflix. I love this high stakes trivia show like so, so much. Everyone’s so smart! It’s so cool! Sometimes I even get the questions! If you’ve never seen The Chase, check it out. There’s also a new version on Hulu, and that one’s funny to watch because a guy who was a contestant on the Netflix Chase is now a Chaser on the Hulu Chase (it’s James Holzhauer, who was also on Jeopardy). What a glow-up.
Anyway, I hope the month is treating you all well. And, even if it isn’t, I hope you find something small or even fleeting that makes you smile. You deserve it!
CHAPTER 1: POP CULTURE MOMENT OF THE MONTH
My entire life is Dracula Daily now. I’ve actually never read Dracula, something that my friend Ashia laments every day, but suddenly I noticed that everyone on my Tumblr was talking about it. They had jokes. They had memes. They were talking about Jonathan Harker like he was a close, personal friend. And I tried not to be interested. I can’t focus on anything in this pandemic! I’ve read the Dracula wikipedia page! Surely I know enough about Dracula!
No. Absolutely not. Dracula Daily is sending the entire text of Dracula to their subscribers, but instead of doing it chronologically or even every day, they are doing it… chronologically by the actual dates used for the letters in the novel. So it’s truly like Jonathan Harker and a cast of wild characters are sending you letters every day, or you’re rooting through their drawers and reading their letters to each other. It’s a hilarious and fun way to experience the novel, immersive and playful, and I am OBSESSED.
Also, Dracula is, like. Really queer. The character and the book as a whole, so far. I am living for this.
Apparently, we’ll be getting sporadic emails until like… November? Or something? And I hope Tumblr keeps this hilarious energy straight up until then, because I had no idea the Dracula fandom is so hilarious. Maybe next time I should listen to Ashia and actually read her vampire recs…
CHAPTER 2: THE ROAD SO FAR…
All right, let me get to what you’re all really here for (probably?). If you follow me on Twitter, then you know that my debut novel, So Let Them Burn, is going to be published with Little Brown Young Readers in Winter 2024. Please add it on Goodreads!
Pitched as “Jamaican Joan of Arc” and inspired by Zendaya’s infamous 2018 Met Gala outfit, this YA Fantasy, previously known as #JoanBook and then Saint of Ashes, is rooted in my Jamaican heritage and features so many of my favorite things. Sisters. Dragons. Lesbians. Gratuitous descriptions of food. Hate to love. Enemies to lovers. Anti-colonialism. Trickster gods. Dark-skinned Black Chosen Ones. Post-war rebuilding. Dark-skinned Black dragon riders. Reluctant soulmates. Corruption arcs. And so much more.
If you liked Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart, Furyborn by Claire Legrand, These Feathered Flames by Alexandra Overy, Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao, Fireborne by Rosaria Munda, Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard, and/or Fire with Fire by Destiny Soria, you’ll like my book.
If you liked the awesomely designed and named Jaegers and the drift compatibility system in Pacific Rim, the epic dragons and international politics in Game of Thrones and the upcoming House of the Dragon, Zuko’s final confrontation with his father in Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Anakin Skywalker’s fall from grace in Revenge of the Sith, you’ll like my book.
If you liked Zendaya’s iconic 2018 Met Gala outfit and thought it would make a great story, or if you’re SO OVER Chosen One narratives but you’re reading this now and realizing you don’t think you’ve actually seen a Jamaican Chosen One before, you’ll like my book.
OK, I’ve done my marketing so my agent can’t yell at me. LET’S GET DORKY.
Y’all I spent the entire day of my announcement absolutely petrified. Authors whose books I have on my shelf, authors whose books inspired me along the way, authors whose books I would give my left arm to read — they were congratulating me on my book deal! My people, Jamaicans and bisexuals and bisexual Jamaicans, were turning up to express their excitement! Total strangers, who have no idea who I am and don’t know my work, were saying that my book sounds amazing! It was the coolest thing that has ever happened to me in my life, but it was also so scary.
What if I disappoint them all?!
I talked about this on Twitter once, but the real secret they don’t tell you about publishing is that there’s no amount of accomplishments that will ever rid you of your imposter syndrome. You could be a bestselling author and still have imposter syndrome. You could win tons of awards and still have imposter syndrome. You could have a billboard in Times Square and still have imposter syndrome. So if you’ve never finished a book and have imposter syndrome, my advice to you is to make imposter syndrome your new best friend, because it will always, always be there for you when no one else is. 😂
My imposter syndrome whispers things like what if you can’t write actually. What if everyone’s just being nice. What if you can’t write actually. What if those comps makes everyone go into your book with high expectations that you can’t meet. WHAT IF YOU CAN’T WRITE ACTUALLY. Guys, the book hasn’t even come out yet. The book won’t be out for two years. But this has been screaming in my brain for the two years I worked on it, the entire time I was querying, the entire time I was on sub, and certainly the day I got the offer. It never ends!!!
But at the same time… I love this book so much. I love Faron and Elara, the sisters at the heart of the story. I love how much they love each other. I love Reeve and Signey and Zephyra and the gods. I love the island inspired Jamaica, the towns and cities inspired by Old Harbor, May Pen, Kingston, and Port Royal. I love the dragons, the biological ones and the mechanical ones. I loved getting to weave so many of my favorite tropes, character archetypes, and themes into the work. I love where the story is going. I love that people are excited about it.
I hope that as I get to share more about the book, that you stick with me on this journey to publication, that you preorder or library order my book when (and if) you can, that you tell your friends and your friends’ friends if you can’t, and that you make space in the book community for my Jamaican-inspired fantasy, for the Caribbean writers who will come after me, and for the Caribbean writers (shoutout to Ciannon Smart, Ibi Zoboi, Kacen Callender, Asha Bromfield, and Lauren Blackwood) already out here publishing.
And thanks so much for your support so far!
CHAPTER 3: SHOUT-OUT SECTION
This month, both Nadia and Yasemin requested that I give them a shout-out in my newsletter. So this one is dedicated to Nadia Noor, my agent sibling who tells absolutely horrible jokes and who I love so much, and to Yasemin Anders, my wife who helped me brainstorm the title of my debut novel. I love you awesome nerds.
CHAPTER 4: LOOK AT MY CAT!!!
As you may know, I adopted a shelter cat in December 2021, who I named Sora Mittens. Sora loves to just stare at me from various parts of the apartment, but this month I caught her staring up at me from over the side of the bed, and I just thought it was SO CUTE. Look at her EYES. Look at her FACE. Ignore my slippers and my bookshelf.
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. In the immortal words of the iCarly theme song, “live life, breathe air, I know somehow we're gonna get there and feel so wonderful.” Until next time!