#8 - Everyone Hail to the Pumpkin King Now
AKA "it's september but it's also autumn which means it's halloween, i said what i said"
PROLOGUE
Not to be the hundredth Swiftie to say this, but August slipped away into a moment in time, am I right? I can’t even remember most of last month, so I can’t catch you up, but I opened September by going to the National Book Festival with a friend. It was just a taste of what I hope to do often when I’m promoting my book in full, and I had so much fun. I saw phenomenal panels starring authors I really admire — including my friends, of course — and I got to listen to Nick Offerman speak and I got to steal food I mean what. I made new author friends, and I got to finally buy a copy of Spin Me Right Round by David Valdes, which I’m reading again right now. I’ll talk more about it in the next newsletter, I promise, but right now I just want to bask.
In the meantime, I’m looking forward to autumn, or as I call the entire three month period, Halloween. Orphan got a prequel in the form of Orphan: First Kill, and I checked it out only to find it was ten times better than the first one. I think I have a new comfort movie, y’all. And then, of course, Taylor Swift announced a new album (see below) so I’ve been listening to her most recent one, evermore, on repeat. It’s also perfect for the fall season, and I can’t just keep listening to the Beetlejuice musical soundtrack on loop. Or can I?
But like I said, I don’t remember most of August. So, as always, if you haven’t added my book, SO LET THEM BURN, on Goodreads yet, please do. And with my self-plug over, let’s move on into the meat of this newsletter.
CHAPTER 1: POP CULTURE MOMENT OF THE MONTH
I’m aware that I should probably leave Taylor Swift’s Midnights to be October’s pop culture moment of the month, but how could I not talk about how loud I screamed when she announced a new album in August? Whether it’s a fantasy or a contemporary, second world or current world, Taylor Swift is the soundtrack that I play for at least one scene as I draft. Her music has always spoken to me, but I think she elevates herself with every album and Midnights is going to a landmark.
Also, in celebration of this, I wore my fearless key necklace to DC for the National Book Festival, so, you know. Swiftie and proud. I can’t wait to revise my debut novel and work on my Adult fantasy and my YA paranormal to a whole new set of Taylor songs. And I can’t wait to see what other great books are produced to the sound of this new music. I’d say we should all cut TayTay a check for what she has done for YA literature, but she’s richer than any of us will ever be so nevermind.
CHAPTER 2: THE ART OF INSPIRATION
My name is Kamilah Cole, and I am addicted to commissioning art.
The blame lies firmly on the head of one Tashie Bhuiyan, who was the first person to ever show me art she’d gotten commissioned of characters from one of her books. I didn’t even know that was a thing you could do; I thought you had to wait until you were published and hope, pray, WISH that someone just drew you some fanart. Finding out I could commission blew my mind, changed my life, and emptied my wallet.
I got my first commission when I found a cool artist a few months later, and, y’all, I lost my damn mind. I was so inspired. As we entered the pandemic and I was no longer spending most of my money on lunch and commuting, I commissioned even more art. Not just for that book, but for almost every idea. There is so much talent in the digital art space, and I can’t say enough about how their talent inspires and feeds into my attempts at having talent*.
(*I can hear my friend Terry getting ready to hit me with a shoe. I am talented. I am talented!!!)
First, I’m an author who actually has trouble visualizing my characters, so I tend to assign a celebrity as an approximation of their “face” and go off of that. Getting art commissioned of my characters helps me see beyond the celebrity face to the actual original character I am crafting. I get to see what they’d actually wear, what actual expressions they make, birth marks, facial hair, style, jewelry, etc. Without having to do so much mental work of trying to hold onto what my character looks like, I can focus on my prose and their development.
Second, I love art and the artists that create it. Seeing my characters depicted in a beloved artist’s style is such a powerful feeling. Seeing people that I made up in my head, for a story that may be driving me up the wall, tends to renew my sense of purpose and refill my creative well. I can look at a piece of art and say, “Yes. This. This is the feeling I want to capture. This is the spirit I want my book to have. I want to write a story worthy of this art.” That was the feeling I got when I saw the very first commission for my Adult fantasy, #DreadBook, which, as promised, is below.
#DreadBook is an adult fantasy about power, who gets to have it, who gets to want it, and if there’s such a thing as wielding it responsibly. It’s also a fantasy romance about two people who are both powerful and powerless in many ways, and how they push each other to be better and do better. This was the very first art I commissioned for it (you can see the second art here), and it not only helped me figure out that theme but also figure out the characters. I could literally see them, and that helped me see them, you know?
Third and finally, I just love finding and working with new digital artists. As I said above, the talent in that community is unreal. The kindness and humor of the people I’ve gotten to work with, their passion, their professionalism, their pride in their work, has been both humbling and inspiring. I’ve met people as amazing Aishwarya, Juliana, and Alina. I’ve gotten art as amazing as the ones I linked to above, the one I’ve embedded here, and so many more that I have yet to share. And I hope to have even more money one day to get even more commissions that fuel me to tackle the blank page.
If you have the money and the means, I really encourage you to try commissioning — if not for yourself then for the writer in your life. Because, at the end of the day, there’s something so beautiful about the potential that art has to inspire more art. My debut novel, SO LET THEM BURN, was inspired by Zendaya’s Joan of Arc look at the 2018 Met Gala and all of the art that was drawn as a result of it. Now each of my stories has an artistic representation, even before they’re out in the world, that inspired me to put the story down on the page in the first place. I think that’s so amazing, and I am so thankful to artists. Past, present, future. Thank you.
CHAPTER 3: HAVE A LITTLE PODCAST, AS A TREAT
The actors behind the beloved, iconic characters Topanga, Shawn, and Eric have started a podcast in which they look back at Boy Meets World, episode by episode, and talk about everything to how television has changed since the ‘90s, what they wish had been different, and what they forgot they loved. It’s so cute, so wholesome, and so thoughtful with how they engage with things they didn’t necessarily have the language to view as problematic when they were children, and I think you should all check it out!
CHAPTER 4: SHOUT-OUT SECTION
This one goes out to Ale, who actually asked me for a shoutout back in July, but I only just remembered. Ale has been one of the most awesome people I’ve met on Book Twitter, and someone who makes me feel normal because Ale also has a million ideas and partially written story drafts every day. In fact, in many ways, they’re worse than me, because they will sneeze out 20K like it’s nothing while I’ll just write a summary and set it aside. Yes, Ale, I said you’re worse than me in my newsletter, so now the WORLD KNOWS, mwa ha ha.
At the same time, the world is not ready for the quality, depth, and pure Blackness of her stories. But you’d better make space for them anyway or I’ll fight!!
CHAPTER 5: LOOK AT MY CAT!!!
As you may know, I adopted a shelter cat in December 2021, who I named Sora Mittens. This month, Sora learned how to jump on top of the bar stools that my best friend’s mother bought for me, which now gives her access to the breakfast bar and the kitchen countertops beyond. So far, this has not become a problem, because she’s just used this perch to sleep, but I’ll keep you updated…
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. As summer turns slowly into fall, and the spooky basic bitches like myself rise, I ask you, as always, to find the things and the people that bring you joy and hold onto them, if you can. The world may be on fire, but there is strength and courage in still finding reasons to smile. See you next month!