Zetta Elliott's Blog, page 4

autumn’s abundance

We sow and then we reap…it’s been a busy summer and I’m looking forward to the prequel’s publication (on September 14!) as well as harvest festivals, Halloween, and general fall fanfare (no pumpkin spice for me, though). I even ordered a new autumnal wreath with a decorative raven and a few friendly bats! It’s no longer 110 degrees here in Chicago but it’s still muggy and the temperatures don’t drop overnight. I’m ready for brisk mornings, and wool sweaters, and hot cider, and strong winds that make you shiver…my bingo card is almost complete and I’ve only got a few days until Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer. Kids are heading back to school, friends are dropping their teens off at college, and I’m gearing up to launch The Oracle’s Door! If you’re in Chicago, join us on the 8th at Three Avenues Bookshop for their end-of-summer book bash! I’ll be giving away five copies of the prequel and you can place an order for the hardcover. Tootsie rolls, a Chicago sweet treat, are the favorite food of Palmaran dragons and I’ll have some of those on hand, too.

If you’re in or near San Diego, join us at the New Children’s Museum—they’ve got more books to giveaway and a free art kit that shows you how to make a fire-breathing dragon! Then at the end of the month I’ll be in Pittsburgh for a few days. It’ll be the first time since our book came out four years ago that Noa and I will be presenting together…can’t wait!

dazzled by DC!

I woke at 4am today–again. It’s supposed to hit 107 degrees here in Chicago so I got out for a run at 7am and now it’s not even 10am and I feel like I’ve done all I want to do for the day! I was also up early on Friday but then my 8:30am flight was delayed three hours so I got into DC later than expected. Shadra and I had arranged to attend the NBF author dinner together but she was tired after the first week of classes and I was weary, too…so I skipped the dinner and went to the National Portrait Gallery instead, which was amazing. Having my portrait painted has been on my bucket list for a while and I find the many different styles of portraiture fascinating—especially this quilted portrait of Octavia Butler by Bisa Butler (no relation). I’ve always been dazzled by Mickalene Thomas’s portraits of Black women, which glitter with Swarovski crystals. I try to take new head shots every year and there are only four months left in 2024…portraits seems to combine how you see yourself with how you want the world to see you. But what if being your authentic self means you don’t “look good?” The UK royals have had some appalling portraits done in the past few years, but not all portraits are meant to be displayed in public. If I was going to be the only one looking at my portrait, how honest would I need it to be?

Saturday was a whirl but my amazing author escort Andrea made everything easy—she got me to every session on time despite the crowds, and captured everything including my unexpected encounter with Carla Hayden, 14th Librarian of Congress! Story time was a little intense because the kids ranged from 2-12 and the carpet with beanbags was set in the middle of the bustling exhibit hall. I felt like I was shouting and asked to be moved closer to the kids but ultimately think it went okay. I never know how A Place Inside of Me is going to be received; with two unsuccessful challenges fresh in my memory, I try to be upfront about the content to avoid any potential unpleasantness…but several parents thanked me for my reading and copies were given away afterwards. We’re out here sowing seeds…

Before story time I sat down with a Library of Congress staffer and answered questions about the impact their collections have had on my writing. I got to gush about the amazing black and white photographs of Aldine Square that I found online—including blueprints of the row houses. I gave Ms. Hayden the short version of that story along with a copy of The Oracle’s Door. I gave another to my escort, which left 8 for the festival attendees. Folks seemed excited about the prequel, so that’s encouraging! Now if only I could get past these last few hurdles and get the paperback, ebook, and hardcover DONE…

There was a line of eager readers waiting to attend our afternoon session. Almost all of them were there to see JC Cervantes, I think, but I still appreciated the chance to be in conversation about mining our cultures for magic. Our moderator Ashleigh asked some really rich questions, which made that one of the best festival sessions I’ve ever done! I grumble about how Random House never sends me anywhere to promote the dragon series but I really was grateful to have been sent to DC. I love the city, the mix of Black people, the abundance of art…but I can’t afford the coast any more. My friend Deborah was born in DC and has lived there her entire life; she admits that the relatively recent spike in rents/home prices makes DC less accessible than before. But where there’s a will, there’s a way…

evolution

Stories start in all kinds of different ways. Sometimes a friend’s gift presents me with an idea; other times world events send my imagination reeling. Last summer the wildfires in Canada blanketed US cities in orange smog. I was inspired to write a slightly dystopian story about a girl who lives in a camp for climate refugees. Her baby sister can barely breathe and with her parents’ attention elsewhere, the girl slips away to spend her days exploring the dead forest. There she meets the Witch of the Woods who turns out to be a healer who runs a seed bank. I can see the artwork in my mind’s eye but only a talented artist like Purple Wong can turn that vision into reality. Here’s one spread in progress, starting with my sad sketch:

A few more edits and we’ll be ready to move on to the next illustration…stay tuned for more sneak peaks!

Many thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway for The Oracle’s Door on Goodreads! We had over two thousand entries and books for the twenty-five winners went out late last week. We’ve got two reviews posted already and hope to get more before the pub date of September 14. I’ll be giving away copies at the National Book Festival next weekend as well. If you’re in or near DC, hope to see you there!

 

Ta-dah!

It’s finally done! This cover caused quite a few headaches and spanned the globe, starting in Brazil, then going to Indonesia, and finishing in San Francisco. I’m so glad that I hired Matthew Smith-Gonzalez because having the IndiePubDoc on my side has given me the book of my dreams! My newsletter went out this morning; you can read it here. The giveaway on Goodreads starts today; enter here. And yesterday’s press release went out through IBPA; three responses so far. They just sent yet another marketing opportunity but I think I’ve reached my limit. Will I earn back the money I’ve spent so far? Time will tell. This really does feel like an experiment since I’ve never hired so many people to “self”-publish a book. IBPA refers to us as “author publishers” but that  doesn’t feel like the right fit. I’m only publishing my own work, no one else’s, and I can’t really compete even with a small press because a staff of three is still two more than I’ve got. But it definitely takes a village to get a book out in the world and I’m very grateful for the artists and designers and experts who’ve helped me along the way. I’ll be launching this title on September 14 at the New Children’s Museum in San Diego—can’t wait to see their new Octavia Butler exhibit!

See you in DC!

It’s official—I am now allowed to share that I will be in conversation with J.C. Cervantes at the National Book Festival in August! I don’t think I’ve been to D.C. since before the pandemic so it’ll be nice to catch up with friends and check out a few museums. Hopefully we won’t be in the grip of another heatwave. June has been broiling…summer definitely isn’t my favorite season and I tend to go out early in the day to avoid the heat. On Saturday I woke with a migraine but went for a quick run, took a pill, took a nap, and then spent the rest of the day reading and writing. I took my blood pressure that evening and it wasn’t optimal but it was close! I’ve started taking yet another supplement to help with my joint pain. My grandparents used to have countless prescriptions that took up half the kitchen table; I’m not there yet but the bottles are adding up! Can’t get an appointment to see a rheumatologist until next spring so for now I’m running every other day, taking my supplements, and painkillers as needed. Maybe it’s arthritis, #maybeitsmenopause…

In other news…if you’re hitting the road this summer or want to hear some empowering poems while you’re at the beach, check out the audiobook of SAY HER NAME, which is on sale until 7/21 for just $2.25 over at . Personally, I can’t see myself lying on the beach when it’s 97 degrees here in Chicago but I am playing bingo with Jed Dearybury and need a photo of myself next to a body of water…

Purple

I dread having kids ask me to name my favorite novel but I’m always happy to share my favorite color: purple. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I’ve now collaborated on *nine* books with Purple Wong! Based in Hong Kong, Purple has a whimsical style that perfectly captures the magic of THE ORACLE’S DOOR. I’ve had quite a few issues with the cover but my designer Deasy is hard at work and I should have something ready to share soon.

We’re stuck in a heatwave here in Chicago and after being outside for most of yesterday, I’m camping out in front of the air conditioner today. Summer isn’t my favorite season but I’ve decided to try some new activities—canoeing along the African American Heritage Water Trail yesterday. My cousin will be coming to visit next month and I’m hoping we can stop at one of the Amish villages in IN on our way back to Toronto. In August I’ll be in DC and that leaves plenty of time to (hopefully) finish a couple of novels.

I’ve been stressing about the prequel—I’ve self-published plenty of books but this is my first time buying advertisements and paying to send out a press release. Every week IBPA sends a new offer or tip on how indie authors can promote their books. I signed up for yet another webinar this week, though I often find they don’t contain much useful information. I’m not that active on social media but hopefully someone who is will help spread the word because I don’t have $15K to hire a publicist. I got a stunning illustration from my artist in Scotland but can’t yet afford to proceed with that book. Purple’s art is making me want to do another color picture book with her—maybe one for Halloween. I have too many manuscripts! It’ll be a relief to finish editing and designing the prequel; in a few weeks, it’ll be on NetGalley and won’t take up so much space in my mind…

 

through

My friend lost her mother last week. They were very close and Mrs. King generously extended her support and enthusiasm for the arts to Rosa’s many creative friends, including me. I watched the funeral in Texas on Facebook last Sunday, and then the next day lost a dear friend here in Chicagoland who was one of my “other mothers.” I visited Satia just a few days before her death; I arranged the flowers I’d brought in a vase by her bed, told her I loved her, promised to come back and visit soon. I arrived at the care home knowing something was wrong and wasn’t entirely surprised when she told me she had cancer. I just held her hand and listened as she talked about how awful the chemo made her feel. Sometimes I think we’re just meant to be a witness. Our instinct is to fix and fuss but sometimes there’s nothing you can do.

Grief is mixed up with so many other emotions. This month marks twenty years since my father died of cancer, and in 2018 it was my friend Mary stolen too soon by pancreatic cancer. I wrote a strange poem for Mary while visiting her for the last time in the UK, and I wrote an angry poem yesterday that I’ll probably never share. Then I attended a virtual ritual on intuition where my tarot reader asked us what weighty feelings did we need to release? He took us through visualizations about bubbles and lilacs and I thought that might open the floodgates, but it didn’t. I don’t even feel sad, really. Just sort of untethered. I don’t have many close friends in Chicago and losing Satia somehow makes the city feel less real, less necessary. Not that I have another destination in mind. I hope to get back to Ireland this fall but that feels like a long ways away.

I had two doctor’s appointments this week and my vitals were good. Whatever caused my blood pressure to spike seems to be resolved, though I’ll continue to use my at-home monitor. I measure a lot of things these days. Today I requested health records so I’ll be ready for my upcoming mammogram. Then it’s time for another colonoscopy. We do all the right things to protect ourselves and prolong our lives but nothing’s guaranteed. When I’m in this kind of mood, I usually write but I haven’t yet found my momentum in May. I spent the past week working with a new cover artist for the prequel and trying to figure out which trim size to use. Folks will complain if I diverge aesthetically from the other books in the dragon series but this story IS different so why should I try to make it “fit in?” If I choose a custom trim size to match the Random House paperback, the book won’t be available to booksellers. And if I publish through Ingram to make it accessible to them, I’ll have to raise the price by several dollars. I’m not going to please everyone so I might as well just please myself.

The Amish novel is waiting to be finished but I started it four years ago and now wonder how to write in the pandemic, whether it’s really a novel for teens when the four main characters aren’t teenagers anymore…the dramatic monologues are done and I like them a lot. The files are open on my computer; the outline has been sitting on my desk for weeks. I think I just needed some time this week to not hustle, not push. There are still two weeks left in May—plenty of time to sort myself out and work through my grief or whatever it is I’m feeling right now. Rosa texted me yesterday to send her condolences and she reminded me that the only way is through. But wading through water requires us to slow down, so that’s what I’m going to do.

Summer Reads

Tomorrow afternoon we’ll be discussing books that are part of Brodart’s summer reading program. There’s still time to register here and a recording will be shared if you can’t attend in real time. Tomorrow’s panel will be my last kid lit event until the National Book Festival in August. That means the summer will be reserved for writing!

This past weekend I was in Baltimore for the Reginald Lewis Museum’s book festival; it was wonderful to see so many friends gathered together in one place and the exhibit Black Woman Genius is excellent—don’t miss it if you’re in or near Maryland. I’ve been dealing with a cluster migraine for about a week but I’ve still managed to keep up with NaPoWriMo. Writing a poem a day has also helped me complete the poetry section of my hybrid verse novel. It’s with one editor and I’m aiming to finish the prose section by the end of May. Then I can turn back to Ireland and my middle grade time-travel novel.

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about this article. Did Big 5 publishers lie on the stand to make themselves look like victims? Probably. Do 90% of books sell less than 12 copies? Probably not. Apparently I’m in elite company since only 10% of authors sell more than 500,000 copies but I’m certain my publisher didn’t spend the average of $36K on marketing and publicity. I’m giving editors a couple more weeks before proceeding with what publishers are now calling “disintermediation”—otherwise known as self-publishing. If you’ve got a big following, why not cut out the middle man and engage directly with your audience? Yesterday an author friend recommended a local publicist but when I visited her site, it clearly states that she doesn’t accept clients with self-published books. The main industry publications won’t review indie titles and many libraries won’t acquire a book that hasn’t been reviewed. I know the drill. I’m still a bit anxious but I’m also excited—it’s a new challenge but I’ve got over a decade of experience. I’ve sold over 30K self-published books and I have media contacts who loved the dragon series and might be open to the prequel. It might flop but there’s only one way to find out…wish me luck!

Samhain in St. Kitts

I finished my first Ireland story on Monday! I’m not happy with the title, “Samhain in St. Kitts,” but it’ll do for now. I’ve been working on the author’s note, which is stalled so I thought I’d post it in here to encourage me to finish it up. I’m writing it more for myself than for kids, I think, theorizing what I’m now calling my “Sankofa series” of stories that blend Black history and fantasy. That pretty much describes every novel I’ve written over the past twenty+ years, starting with A Wish After Midnight, but I think of these stories set in Ireland and Scotland as somehow different—they’re history, fantasy, and ancestry. I’ve written the Irish into a few of my books over the years, including my latest, The Oracle’s Door, but the intention now is different. It’s not exactly atonement but maybe an acknowledgement of…shame? rage? discomfort? There’s something I need to process personally and then there’s the silence I want to disrupt. Why don’t these books already exist? Why do Ireland and Scotland and England get to keep feeding their children fictions that bury facts? This is what I’ve got so far:

I visited Ireland for the first time in October 2023. I grew up in Canada believing my maternal grandfather, Frank Arthur Hobbs, had Irish heritage but genealogical research revealed his roots were actually English and Scottish. I learned that the ancestors I believed to be Irish were originally settlers who enabled English colonization of Ireland. Those same ancestors then left Ireland more than a century later to similarly displace the First Nations of Canada. It’s a complicated history that I don’t yet fully understand, but I wanted to make some sort of offering using my skills as a scholar and children’s book author.

With the Sankofa series I am generating narratives for young readers that reveal the links between the islands from which my ancestors originated. The genre of historical fantasy permits me to speculate when the “official” historical record fails to document the realities of marginalized and oppressed people. While in Dublin last fall, I visited the EPIC Museum and learned in a temporary exhibit (Entangled Islands: Ireland & the Caribbean) that the Irish were expelled from St. Kitts after the 1641 rebellion over fears they would align with the French against the English. Though my father was from the neighboring island of Nevis, I knew this historical event would form the basis of my first story about the Irish. It was about a week before Samhain when I left Dublin, and after reading an article in a local paper, I decided to imagine the Gaelic festival in a Caribbean context.

Irish indentured servants brought their cultural practices with them when they crossed the Atlantic to labor for a fixed term in the Americas. What if an Irish woman shared the rituals of Samhain with an enslaved African girl? Stripped of her true name and forced to speak English under threat of the lash, the girl nonetheless fights to retain her Yoruba identity and easily recognizes the trickster Orisha Esu when he appears at Samhain. Guardian of the Crossroads, Esu presents the girl with several options: return to the plantation from which she has fled, enter the realm of the Fae and enjoy eternal youth, or head into the mountains to join an interracial maroon community.

I guess I need to conclude with a paragraph about takeaways and what I hope to convey to kids, why this particular fiction should matter to anyone else but me…

In book news, Dragons in a Bag now has a lower price for a limited time; publishers claim middle grade sales are in a slump but I’m grateful for all the readers who are still supporting my series. The Sankofa series won’t enjoy that same kind of commercial success but these stories mean just as much to me.

I only had three gigs this month and one just canceled so I have plenty of time to work on my Amish novel and have started scouting farm stays in PA and IN. I’m heading to Terre Haute to celebrate a friend’s promotion so I might as well tack on a few nights in Amish country. At the end of the month I’ll be in Baltimore for a children’s book festival at the Reginald Lewis Museum—join us if you can!

KidLit4Ceasefire

Want to support children in conflict zones? Then head over to the auction site for #KidLit4Ceasefire! There are over 300 items you can bid on, including a one-hour virtual author visit with me. Normally that would cost over a thousand dollars but right now, bidding starts at $45…a great gift for a school that might not otherwise be able to afford a book talk. The money raised goes to charities in Gaza, Sudan, the Congo, and to support clean water in Flint, MI. You can bid on signed books, manuscript critiques, book swag—please take a minute to check it out! The news can make us feel powerless but there ARE ways we can help.