Goodreads asked Kaila Eve Haines:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Kaila Eve Haines The idea for writing The Watsons:Emma came to me while reading the incomplete manuscript The Watsons by Jane Austen. At the beginning of the novel, we are introduced to Emma as the neighborhood sees her for the first time.
“Her skin was very brown, but clear, smooth, and glowing –“ Jane Austen, The Watsons
Word choice for an author is extremely important. We slave over each, and every word, asking ourselves is this what we really want to say? In this short text two words jumped out at me: skin and very
Skin. Skin is not the same thing as complexion. A complexion is mutable. A fair person exposed to the sun becomes darker, an ill person might take on a sickly or jaundiced hue. Skin is the outer layer of our body, and we are born into it.
Very. Very is an adverb used to emphasize the adjective. It means “To a high degree” Emma’s skin was not dark, it was not brown. It was very brown.
With the notion that Emma Watson was mixed race, the story unfolded naturally. I have written a series of posts on the topic that you can find with the hastag #TheWatsonsEmma.

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