What first drew you to writing?
I loved to read before I ever thought about writing. There’s something about words and the way writers put them together to say things in ways I could never have imagined. Reading opened up something creatively for me. It made me curious about what else could be said and how. And I’ve always had thoughts, observations, little ideas running through my head that I want to write down and share. I think writing grew naturally from that.
What’s your favorite line from something you’ve published? Where can readers find it?
I love this question. My favorite line from something I’ve published is,
The Fifteen stood above Chicago in the seam between what once was and what had been imagined, each holding the hand of the next, each reaching back still, because no future worth entering asks anyone to climb alone.
(Le Sony’r Ra: Sunrise, written for Neon & Smoke)
If your story were adapted for film, who would you cast?
If my story was adapted for film - do you mean the story I referenced my favorite line from? If so, I believe there’s merit to casting unknown young women. I would want the audience to meet the characters before they meet the actresses. I would cast the adult roles with the real life (living) women of the afrofuturistic movement who The 15 are inspired by - Fesa Nu, Lupita Nyong’o, Melissa Harris-Perry, Rasheedah Phillips, Lina Iris Viktor, Mae Jemison, Nona Hendryx, Grace Jones, Janelle Monáe, and Erykah Badu.
What’s inspiring you right now? Or what’s next?
I am inspired by the number of women who look like me who are writing speculative literature.