Glimpses of 4 New Favorite Authors from Black Writer Therapy

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Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:00:00

Welcome to Author Express. Thanks for checking us out. This is the podcast where you give us 15 minutes of your time, and we give you a chance to hear the voice behind the pages and get to know your new favorite author in a new light. I'm Shawna Rodrigues, one of your hosts. A fellow author, host of The Grit Show, and the founder of Authentic Connections Podcast Network, which makes podcast possible.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:00:31

This week, we are doing something a little bit different. We are keeping our express format. Don't worry. But with the help of Black Writers Therapy, a fellow author focused podcast on the Authentic Connections Network, I get to bring you moments from 4 different authors and give you a chance to get to know them even more. We'll start with Stacy Hawkins Adams in episode 18, sharing with us a little from her book, The Someday List, and something I think we can all relate to.

Ella Shawn [: 00:01:04

How are you healing?

Stacy Hawkins Adams [: 00:01:07

Oh, that’s a tough, how am I healing today? So, when you ask the question, you're asking in terms of literally today, like, within this 24-hour period.

Ella Shawn [: 00:01:14

Yeah.

Stacy Hawkins Adams [: 00:01:14

Wow. That's a tough one today. Last week, my daughter's 25, and she's getting married in 8 months. She's very close to her future in laws, and so am I. Our families have merged. They've been dating, oh, about 4 years. And so, her future father-in-law passed away last week.

Ella Shawn [: 00:01:30

Oh, my goodness.

Stacy Hawkins Adams [: 00:01:31

So, today is a little bit emotionally charged because I talked to her, and she's having a tough time and her fiancé, and they're questioning whether they need to have the wedding, and they're still going to get married. They're just wondering, should they just elope and scrap their plans. So, it's interesting because they're 25 and they're 26. And so, they're young, and of course, it's out. And so, you’re on that journey with your child. It's been an emotional day because I'm mothering. I've been working and all of that. It's just my hardest with her and with them and, you know, just remembering being young and hopeful and just to kind of have this happen in the middle of that. So, that's kind of where I am. I've had a lot of grief in my life. I've lost some siblings. Both of my parents are deceased. So, I personally know what that journey is like, and I think this is probably taking me back there a little bit.

Ella Shawn [: 00:02:17

Yes. I can see how that would be triggering. I'm sorry to hear that. I am sorry to hear that. I do remember being 25 and planning my wedding. Going through all of it. And the whole time, I was thinking, I don't even believe in marriage.

Stacy Hawkins Adams [: 00:02:33

Now that's another conversation. That's interesting.

Ella Shawn [: 00:02:37

Like, there were women in my family who were, they were happily married wives, but not happily married women.

Stacy Hawkins Adams [: 00:02:45

That's interesting. You got to explain that to me now.

Ella Shawn [: 00:02:48

Okay. So, my aunties who are married, like, they were very vibrant women when they were not around their husbands and they're not doing the whole family thing, and you could tell that when they were, like, in the house or doing the whole, I'm the wife, that it was a completely different headspace, and they didn't seem and they weren't vibrant, and they didn't shine, and there was no, like, oh, light in their eyes. And I just, like, I don't know if I'm willing to give up my womanhood to be a what?

Stacy Hawkins Adams [: 00:03:20

Wow. That's pretty deep, Ella. You got to write about that. That's deep.

Ella Shawn [: 00:03:25

That's all I write about because I'm still confused.

Stacy Hawkins Adams [: 00:03:29

But I get it. I absolutely get that because our society deveres being a white. And in many ways, you got to, like, be less of yourself.

Ella Shawn [: 00:03:40

Exactly. Because then the man that you married, he loved you as your woman. Right? But then, of course, now that you're his wife, he sees you as his wife, and God forbid, y'all get have, you know, get having babies, and now you're the mother of his children, and he can't see the woman in you anymore, so then he can't see it. And how are you supposed to see all of your woman as if he's not reflecting that to you, and you just say, okay. Well, this is what I have. This is what I chose. Then you'd be happy as a wife and mom.

Stacy Hawkins Adams [: 00:04:11

My novel, The Someday List, that is exactly my character, Rachelle's journey.

Ella Shawn [: 00:04:16

I saw this in your bio, and I was like, I don't know what this book is about, but I have to go get it because it sounds so much. Like, I was thinking in my mind, it sounds like, this woman has put up or somebody and us is a woman. This woman has put up everything she's ever wanted in life because she was playing the role.

Stacy Hawkins Adams [: 00:04:36

Yep. That's exactly what it was. And a dying friend challenge her and other people to make a list of the things that they want to accomplish, and she tries to do it that evening after this party. And she can write a list for her husband. She can write a list for her children. She can't get past number 1 on her own list. And number 1, she gave up to become a wife.

Ella Shawn [: 00:04:58

There you go.

Stacy Hawkins Adams [: 00:04:59

So, the book is about her journey to figuring out what should be on her someday list.

Ella Shawn [: 00:05:03

Now isn't that strange and horrible?

Stacy Hawkins Adams [: 00:05:07

I actually wrote that book because that was my 4th novel. And I would be out, like, on book tours or I'd be getting emails from women, but mostly on book tours. You know, you're signing books for people, women, and they'd be like, oh my goodness. I'm so proud of you. Or, oh, this is so amazing. You're living your journey. I can't do that or it's too late for me.

Stacy Hawkins Adams [: 00:05:26

And I'd be like, it's not too late for you or yes, you can. I’ve been saying that multiple time in different cities, in different spaces so, I wanted to write a book to encourage women that your someday list can be your today list. I'm no different than anybody else. Yes. I had to wake up super early in the morning. I had to get my kids on team mommy so I could take my little writing breaks, but I'm no different than anybody else. So, that's literally that's why that book was written because women were saying that to me.

Ella Shawn [: 00:05:56

Wow. Yeah. I was like, I have to read this book. It kind of that title just kind of just, like, boom. It hit me right there, and I was like, I have to go find this book. Let's go find this book. I'm still married. Right? Still married. We've been together since high school. Like, we'll be celebrating 31 years.

Stacy Hawkins Adams [: 00:06:12

Oh, wonderful.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:06:14

One of my favorite things about Black Writer Therapy is the incredible rapport that Ella Shawn has with her guests. This podcast goes deep. While we try to give you a glimpse in 15 minutes on Author Express, Ella Shawn's episode on Black Writer Therapy is closer to an hour, and some of the more recent episodes go closer to an hour and a half. You get to sit in with her and witness deeper reflections and really get to know the authors and a little more about them and their history and what's behind their books. Since there's so much material to choose from and such talented authors you can get to know, I narrowed in what more I'd share from you around a theme. Since it is Black History Month, I decided to find clips that may connect to that theme, and decide that this clip from Piper T. Huguley, and why she chose to write historical fiction was a valuable place to start and one you'd appreciate.

Ella Shawn [: 00:07:17

Why historic fiction?

Piper Huguley [: 00:07:18

Well, I'm a professor by day. And when I was teaching at Stalman College, I would be in the classroom and I would, you know, I always ask my students at some point, whatever I'm teaching, what is it that they read outside of the classroom that has not been assigned to them. And, at this particular iteration around 2010-ish, they were telling me that they were reading Zane. This was a response that I was getting repeatedly around that time. I'm not putting anything on her. That's wonderful that you're getting that kind of education, but there's also some other things

Ella Shawn [: 00:07:58

Yeah.

Piper Huguley [: 00:07:58

Where you might need to educate and edify yourself. So, I was wondering where and how they might get that, particularly because as a literature professor, I often found myself having to tell the history first in order for them to get to the literature. And so, it finally occurred to me, in my on and off writing space that I had been having, what if the students had something that they could read that talked about people their age in that 18 to 22 year old space on a historic level that showed that people their age at different points in time did great marvelous things. So, the other aspect that I noticed teaching at an HBCU was how much the history is a part of not just the curriculum in the class, but also in the practices outside of the classroom in terms of the awareness of how the school was founded, brought about, put together, supported over the years. So, my thought was, I could write a series about how historically black colleges and universities were a way in which for Black people to respond to the attempts after the civil war to shut down their humanity.

Ella Shawn [: 00:09:25

Right. Right.

Piper Huguley [: 00:09:26

So, that's how I developed my 1st series, which was about a fictitious historically black college and university in the wake of the civil war and how it was put together. So, I took all these little bits and pieces from different HBCUs and how they came to be and put it in the home to Milford College series, which is what that is about. And since I know they're reading Zane for a reason or whatever, I made it a romance.

Ella Shawn [: 00:09:53

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Piper Hugely [: 00:09:55

So that they could tap into that part of it, you know, as well. So, there are 3 books in which technically, it's 4 books. Four and a half, three and a half books because there's a novella.

Ella Shawn [: 00:10:07

Okay.

Piper Hugely [: 00:10:08

That I wrote as well that conveys that history about how HBCUs got started.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:10:15

Isn't it fabulous how much depth you get from the conversation on Black Writer Therapy? This podcast is a movement as much as it is a podcast. It's a conversation and proverbial couch for Black writers who endure even more obstacles from a publishing industry that is dismissive and further marginalizes their narrative or expects it to fit neatly into a box that they deem as marketable or if it's a story that they want to tell or that they're willing to sell. So, it's amazing on Black Writer Therapy to hear the ways that these incredible women have persevered in this industry and the way that they have found the stories that need to be told and that have been successful. Most of the time, you feel as though you've joined a conversation with 2 old friends even though a lot of times Ella Shawn has just met these incredible women, and they've just started these conversations. It's incredible how intimate these conversations feel and how much you gain from them. So, she also adds in the show notes, specifically on the episode we're about to talk about, she has queries and questions offered to encourage deeper thinking, and sometimes they're specific for allies or for the publishing industries to actually look at what the conversation that was held brings out and what it can bring out for you and you’re thinking as well. So, one of these early episodes was with ND Jones, and that's the one we're going to talk about. And she talks about this book that should be on everyone's list to be read and that it should be mandated in programs. And it's a good reminder for me that I need to, I was driving when I heard the episode, and she mentions the book at the beginning and not later, so I didn't put into my TBR. So, now that I'm talking to you about it, I'm actually going to put it in the show notes and put it on my TBR. So, I actually get this book on my TBR. And it's a book that we should all read and give us better understanding and knowledge and awareness, and it's just a beautiful conversation. So, when she speaks about the book that they're talking about is Mafdet's Claws, and it's one that we should all read and know about. And it's beautiful when you hear talking about the depth of this book.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:12:29

So, let me just go to the clip so you can hear about the conversation between ND Jones and Ella Shawn about this clip.

ND Jones [: 00:12:39

Their life before their death mattered. But their death mattered as well. So, yeah. These are, like, some of my favorite scenes because of the emotional weight of them. We know that stuff happen and, so, yeah, I would just take particular pieces of their whole brutality as far as the native or with indigenous people of this country. Even parts with the trail of tears and the killing of the babies to so called spared them, and that goes to our history of enslavement as well. Like, it's so much violence in the history of this country that we still don't talk about. We still don't acknowledge.

ND Jones [: 00:13:28

As I'm speaking, I physically feel the weight of the actual people that went into providing the research, the foundation, and the details of that story. It's so much there, and it's one of those books that I know that would never beat this huge, big consumable, you know?

Ella Shawn [: 00:13:56

It needs to be. And I am not just saying this because I am not one to ever blow smoke and try and make people feel great. That book needs to be taught at the college level, at high school level, because the way in which you tell this horrific story, because the reality is you brought it all the way full circle, allowing Mafdet to live, to be a hundred and some odd years old. So, we're in, like, the 2000 at the end of the book, and it's still here. Maybe those people are not here physically, but that experience is still coded in the DNA of their current people. And the way you wrote this, you somehow created a literary wormhole and sucked me back to 1801, and I couldn't move forward until the years moved forward in your text. I couldn't get up from the nightmare until Mafdet was able to come out of the nightmare.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:15:09

Isn't that powerful stuff? That was episode number 5, so you can go listen to it right now. Black Writer Therapy is releasing bonus content right now. Their season will begin again in June. What's being released right now in these bonus episodes is Ella's notes on her interviews with folks as she's interviewing them and getting ready for the upcoming season. So, as she's prepping, you can start to hear about her conversation she's having. And the one that she just released, which well, one of the ones she just released, The Session Notes, is number 201. And in that session notes, she talks about her conversation related to Black History Month and talking about it being celebrated across the globe and what she learns about it. So, that's a great one for you to drop in and learn more about an upcoming episode she's going to be having.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:16:00

She also has another one she releases on her bonus episode 200 with Paulette Stout. Paulette Stout was on episode 3 of Author Express. And that was when one of her earlier novels is coming out, and she is now on the 3rd novel in this series and you can hear more about that in her conversation with Ella Shawn. So, you should definitely go check that out. And their conversation talks about using sensitivity readers and also about her latest novel that is coming out, What Eyes Can't See. So, you should definitely check out that bonus episode to connect again with Paulette and possibly go listen to episode 3 if you want to get familiar with her again in one of her earlier books that was in that series.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:16:47

And if you have time for deeper dive with authors, Black Writers Therapy is where you should head. The little preview of moments that we had today, talking with ND Jones, listening to our conversation with Piper Huguley and Stacy Hawkins Adams is just the tip of the iceberg. There's so much more to be discovered there. She has incredible authors, and we'll be launching her season with even more. So, you can go over there and discover her 1st season and listen to all those conversations and be ready to listen to all the new ones when they come out. There is so much to be discovered there.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:17:22

So, to close, we're going to end our show as we always do with a book that inspired an author most. Fortunately, we had Ella Shawn, on episode 30. So, she's going to come back and you're going to hear directly from her about the book that has inspired her the most. You can also hear more from Ella Shawn on a regular basis because she has a Substack, which is essentially newsletter, but a little bit more elevated and a little bit more unique and that it has more depth to it and also connects you to other pieces. It's pretty awesome the way they do Substack. So, a little bit of grace, and it is especially for writers. So, if that's you, you definitely want to get connected. And I know I value her insights and I encourage you to check out the link in the show notes and get connected to that. So, we will end this episode with Ella Shawn and her telling us what book inspired her the most.

Ella Shawn [: 00:18:18

Yes. Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston, and she is hands down my favorite author. I absolutely adore her. I didn't discover her until my senior year in high school, and then I became a devout worshiper of Zora Neale Hurston. That book redefined womanhood for me, and it also redefined what a marriage, what a relationship was for me. Seeing Janie laying out under that tree, looking up at the bumblebees and them going in and out of the flowers, and she was like, so this is a marriage. This is what it means to be married. You give no more than you take, and you take no more than you give, but you are both being fed. You're both happy. You're both whole, separate, and together, and it kind of set a standard for me that I never deviated from.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:19:21

Thank you for joining us. I hope you take a second to give us stars or a review on your favorite podcasting platform. It really makes a difference in folks being able to find us. We'll be here again next Wednesday. Follow us on Instagram at Author Express Podcast to see who's coming up next. And don't forget, keep it express, but keep it interesting.