I am a Novelist (who appreciates tea)

Happy late-November! AKA Happy I-Am-A-Novelist Month to me!

And happy holidays (yes, The Decorations are up, ^muahaha ).

How was November, you ask? Sit back and let’s discuss 🍵

This month’s lesson was the power of (herbal) tea.

This month’s fragrances were lemon and mango piña colada.

This month’s plant was a Norfolk Island pine named Zero.

This month’s writing is dedicated to I’LL MAKE A SPECTACLE OF YOU, officially, and I do mean Officially, out now!

This month’s tarot card was The Hermit.

Let’s start with the power of (herbal) tea, peppermint to be precise 🍵

Launching my debut novel was everything I’d been told it would be: exhilarating, rewarding, and exhausting.

Exhilarating: More people than ever were reading my words and engaging with the characters, themes, and setting that had only lived within me for many, many years. I’d done it! I’d immortalized my reverence for so many Black people across American history and done it in a horrifying manner like only I can do!

Cue: Tea time to calm my nerves about being perceived. It worked! Well, that plus a nap, then one of my comfort shows (this time it was Laverne & Shirley, other options were Psych, The Golden Girls, and Doctor Who)

Rewarding: Many readers expressed their excitement about discovering more Black horror stories. For some, it was their first time reading an adult speculative or horror book set at an HBCU, which made it even more special because it sparked their curiosity about the content.

Saying, “Oh, I guess I haven’t read a horror book set at an HBCU. Cool!” might seem simple, but I really hope it encourages readers to seek out more stories set at HBCUs, that include Hoodoo, or feature all-Black and/or queer casts. I also hope it inspires them to research and champion HBCUs as centers of education and historical and cultural institutions.

🍵: Tea time to calm my nerves about being many people's first author in the speculative fiction genre set at an HBCU. I want this book to honor HBCUs and their historical significance. However, I have to remind myself that, while my goal is to inspire others and commemorate Black history, that’s A Lot to carry on anyone’s shoulders. And as for my work on the book? It’s finished!

Exhausting: Interviews, social media interactions, conversations with my team, colleagues, friends, and family were wonderful, but by week's end, I was overstimulated.

That’s right, 🍵: I sat quietly, feeling grateful and hopeful about my art and its future. People are excited about this book! Folks want Black gothic horror! Which suggests they will love what I’m writing next 👀

🍵🍵

This month’s fragrances were lemonade and mango piña colada.

Inspired by a scene in my debut novel where the main character, Zora Robinson, and her best friend go to a local restaurant, the Cornbread Lounge, taking a much-needed break from the woes of grad school.

Of course, there’s also all the [redacted] happening in the woods outside school that Zora can’t stop thinking about.

But that’s a story for another day.

At the Cornbread Lounge, Zora’s bestie, Lamont, orders (and re-orders throughout the night) a frozen lime daiquiri.

This month’s fragrance is my ode to Lamont’s frozen lime daiquiri.

Body Lotion: Lemon Custard by Philosophy

Notes: Lemon zest, Vanilla bean, Bergamot

Perfume: Capri in a Bottle by Kayali

Notes: Lemon, Sugar, Vanilla

Perfume Oil: Piña Colada by Sand + Fog

Notes: Mango, Pineapple, Mandarin, Lemon, Bergamot, Coconut, Blackcurrant, Peach, Patchouli, Tonka, Caramel, Sandalwood, Vanilla

This month’s plant was a Norfolk Island pine named Zero.

Pictured is Zero, a member of the evergreen family, wrapped in red, green, and gold ribbons and adorned with ornaments as part of my winter decorations. It was surprisingly calming to gently wrap Zero in ribbon. I recommend that you, too, wrap trees whenever possible.

Zero always looked like a Christmas tree to me. So, I named him after Zero, the dog in one of my favorite holiday movies, A Nightmare Before Christmas. I listen to that soundtrack occasionally, and my top three songs are:

#3 This is Halloween

#2 What’s This?

#1 Oogie Boogie’s Song

Yes, of course, I own the CD. (One day, I will write about physical media—probably by way of a horror novel)

ANYWAY, back to Zero, the Norfolk Island pine, whom I love dearly.

Zero receives plenty of direct light and, as far as my memory serves, is the only plant among my 90+ collection that I’ve never needed to move. He thrives in rich, sandy soil, requires minimal pruning, and enjoys occasional strolls to the porch to bask in real sunlight, rather than just under the grow lights.

He’s what you would call an ‘intellectual.’

Honestly, Zero is the most chill plant of the bunch. There wasn’t a “learn as you go” with Zero; there was just “go”.

The plants only get more diva-ish from here!

This month’s writing was dedicated to I’LL MAKE A SPECTACLE OF YOU, my debut horror novel.

First, a quick book pitch: While researching local lore, grad student Zora is haunted by visions of the past as the lines between fiction and reality start to blur.

In this thique section, I’ll discuss:

1. How I incorporated Black reclamation into SPECTACLE’S narrative before ever writing a word

2. The Black historical figures named in the book

   A. Main and secondary characters

   B. Other historical figures

   C. The buildings around Bricksbury Mountain College are intentionally named

3. The inspiration for the title

Let’s talk about a major theme from I’LL MAKE A SPECTACLE FROM YOU: Black reclamation.

If you read my newsletter, which, obviously, you do, then you know I enjoy researching Black history, and when I chose to set my story at a fictional HBCU, I wanted to ensure I was well-informed about real-life HBCUs.

The oldest four-year HBCU, Cheyney University (originally called the African Institute for Colored Youth), was founded in 1837 through a donation from Richard Humphreys, a white Quaker philanthropist.

To further embody the themes of Black reclamation in I’LL MAKE A SPECTACLE OF YOU, I set the story at Bricksbury Mountain College, the “first” HBCU, founded and led by a visionary Black brother and sister in 1823, a remarkable fifteen-ish years before Cheyney University!

I made this choice to transform the narrative, highlighting not only the significance of (reading a book set at, or) being a student at the first Black-created HBCU, but also emphasizing the profound sacrifices necessary to safeguard such a cherished institution.

Let’s talk about some of the Black historical figures and connections I mention in the book!

Zora Robinson is the main character. She is an Appalachian studies grad student dedicated to preserving Black folklore, and is inspired by folklorist, anthropologist, and my personal literary icon, Zora Neale Hurston.

In Zora Neale Hurston’s 1931 anthropological collection, “Hoodoo in America”, there is a chapter and sub-chapter titled ‘New Orleans, Protestant’ and ‘Dr. Grant’ respectively. Hurston describes Dr. Grant as a hoodoo doctor and “swamper” who collects his supplies from literal swamps and specializes in legal cases. In I’LL MAKE A SPECTACLE OF YOU, Zora Robinson’s thesis advisor, Dr. Grant, recommends she investigate a bizarre diary that contains folklore about a beast wandering the woods near campus.

Other historical figures mentioned include musicians DeFord Bailey, Nina Simone, and Charley Pride (synergy✨), writers Jupiter Hammon, bell hooks, and Effie Waller Smith, and Knoxville businessman and philanthropist Caldonia Fackler Johnson.

What’s in a name?

Bricksbury Mountain College building names:

• Edward C. Williams Library, named after Edward Christopher Williams (February 11, 1871 – December 24, 1929), who was the first Black professionally trained librarian.

  Fun fact: In 1916, Williams was elected head librarian of HBCU, Howard University!

  Read closely in SPECTACLE for commentary on ‘professionally’ trained librarianship degrees.

• Inez Beverly Prosser Student Health Center, named after Inez Beverly Prosser (1895 - September 5, 1934), who was a psychologist, teacher and school administrator often regarded as the first Black woman to receive a Ph.D in psychology.

• Mary Smith Peake building, named after Mary Smith Peake, born Mary Smith Kelsey (1823 – February 22, 1862), who was a teacher, humanitarian and a member of the Black elite in Hampton, best known for starting a school for the children of formerly enslaved people.

• Stokes-Pickett Sports Complex, named after Olympians Louise Stokes (October 27, 1913 – March 25, 1978) and Tidye Pickett (November 3, 1914 – November 17, 1986). When they qualified for the 1932 Los Angeles Games, sprinters Stokes and Pickett were the first Black American women to make the US Olympic team.

• Robert Robinson Taylor dorms, named after Robert Robinson Taylor (June 8, 1868 – December 13, 1942), who was an architect and educator, and the first Black student enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the first accredited African-American architect when he graduated in 1892.

  Fun fact: Taylor’s great-granddaughter, Valerie Jerett, is a businesswoman and former government official, and is currently the CEO and a member of the board of directors of The Obama Foundation. Learn even more here.

• William F. Yardley Hall, named after William Francis Yardley (January 8, 1844 – May 20, 1924), who was a Black, Knoxville-based attorney, politician, and civil rights advocate. He was Tennessee's first Black gubernatorial candidate and is believed to have been the first Black attorney to argue a case before the Tennessee Supreme Court.

I’m really proud of the research I did for this novel, and I hope you'll take a moment to learn about the incredible Black people I've woven into the story!

Why I’LL MAKE A SPECTACLE OF YOU?

It’s a kinda long, off-putting title.

Aside from this being a horror novel, and so being off-putting was purposeful, it’s also a curse.

A Biblical curse.

As someone who grew up only having access to the King James version of the Bible, it did pain me a bit to use the New International Version, but here ya go:

I am not a biblical scholar (unlike Zora's sister, Jasmine Robinson), but the Book of Nahum is a somewhat controversial Old Testament book of prophecies.

For your reference, the King James version:

I really think this comes down to the battle between “spectacle” vs “gazingstock”, which the former won out.

This month’s tarot card was The Hermit, and honestly, it couldn’t be more fitting.

I’ve spent the last few weeks surprisingly outgoing—truly, more than I ever thought possible!

I shared my passion for preserving Black history, explaining to readers how I wove it into my debut novel, and explaining that I’ll only continue to do it with more stories—picture books, middle grade, fiction, nonfiction, there’s so much in the pipeline, and they all venerate Blackness and Black history.

The culmination of years of hard work and dreaming has finally arrived: my book is now with readers! It’s an exhilarating (and rewarding and exhausting) feeling, knowing that the journey has reached this pivotal moment.

But as I look ahead, it’s time to embrace some solitude.

Next month, prepare for my growing collection of Black Santas, my favorite holiday movies, and an update on that romance I’m writing ❤️

In the meantime…

Bea’s Books Reminders

 I’LL MAKE A SPECTACLE OF YOU is out now!

Please request from your library, or order here.

CHARLEY’S HONKY-TONK MISSION is my picture book-in-verse about Charley Pride, America’s first Black country music superstar.

Out June 9, 2026, and you can pre-order here.