Author Kaia Alderson is stopping by today to talk about her latest release. I recently spoke with her about In a League of Her Own.
Tell me about your latest book.
In 1930s Harlem, an ambitious divorcee whose strategic social climbing is upended when her new husband buys a Negro League baseball franchise and appoints her the general manager. Will she turn this unexpected pivot lead her to the money, power, and respect she craves? In a League of Her Own is an autobiographical account of the life of Effa Manley, currently the only woman to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Why did you decide to write it?
I was a huge Yankees fan growing up and wanted to write about one of the four women who played in the Negro Leagues. During my preliminary research, I came across an article about the four women who owned Negro League teams. I immediately connected with Effa Manley’s story. I knew I had to write about her instead.
What do you want readers to learn from the story?
That terms like “ambitious,” “gold digger,” and “social climber” have been weaponized against women. Effa Manley was unapologetically ambitious during a time when she was supposed to be “at home in the kitchen.” Her ambition took her to places that exceeded her own expectations, including being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
When did you fall in love with the written word?
When I read Super Fudge by Judy Blume when I was about five or six years old.
If you could pick another profession, what would it be and why?
I would like to be a book-to-film agent. The job includes reading books, talking about how they would make good movies, and networking at international book fairs. What’s not to like about that?
What’s the best part of being an author?
Playing in the… I mean doing research in the archives. Scouting locations for my books in person. And there was that one time that I got to meet Blair Underwood. (He’s executive producing a musical about the 6888th Postal Battalion, the all-Black, all-female WW2 unit. These women were the inspiration behind my first novel Sisters in Arms.)
What’s the worst part of being an author?
Telling my daughter that I can’t play because I have to write.
What books have you read lately and loved?
Let Us March On by Shara Moon (historical fiction, January 2025), Pardon My Frenchie by Farrah Rochon (contemporary romcom), Storm: Dawn of a Goddess by Tiffany D. Jackson (Marvel superhero YA), Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun by Tolá Okogwu (Afro-British female superhero MG)
What’s next for you?
It’s a toss-up. I’d like to write another Black woman-centered historical set during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1920s Paris, or the Civil War. There may or may not be some hoodoo worked in.
Do you have anything you would like to add?
My research for this novel included reading up on the history of Black Broadway and the musical Shuffle Along.
Use the Black Fiction Addiction affiliate link to purchase your copy of In a League of Her Own by Kaia Alderson.
To learn more about Kaia Alderson, visit her website or connect with her on social media.
Website: www.kaiaalderson.com
Twitter: twitter.com/kaiawrites
Instagram: Instagram.com/kaiawrites