Brittney Morris is back with another young adult read that just might become one of your favorites this summer. I recently spoke with her about This Book Might Be About Zinnia.
Tell me about This Book Might Be About Zinnia.
It’s a cross between Mamma Mia and The Godfather—a coming-of-age story told in tandem from the perspective of two girls, 18 years apart. It’s 2024 and Zinnia Davis’ favorite author releases a new novel—Little Heart— about a princess with a heart-shaped birthmark on her forehead and separated from her mother at birth…just like Zinnia. Flashback to 2006, and teenager Tuesday Walker is searching for a missing journal where she’s recorded months of trauma surrounding a loss that put her on leave from school. Tuesday’s search for the journal uncovers dangerous secrets about her past, her crush, and her own mother’s story, and if she isn’t careful, Zinnia will have to reap the consequences in the present.
Why did you decide to write it? Who is your favorite character and why?
This story began as a passing notion that it would be fun to read about a teenager following clues in a bestselling novel to track down her birth mother, and it quickly evolved into an examination of motherhood, daughterhood, how they parallel and mirror each other, how one can influence the other, and my own relationship with motherhood and daughterhood.
When did you fall in love with the written word?
I wrote my first novel when I was nine (if you can call a deranged collection of 50,000 words a novel). But before then, I thought bedtime stories must be some kind of magic. Somehow both of my parents looked at the same page and spoke the same words as the story went on—my first perception of the written word was a kind of divination—pulling stories seemingly from thin air. Once I learned I could do that as a career, I knew that was my dream job.
If you could pick another profession, what would it be and why?
I’m actually beginning training to become a yoga instructor this year! Yoga has been a major source of healing for me. Last year I woke up and realized I’ve been practicing for 12 years, and I’d love to share it with others.
What author would you fangirl over? What books have you read lately and loved?
Oh goodness, so many. Most recently, Angie Thomas, Tochi Onyebuchi, Mikki Kendall, and Jason Reynolds.
What books are you most excited to read next? What’s next for you?
I really want to read Leslie Odom Jr.’s Failing Up. Everything he touches is gold, and I’m sure this book will be no different. Up next for me is my first adult novel, Who Wants to Marry a Vampire? A campy mystery-romcom with plenty of wine, fangs, reality tv, and messy, messy people.
Do you have anything you would like to add?
I talk a lot in This Book Might Be About Zinnia about the notion of letting go of things or people that don’t support or serve you. I just want to emphasize how important that is.
To learn more about author Brittney Morris, visit her website or connect with her on social media.
Website: authorbrittneymorris.com
Twitter: @BrittneyMMorris
Insta: @BrittneyMMorris