DeAndra Davis is back with her sophomore release. I recently spoke with her about The Lovers, the Liars, and Me.
Tell me about your latest book.
The Lovers, the Liars, and Me follows a teen girl searching for her estranged mother in Jamaica, but she ends up finding out a lot more about herself and coming to terms with her culture and sexuality in the process.
Why did you decide to write it?
I am always interested in intersectionality and the compounding nature of our identities. I really wanted to consider Jamaican-American identity, queerness, religion, abandonment, and other factors in this story and how those things come together to create a unique existence and moment in time. So many factors of the story relate to me, and I wanted to explore those facets.
What do you want readers to learn from the story?
I never want my stories to be prescriptive per se. I’d love it if readers came away feeling like if they’re queer in spaces where that normally isn’t accepted, that there’s still a place for them in their culture. I’d love it if readers came away feeling more accepting. I’d love it if people realized that culture isn’t just fitting into one box and acknowledged diasporic existences as valid.
When did you fall in love with the written word?
When I was three. I’ve been reading since then and never stopped. There’s something magical about stories and storytelling even when there isn’t necessarily magic in the story. It’s amazing to create places of belonging in fiction for people who need it, and it’s beautiful to find those places as a reader.
If you could pick another profession, what would it be and why?
Maybe a lawyer? It’s hard because I love the profession I’m in, but I think I’d want to be in a profession that helps people, and I love to argue with facts.
What’s the best part of being an author?
When people tell me the ways they’ve connected with my writing. I really do it for the readers, and if they aren’t responding to the writing, then none of it is really worth it.
What’s the worst part of being an author?
The waiting. There’s so much waiting to be done in publishing, and I’m impatient by nature. I’m always wanting things to happen right now, so patience is hard for me, but I’m learning.
What books have you read lately and loved, and what books are you looking forward to reading?
An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole, Eternal Ruin by Tigest Girma, An Ocean Apart by Jill Tew and Bound by Fury by Noelle Monet. They were all absolutely amazing, and I’m inspired by those authors.
I’m looking forward to Tell the Ghosts I’m Gone by Kalynn Bayron and Death Card by Jasmine Smith.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on more books though I can’t say too much right now, but it will definitely feel like a return to form for me with what comes next for anyone who has read my debut, All the Noise at Once.
Do you have anything you would like to add?
I hope people find the connections between The Lovers, the Liars and Me and my debut. I hope I can capture the fans of my first book and find new ones with this book. I hope the book continues to help empathy spread. 🙂
Use the Black Fiction Addiction affiliate link to purchase your copy of The Lovers, The Liars and Me by DeAndra Davis.
To learn more about award-winning author DeAndra Davis, visit her website or connect with her on social media at @deandrawrites.