Interview with Author J Elle

 

Welcome Back, Booklovers! Today you are in for a treat. This author has one of the most buzzed about debuts of 2021 and if you haven't already pre-ordered Wings of Ebony, you need to. And if you're someone who is interested in writing follow her on Twitter.  I've learned so much from her about writing and the publication process. So without further ado, meet J Elle.

How has being a military wife shaped your experiences and do you think it affects your writing?

I’ve moved ten times in eleven years. And have battled feeling isolated, out of place, disconnected from the people there, and sorely missing my family. That sort of disconnection has emotional ramifications. I definitely drew from that part of my former military-spouse life. One thing I loved about military life was that no matter where we landed, we eventually met someone else who was also a military family and we had an instant connection. I’d had similar experiences as  Black woman when I’d walk into a new job or school and connect with the only other Black person there. Albeit different, the military community was the only other facet of my life where I’d move somewhere and have some semblance of a connection with strangers because we shared some lived experiences. You definitely see remnants of that in Wings of Ebony, particularly in Ghizon, the magical world where Rue’s circle is very small and tight knit. 

Having my own thing was really helpful as a military spouse. When we got married, where we moved, what we did, whether we were able to even make Christmas plans was all according to my husband’s work schedule. And that’s just part of the sacrifice. When we became parents, I spent a lot of time solo-mom’ing because my husband was gone. A lot. So much of what we did was in service of the country. And so I learned early in my military spouse career to have some fun hobbies that I keep for myself. A way to not lose sight of who we are as a couple, as a family, outside of the military. Because we wouldn’t be in the Marine Corps forever. And so that’s what I did. I took up photography for a bit. Then I delved into my love for writing. And Wings of Ebony is what was born. I literally remember my husband getting Orders to go out of town for four weeks. And I’d just decided to try and write Wings of Ebony. So we packed up the kids and went with him. And in that tiny hotel room, with three kids jumping around ha ha, I punched out a 70,000 word first draft. That’s the other thing military life really teaches you--how to be flexible, nomadic. Semper Gumby is what they call it.  

You rep your hometown of Houston, Texas hard. What was it like growing up in Texas? And where do you recommend people visit on a trip to Houston?

Growing up in a big City meant there was an abundance of things to do all the time. I remember being on the go all the time as a teen. I left Houston at seventeen to attend college. And I didn’t return until seventeen years later, this past summer in 2020. So I’m still getting to know the city as an adult. Thankfully a lot of my friends I grew up with are still here and it’s been so fun reconnecting with them. 

The thing I love most about my community here is how close knit we are. My neighbors are aunties and cousins. The entire neighborhood is found family, which you’ll find a lot of in my books. I’ve missed that from being gone seventeen years. 

If someone was visiting Houston, I’d suggest getting ready to eat and eat well. Houston has a vast landscape of cuisine diversity and as a foodie, ha ha, that’s one of my favorite things! It’s also a really big city and I’ve lived in smaller cities for so long. It’s refreshing to be able to drive just an hour or so and pick apples in the fall, ride horses, get more of a small town feel, without going on a road trip to the country. The land here is really flat and I didn’t realize how different that was until I lived in various parts of the country. I love how far, open, and wide spaces feel in Texas. The homes are large, the plats of land are bigger, and in some parts of town, you can really feel surrounded by nature just driving to the grocery store. I love that about this place. 

You pitched Wings of Ebony during #DVPit, an online contest that showcases stories from marginalized voices to publishing professionals across the country. What was your experience like and do you strongly encourage people to participate in these Twitter pitch events?

It was a wild ride. Huge shout out to Beth Phelan for this life changing opportunity. I was on the west coast at the time so I set my alarm for 4:58 a.m. to wake up and post my pitches. I remember planning to go back to sleep right after I posted so I didn’t obsess about whether or not it received any agent likes. But, it quickly blew up and I was completely sucked into social media for most of the day. I’ll never forget how hard I slept that night. The adrenaline rush was wild. And yet, I knew the uphill battle toward getting a book on shelves was only beginning. 

I always like to tell people considering pitch contests: DO THEM! But, don’t see them as your only way to get published. Some books don’t pitch well in a tweet. Some are more flashy than others. Agents also, from what I’ve seen, aren’t consistently participating, so it’s no guarantee some of those agents on your query list are even on Twitter. See DVpit and other pitch contests such as, Pitmad, as one avenue to pursue publishing, not an end all be all. That said, they can REALLY go well. So shoot your shot! 

You’re also very active in the online writing community and mentoring aspiring writers. I often see you offering advice. What advice do you have about querying? 

Querying takes patience. Remember it’s a marathon not a sprint. Also, querying now is likely a bit different than it was when I was querying in 2018. 2020 has been a taxing year for many and so agent’s bandwidth may be a bit thinner. Keep in mind that agents work on their existing client’s work as a priority and tackle query inboxes in their spare time. I interned at two agencies over the course of a year and I definitely walked away from that experience realizing it’s a lot for them to juggle. 

In terms of advice, get feedback on your query. Incorporate it and then get more feedback. The thing about queries is you’re not going to know how your query comes across--whether it’s confusing / only clear to you-- unless you let someone else read it who knows nothing about your book. So that is a trick that can help. Also, use resources to ensure your query is properly formatted. Query Shark is a great resource, I also have some resources on my website.

The biggest thing I hear about queries is that writers spend a lot of time talking about themselves and their accomplishments and very little about the story. Understand that unless you're writing non-fiction, it’s the story pitch/idea that’s going to get your agent interest, not your bio. Be sure you start your query with a hook and try to keep it between 250-300 words. Of that, about twenty should be about yourself. A sentence, maybe two, no more is usually needed. 

Query in batches. Break up your list into which agents are your top choice, mid choice, and last choice. Start by querying mid choice agents and some last choice agents, maybe throw 1 top choice in there. See how people are responding. Are you getting requests for more pages? Are you getting partial requests converting to fulls? If you’re getting a high request rate, send out a few more on your to choice list. If you’re getting crickets and it’s been 12 - 16 weeks, for many agents, they’ve likely read and passed. So consider reworking your query. 

Similarly, if you get lots of partial requests but not many fulls, then something in your query is working, but they’re losing interest in the pages for some reason. Be methodical and really sober minded about what may not be working. Get opinions from fellow writers if you can. Listen well and don’t be overly precious about your story because sometimes that can inhibit our ability to really revise well. But, in general, a rule of thumb with feedback is to only take what resonates. 

It’s also important to understand that query rejections don’t unanimously mean your story isn’t going to “make it.” Wings of Ebony got MANY query rejections. Remember, it only takes one yes. Similarly, though, sometimes the market can play a factor and that’s very much out of your control. So don’t internalize these rejections. As hard as it is to accept--and I'm preaching to myself on this one, too-- you are not your art. Separate yourself from it so the rejections don’t send you spiraling. And most importantly, know that you’re more than one book. If one fails to snag an agent querying, write and query another. You’re a writer. You have many stories to tell!

What can we expect from your debut Wings of Ebony?

You can expect a voice that sucks you in, stakes that keep you on the edge of your seat, some humor, some hard lessons, emotional gut punches and shocking surprises. It’s my hope Rue is a character that readers will love hanging out with and long to get back to when the story is over.  

Is it true that you wrote the original manuscript for Wings of Ebony in just 35 days?

It is. I don’t know that I could do that again, ha ha. But I sat in a hotel room and punched out the first draft which I believe was round 70k in 35 days. When I finished, DVpit was only weeks away. I deleted 24k immediately to rewrite an entire act of the story that didn’t fit the plot as I needed. Then I sent it to betas. After their feedback, I ended up rewriting the end of the story. Then I queried it, but got some great R&R feedback from an agent while querying. When I finished up that feedback I resent it to agents who hadn’t yet made a decision and that revision is what I received multiple offers on. From there though, with my agent I rewrote the last 3rd of my book before going on sub. On sub, I rewrote the first fifty pages. From there, it sold and I had to turn those fifty pages into a full new draft. So ha ha, I’ve written a lot of this story. I cut my teeth on this book in many ways and I’m just so grateful she got a chance to see the light of day. I feel very fortunate. It doesn’t always work out that way. 

People may not know but Wings of Ebony is the first YA book on Denene Millner’s imprint. Do you think being published under a Black imprint gave you the freedom to be more authentic with your characters?

I do have two other editors but the books I’m working on with them don't deal with racism as head on as Wings of Ebony. So, I can’t really compare experiences. I definitely wanted to work with a Black editor on Wings of Ebony because of how on the nose it is with some weighty topics such as racism, privilege, colonization, and cultural appropriation, and Denene Millner has such an astonishing reputation. So when she offered and it was: take her pre-empt or go to auction with the four others interested, it was an easy decision. She’s who I’d had my eye on for so long. I’m smiling so big, just remembering. Working with her, I found that she really understood, personally, the story I was trying to tell and it was great to have that perspective help me shape this book. She could really see what I was trying to do and guide me in how to bring the story to its fullest potential. I truly can’t imagine having published this book with anyone else. It was meant to be!! <3 

What was it like developing the magic system? Were you inspired by any other cultures or stories?

So magic systems are hard, ha ha. And the one I created in the original queried version of Wings Of Ebony is vastly different from the one that’s made it to shelves. Magic in Wings is metaphorical and so I wanted to equate it to power. It was a learning experience and quite fun. I’m excited for everyone to get to the sequel where the magic and its origin is featured even more heavily. I was heavily inspired by Wakanda’s sort of tech-magic mix. And Diana from Wonder Woman. 

You also have a middle grade series, Parkrow Magic Academy planned for publishing in Spring 2022. Can you tell us anything about that series?

Eeee! I love it so much. It’s laugh out loud funny and I just hope it brings such joy to kids everywhere. I’m not sure how much I can say. But the synopsis is: 

Park Row Magic Academy, stars twelve-year-old Kyana, a Black girl who enrolls in an inner-city magical academy hidden in the back of a beauty shop and must fight to keep it open after redistricting and gentrification threaten to close it down. 

The world, magic, backstory is VAST, so I look forward to writing many books from this world. Add it to Goodreads here.

Are there any other upcoming projects you would like to talk about?

I’m really excited about a project I’m working on with Ciera Rogers, founder and CEO of Babes, the fashion clothing line. I’ve been hungry to see something in the non fiction space, in the realm of Girlboss but geared toward people of color. Having a Black woman make this move and my being able to be a part of it is honestly a dream. To see the announcement and more about that project, check here. 

Are there any types of stories you would like to see more of in YA or MG?

I’d love to see more stories that center inner city kids in the fantasy space. That’s the niche I’ve been working on in kidlit, in both YA & MG, and I’m really enjoying it. I’d love to see many many more.  

What books are you looking forward to in 2021?

Ah, so many but here are some of my favs that I’ve been obsessing about as of late: 

BAD WITCH BURNING by Jessica Lewis about a Black teen who starts a hustle to raise people’s loved ones from the dead for money. It’s by far one of the best books I’ve ever read. 

WITCHES STEEPED IN GOLD by Ciannon Smart which is YA dark and delicious fantasy about sworn enemy witches who work together to take on a mutual enemy. Out April 20, 2021. 

ACE OF SPADES by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s which is a YA boarding school thriller full of edge-of-your-seat plotting and twists! Prepare to be obsessed. Out June 10, 2021.

 

BEASTS OF PRAY by Ayana Gray which is a lush epic fantasy full of monsters and Black Girl Magic. Out September 2021.

SING ME FORGOTTEN by Jessica Olson, which is a YA fantasy phantom of the opera retelling told from the perspective of the phantom--a girl! Out March 9, 2021.

WHEN YOU LOOK LIKE US by Pamela Harris which is a beautiful exposition of Black boy’s journey to find out what happened to his sister. It’s laugh out loud funny and actually just came out. Buy it here.