For the longest time, if anyone asked, I’d tell them I didn’t have a book in me.
I was a writer, sure — I’d been paid for my journalism work since I was 18. And at 22, I went to NYU to study screenwriting. I was all about structure, plot, pacing, 120 easy-breezy pages. Not a huge commitment. Not too much to tackle. I did the program over four years (the limit!) while I was working at People, where a 400-word story was a longer feature. That, I could hack. Hack being the operative word.
Amazingly, while I was at NYU, working on my thesis script, it did get some interest from Hollywood. It was a fun, high concept story about a young brown girl with a big deadline — one not unlike me, really. And Monsoon Wedding had just come out, and was a massive hit. So my sister (my writing partner then) and I worked with the development exec for more than a year, perfecting that script. And then a terrible film called Bride & Prejudice — also about a young brown girl, but one quite unlike me — came out, and flopped. And that, sadly, was the end of any interest in that script.
All the while, other writers I knew were working on novels, toiling away, rewriting, polishing — and eventually selling. I stalked this very blog, and celebrated with newly published pals. As I raised a glass to their succes, I heard it countless times: “With your media background, you could easily sell a book.” But still, I insisted. I just don’t have one in me.
That’s when my husband finally called bullshit. A writer himself, he pretty much forced me to apply to MFA programs. But I was pregnant. And then we had a newborn. He didn’t care. We’d make it work. And I’d get serious about writing. My daughter was eight-months-old when I started the program. And in it, I wrote. I discovered that I didn’t just have a single book in me — I had many. Most were a mess, and some will never see the light of day.
But I’ll be forever grateful for that two years at the New School, where I learned to take myself seriously not only as a writer, but as a — dare I say it? Novelist. And while I’m still working on that one story about a brown girl with a big deadline, while I was at school, I met Dhonielle — my partner in crime, and my co-writer on the book that will become my debut, Tiny Pretty Things. D and I bonded over Patsy’s pizza, Vampire Diaries, and most importantly, the fact that we never saw ourselves in books as kids or teens. And still don’t, really. I fret that my daughter and son would have the same experience growing up — lots of windows in books, but no mirrors. I wonder how much that has to do with me always claiming that I didn’t have a book in me?
In any case, when D told me stories about working at a cutthroat ballet academy, we knew it was a world we needed to explore. And we knew it was just the right way to bring some diversity to YA, but in a fun, high concept way. So that book became the cornerstone of a company we call CAKE — one that we hope will bring a lot of flavor to YA and kids books.
And one that proves to me, once and for all, that I definitely have a book in me. Maybe a whole library full!
It goes without saying that I love the name Cake Literary! I can’t wait to give your book to all the teens I know!
Thanks Amy! We though the name was fun — and apt, given how fond we are of dessert! BTW, do you have a coconut cake recipe? That pic keeps giving me a craving!
Love everything about this story, Sona — And I bet your husband loves to say he was right all along ; ) Can’t wait to read the book!
Thanks Karma! My husband likes to claim he was right about a lot of things! 🙂
I love everything about this. My kids are biracial, and I’m always scouring books for kids that look like them! Now, with your new company, I hopefully won’t have to look too far. What an amazing accomplishment. Can’t wait to read Tiny Pretty Things!
Thanks Colleen! That’s certainly a big motivation for me! The four-year-old is already an avid reader and definitely demanding to see herself in books already — as well it should be!
I couldn’t ask for a better partner, a better friend, a better co-writer. Sona is kickass, feisty, deeply intelligent, fiercely loyal, and my lifeline. Cheers to her! -Dhonielle
Thanks D! I could definitely say the same about you!
I’ve heard the same lament from some of my mom friends about the lack of diversity in YA and younger books. Congratulations on CAKE literary and your novel! What a great achievement!
Thanks Lisa! This has been such an exciting week, seeing everyone’s first posts — but we miss you guys!
Quoting a living legend Punjabi Poet Surjit Patar, I say this:
. . . .ਮੈਂ ਰਾਹਾਂ ਤੇ ਨਹੀਂ ਚਲਦਾ, ਮੈਂ ਚਲਦਾ ਹਾਂ ਤਾਂ ਰਾਹ ਬਣਦੇ . . .”! ਸੁਰਜੀਤ ਪਾਤਰ
. . . .Main Rahaan te Nahi Chlda, Main Chlda haan tan Rah Bnde. . .”! – Surjit Patar
Translated in English which means something like this, “ I don’t walk on trodden paths ; I walk and paths follow !
Thanks Pappari! That is a lovely sentiment!
I’ve seen Bride & Prejudice… !
Haha, Susan! Dare I ask what you thought?
Glad you found the book(s) in you!