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The Book I Need
Last night I attended a book event centered around Cat Disabato’s 831 Stories debut Rooting Interest. It had sports, journalism, romance… if there had been a medical subplot, it would have been the perfect combination of what I’m seeking to read these days. But while it was a short novella, a tight 196 pages, not of course including the epilogue hidden behind a marketing scheme (you have to sign up for the 831 newsletter to access it, boo), it seemed too surface and ‘tied nicely in a bow’ that I was left wanting more (definitely pick it up though, my review here).
Cut to — Rufaro Faith Mazarura’s latest Skate It Til You Make It, which, just in time for the Olympics, I loved her first one: Let The Games Begin. I’m about 130 pages in, it’s whipping up to be all that I want in a book with sports, photojournalism, complicated family dynamics that eerily mirror my own, and I cannot wait to see how the romance plays out. The fun reveal of how Thandie is connected to our MCs had me on the floor! Too good! But again — swap out Drew’s Zeus gig for let’s say, Figs (you’ve seen their epic marketing campaigns, no?), then it would most definitely hit that sweet spot of what I’m looking for —
I often shout out into the social media void that I want a book that is, “the female poc Michael Crichton” but I haven’t found her or them yet. I even went so far and slipped into a Black doctor-author’s DMs wondering if there’d be ‘more med’ in her future romances in which she politely replied, no. Did I myself used to write ER fanfiction circa 2002, yes. But I lacked, and still lack, the medical details I voraciously lap up in Crichton’s (and begrudgingly Robin Cook’s) writings. If only there were someone out there who’d write the books I want to read! The books that center investigative science, journalism, ballet, photography, and sports all within the same cover… sigh, I remain on the hunt.
Lorri Hewett, Kristina Forest, and Nicole Cuffy have delivered on the ballet front. And so far Mazarura and Disabato have delivered on the sports x journalism side, but who, Who (shakes fist into the air), will combine all the aforementioned with a page turning science hook?
While I cannot write prose to save my life, I did do my darnedest and whipped up a romantic dramedy feature a few years back centering a retired WNBA hopeful and splashy photographer with a journalism origin story. I even managed a ballet subplot and shined (shone?) a harsh but accurate light on the topic of Black maternal mortality. And I know it’s accurate because I had an OB friend of mine make sure my ‘med stuff’ was plausible and apparently I gave her PTSD. So there.
Which, brings me to “thee” Toni Morrison quote we all know and love from 1981 —
write the book you want to read
Toni! Tony! Toné! You make it sound so easy! I have seven craft books dogeared, underlined, and highlighted staring at me from my desk and another two on my nightstand, but it seems, no matter how much I read about ‘the craft,’ I still can’t get down the sidewalk on the proverbial bike that seems insurmountable to ride.
Sometimes I wish I were an old-timey patron of the arts and could commission ‘works’ for the public to enjoy — like this book none of my usual go-to authors seem to want to write (I kid, I kid, sort of) — but at the end of the day, as the sayings go, if one truly wants something, one must get it for themself.
As I embark on yet another writing course this month, this time with one of my favorite romance authors, if you have any recommendations for the comps I seek for (cue Olivia Dean’s song here) The Book I Need, please give a shoutout below!
I want ER meets SportsNight, Broadcast News meets Love Jones, Center Stage meets A Case of Need, all blended up into one glorious, diversely led novel. Oh! And if you want to sprinkle in some Alias or le Carré flavored espionage too, I wouldn’t be too mad about it.
To bring it back to the 831 Stories event last night, Cat told the audience a Rooting Interest origin story. That she was a newish fan of the WNBA, didn’t have the time or the knowledge set to write the sapphic romance she longed for, and hoped another author would come along, pick up her mantel, and deliver. It turns out her version of shouting into the void landed on a fellow author’s ears who — just happened to be already established with 831. The rest… is history.
As always, thank you for reading, stay safe and sane out there, know your rights, and if you want to help Minnesota through a bookish angle, then make sure to check out this list of resources from Pen America.
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I’ll keep an eye out for the book of your dreams — but I think Toni is right about writing the book you want to read. *Nudge, nudge*