Write the Book of Your Heart with Trisha R. Thomas

[00:00:00] What's good, family? I'm Nikesha Elise Williams, the host of Black & Published Podcast, and the author of the novel The Seven Daughters of Dupree. This historical fiction novel is about the secrets kept between mothers and daughters over the course of seven generations, and is told backwards in time from 1995 to 1860. The Seven Daughters of Dupree was published January 27th, 2026, and is available everywhere books are sold.

[00:00:28] So if you can, please consider getting a copy of The Seven Daughters of Dupree today. This is the Mahogany Books Podcast Network. Sometimes you have to create your own genre. And that's pretty much what Napoli Ever After was. It was a modern self-love story.

[00:00:52] What's good? I'm Nikesha Elise Williams, and this is Black & Published, bringing you the journeys of writers, poets, playwrights, and storytellers of all kinds. Today's guest is Trisha R. Thomas, author of Napoli Ever After, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. It's a book Trisha was moved to write after working in the school system.

[00:01:17] I was teaching middle school language arts, and the kids were kind of cruel to each other on a level that I wasn't expecting, but they were using the word nappy-headed this and nappy-headed that. And that was their arsenal. You know, it was a pecking order of hair. And I just was shocked that that was still in play. Heated by what she overheard, Trisha set out on a long journey to become a debut author and now a novelist 14 times over.

[00:01:44] And that's why she believes Black Beauty Culture has always been about both power and pain. Plus, on her publication journey, how being assigned to four different editors helped her pack various layers into a tight book. And, after 25 years since her debut, what still excites Trisha about publishing and the Hollywood titan she's taking on through historical fiction.

[00:02:11] That and more is next, when Black & Published continues. First question, Trisha, when did you know that you were a writer? Probably at seven years old, knowing that I love to tell stories.

[00:02:40] And, actually, I used to draw pictures with my stories. So, not only was I a writer, I thought I was going to be a playwright or a filmmaker or something like that very early on. I used to draw pictures and tape them together and then roll them on paper towel holders. And then play music behind them. And I had cut out a cardboard box.

[00:03:08] And I made my own little boob tube and made my mother and brothers sit there and watch my stories. And, yeah. Oh, that is creative. So, you knew as young as seven that you wanted to be a writer. And when did you actually start pursuing that dream? I just always wrote. I used to write stories in school. And in high school, I would write people's futures. And I would tell them, you know, just let me look at your palm.

[00:03:38] And then tomorrow I'm going to write a five-page story about your life. And I would bring them their stories. And they would just love it. That is intense. I know. And I was only reminded of it because while we were doing this mini tour, people were showing up that remembered me from back in the day. And they were, you know, whispering these things to me that I was like, oh my gosh, I remember that.

[00:04:06] So then professionally, I know writing was not your first or even second career. No, no. I did not know you could earn a living from writing. You know, how could you know that then? Because there were none of us, you know, besides the basic, you know, roots. I grew up with Mark Twain and I read romance, but it was Danielle Steele and Jackie Collins.

[00:04:33] You know, there was no sign of us. So I didn't know. So then what gave you the push to try to write with the intention of making it a novel and getting published? By the time I started writing, I was 32. And by then I had read, you know, Elin Harris and The Color Purple, of course. And Terry McMillan had come out with, you know, Waiting to Exhale.

[00:05:03] And, you know, it was just everywhere. It was like a renaissance. It was beautiful. It was contemporary. Our stories were rich and, you know, detailed. Even before Waiting to Exhale, I think it was Mama. But yeah, Terry McMillan had all these lush stories that, you know, spoke to our present and intense situations. And it was just like the door just flew open. Like, you mean we can do this? It's open. The door is open.

[00:05:31] Because I was busy, you know, living life and doing all kinds of other things. Never had planned to write a book. It was just doing what I did. And then I saw it. Which was? For the audience. Well, I was a dressmaker. I owned a bridal gown store for many, many, many years. And after I sold that, I went and started teaching because, you know, it was something that I always wanted to do as well.

[00:05:59] And I had the time and let's just say the financial ability to pull back. I mean, the dressmaking, the bridal store was really intense. So the teaching just felt like a vacation for me. And so I started dabbling in my writing then. All right. And so I know this story, but can you tell the audience of Black and Published, what was the incident in the classroom that led to Napoli Ever After? Yeah, you're going to make me cry. No tears.

[00:06:29] No tears. Teaching was intense as well, but in a different way. It was emotional. And the kids, I was teaching middle school language arts. And the kids were kind of cruel to each other on a level that I wasn't expecting, but they were using the word nappy-headed this and nappy-headed that. And that was their arsenal. You know, it was a pecking order of hair. And I just was shocked that that was still in play. I grew up with it.

[00:06:57] I knew about the good hair, bad hair, and what was necessary to get through school. And they were 12, 13, 14. And they were using this pecking order to belittle each other. And it just struck me like a heart stab that it was painful. It was just painful. And I remember I had already been through this writing workshop where, you know, the keynote was just like, write what you know.

[00:07:24] And I'm not being funny when I say this accent, but she was from the Appalachians. Just write what you know. And what I knew, that pain, that necessary needing to be welcomed, good or bad, our hair was just like this leading force of how we're presented. And if we're already being beat down by our peers, you know, it hurt.

[00:07:47] So that was my inspiration to start researching the history of why hair, why our hair holds so much power and so much pain. Is that what you wanted to imbue in Napoli Ever After from the beginning, both power and pain? I wanted to find out why it held so much power. I didn't realize how much of the pain was going to be like a majority of the story. That's what I didn't realize.

[00:08:17] And so 25 years later, the book is still a cultural touchstone. It's been turned into a film. Do you think that there's still pain there? Or is it just more power now? Especially given the natural hair movement that kicked off with YouTube in the early 2000s. I didn't know because I was tucked away in my little, you know, enclave here, but I just realized it on this tour, how many people were coming up to me in tears and just telling me their stories.

[00:08:47] And they would wait, you know, until we were like, when I'm signing the book and they, you know, whisper in my ear, you know, this happened to me or that happened to me. And it was just, it was touching. And so just from the stories I was hearing, I knew the pain was still there. You know, as much as we've healed, there's still, you know, that generation. And I don't know if it's, you know, affecting the younger generation because they, you know, your generation of people seem all right with their natural hair.

[00:09:16] They don't seem like they went through as much turmoil. So, you know, I'm not sure how, how it's hanging in there and, and, you know, in the classrooms or if kids are being affected, but I know it's still a pain that's being carried around generationally for older women. You know, the pressing curls, the relaxers, the burning, you know, you're not fixed until you're straight.

[00:09:41] You know, you can't go anywhere until, you know, the edges are laid and the pigtails and the barrettes are in, you know, like that was a lot to carry on into adult life that you can't be without being this. I remember you saying, I think we were talking privately, or maybe this was when we were at the event in Atlanta, but that you knew that when you started the novel, your main character, Venus, was angry because of all the pain that she had gone through.

[00:10:11] And she's having these nightmares in the text of her whole body being relaxed, not just her hair. And like, it's a very visceral thing. Where did that come from and why is she so angry? That was all me, I guess. Yes, I mean, but, you know, the pain, the anger. I was trying to formulate the story so that it was palatable and everybody could get a good, you know, smile at the end of every chapter.

[00:10:36] It's not just this visceral pain of having to be judged constantly, whether it's in your community, in your home, you know, in your workplace. So I wanted to try to create a world that you could, like, at least experience it through some kind of lens where it's palatable. And I kept getting rejection notes that this isn't fun and this isn't romance. I was like, no, it's none of those things.

[00:11:01] But I had to keep squeezing it until that came out, until the humor came out, until, you know, let's laugh at the situation. Let's look at it through this lens. And so, and that took just years of massaging it, you know, from taking it from this historical aspect of pain and why to this, this is what it is. And this is how we come out of it. You know, this is how she comes out of it.

[00:11:26] And so it was just a lot of me, as first novels are, just a lot of me in it and experiences that I knew and friends knew and, you know, and trying to make it relationship-based so that people could understand it. You said palatable. Palatable for who? Are we talking about publishing, for an audience? What do you mean by palatable? Yeah, for an audience. For a publishing audience, it's all the same, I think.

[00:11:52] Because they are the gatekeepers and it's not going to get to your audience unless they approve, you know, every single word and every single chapter. And so, yeah, it had to be relatable and palatable. And it kept getting revised through their lens because I had four different editors over the course of the editing period for the book. And that was, you know, out of, you know, just happenstance.

[00:12:20] You know, one would just move on for this reason or have left for that reason. You know, they don't really tell you why they're leaving or what, you know, all of a sudden they're just gone. And so I had to tell myself, this isn't a curse, you know, like, this is just the thing that happens in publishing. My agent kept saying, it happens, it happens. But four different editors and it had all these different aspects of they see what they see and they feel what they feel. And so they give you back to you and tell you what they want out of you to fulfill that.

[00:12:49] And so all of a sudden this 500 page book keeps getting shrunk down and honed and it has all of these, you know, people's eyes on it. And so I think that was the benefit for my book because then it appealed to all these people that I never thought I would reach. And so I really just wanted this little book to come out and see a small, tiny piece of the world.

[00:13:18] And I just had no idea it would reach so many people of different cultures even. And so like that was just the publishing process. But did you even go through that in trying to get your agent the first time trying to make the book palatable for it to even garner representation? Absolutely. Absolutely. This thing was just pummeled from the rejection letters. I would just go back and try to fulfill whatever they said.

[00:13:44] I was like flapping in the wind, trying to figure out the code. Like, how do you get in? And then I realized I couldn't keep swaying like that. I couldn't keep rudder swimming. You know how they say the duck's feet underneath are just going at it. And I just couldn't keep repackaging it. So I had to decide, you know, on my own what this story was about. It's like, no, it's not a romance. No, it's not really a friends meet enemy thing.

[00:14:13] And, you know, it was, I was getting so much of that that I was trying to mold it into that. And it was never going to be that. It was a love story for self-love. And that just had not been done. And so sometimes you have to create your own genre. And that's pretty much what Napoli Ever After was. It was a modern self-love story. It's been out now 25 years.

[00:14:40] How have you seen publishing change in regards to stories like yours over this time? I think stories like mine definitely move forward much quicker. And I think it's not as hard to sell to show independent love for oneself. You know, it's just not hard at all.

[00:15:08] And I think what's the problem is that when we start out as writing, we're trying to fit in and go with whatever flow is floating to the top. And so, you know, we want to do the romance and we want to do, you know, just fit in. You know, where can I fit in to get published? Which is absolutely understandable. That's what I was trying to do. Find a door open. Stick my foot in wherever I could stick it in. That sounded weird.

[00:15:34] But I was trying to fit in. And so I know that's what we do. And so after 25 years, I can tell you the best thing you can do is not fit in. Stand out any way possible. Because when an editor or agent gets your book on their desk, they've seen everything 10 times in that day, in that afternoon.

[00:16:04] You know, they're looking for a star or something that's going to shine, you know, especially if it's your first novel. They really want something shiny and new so that they can walk in that room. You know, I found it. I got it. And so that would be my best advice is to do something that is from your heart because it'll probably end up being, you know, nice and shiny and new because you can only tell your story.

[00:16:31] I think that's a great place to have you read from Napoli Ever After since we know this is the story of your heart. Thank you. Okay. Napoli Ever After by Tricia R. Thomas is one of the first books that illustrates the journey of self-love through a Black woman's relationship with her hair. Venus Johnston had the man, the career and the hair she thought would get her a promotion and a ring.

[00:16:55] But when neither materializes and her boo shows up with a puppy instead of a jewelry box, Venus shaves her head in a moment of rebellion but comes to realize it was her first step toward liberation. Here's Tricia. When I wrote this, I did not use numbers, so I don't even know what chapter this is. Page 31. It's called Are You All Right? What you do. Oh my God, Venus, what you do.

[00:17:23] Something I've been wanting to do for months, years. I rub my hand over the moist texture. It feels so good. I had a nice long weekend to adjust to the nakedness and I was feeling confident. But you cut it all off? I mean, that was kind of drastic, don't you think? Sherry had one foot in my office. The other half was standing in the corridor.

[00:17:45] As a receptionist, she had to appear as if she was minding the fort, even though she spent a good amount of her time with her head stuck in my office telling me about her grown boys at home who didn't know how to clean up after themselves. Just unleash them on the innocent. It was all or nothing, so I ran my hand down the back of my head again. Do you like it or not? I asked, honestly seeking her approval. You're wearing it, girl. It's a look everybody can't pull off, but you're wearing it.

[00:18:15] See, my head is too big for something like that, not to mention my behind. But you got that petite little figure. Yeah, you can pull that off. It looks good. Thank you, Sherry. I gave the signal that I'd had enough of my turning attention to the report I was working on. Has John or Lena seen it yet? Your new look, Sherry asked, with hopes of being the first. Lenny Kramer and John Donnelly were the owners of this great establishment.

[00:18:42] I knew Sherry was dying to be the first one to announce my new due. She made it her business to try to be more important than she really was by being the information bureau. Who has seen who yelling at who where so-and-so went with so-and-so? No, I don't think so. I had come to work early to avoid all the first stares. I let out an exasperating sigh to let her know I was annoyed by the fact that she was still there. This time I picked up the phone, pretending to make a phone call.

[00:19:11] She left silently. Knock, knock. Ray Chambers slid in and shut the door behind him. Hello, Venus. He pulled up a chair instantly without an invitation. For some reason, Ray thought he was the resident arbitrator and psychologist. He always inquired about my health and well-being. All of our conversations were one way. He avoided questions about his personal life. In fact, no one, not even Sherry, seemed to know his story.

[00:19:39] His Native American features were a trap as far as I was concerned. Underneath his soft eyes that turned into small slits when he smiled was just an average white guy whose loyalties remained in the right wing. Good morning, Ray. What can I do for you? I leaned directly into his view so that he couldn't move his eyes around my head without being too obvious. I like your new look. Thank you, Ray. I just wanted to see how you were coming along with the research on the Beatrice Farron food survey.

[00:20:08] We're going to meet sometime next week. He was relaxed, keeping his gaze on my eyes. He was better at this game than I thought. Oh, it's coming along. I had to do the data entry yesterday, so we should be getting some new numbers out. Great, great, he smiled. Okay, then. I'll talk to you later. After he rose up and headed toward the door, he stopped and turned on the heels of his loafers. Are you all right, Venus? I mean, is there something you need to talk about? Ray, I'm fine.

[00:20:38] Why do you ask? He moved toward me and leaned on the back of the chair. I just wanted to check on you. I wasn't sure if it was my imagination or if you were having some problems you might want to discuss. I smiled for him. I promised you would be the first one I'd tell. You're fine. I mean, everything is going okay for you. You're not depressed about anything, are you? You know, I will keep the strictest confidence. I walked around my desk and stood in front of him. I straightened his bright yellow tie that was blinding me.

[00:21:08] Thank you for your concern, Ray. I'm fine, really. It's just a style, not a statement of some kind. I'm not trying to be a radical feminist or anything. Oh, oh, I wasn't referring to your hair. His eyes finally focused on my head. It's different. I like it. He put his hand on my shoulder for a brief instant, then turned and left. I had that icky feeling of my space being invaded. I needed air. My hair was my business, but I knew everyone would make it theirs. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[00:21:39] So what I take from this chapter, and it reminds me of what we say culture is that a woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life. And I don't know, was that always a saying, like, in the 90s? Or is that something new that's, like, happened with the natural hair movement? But, like, I like, that's what resonates for me now, like, how much Venus's life changed in the novel once she cut her hair. I think it definitely came out of the 90s because we weren't trying to do anything but have long hair.

[00:22:09] I mean, it was just the goal number one. Wake up. Grow hair. And so to cut it was just a symbol of, you know, oh, my goodness, you're on another path. And when we got just a whiff of Halle Berry and her short haircut, it was just like, we can do that. We can, you know, live in our femininity and have short hair.

[00:22:37] I know this sounds probably wild to you, but. No, I grew up in the 90s. So, like, I remember Halle Berry with a short haircut and Toni Braxton. And then, you know, there's the famous scene in Wait and Exhale where Bernie cuts her hair. Yeah, it's a thing. It's a thing. To cut it is to change your life, for sure. Another thing that I realized reading the novel, and I had only seen the film before, but reading the novel, there's so much in here. Like, there's office politics.

[00:23:06] There's family drama. There's a cheating husband with a crazy wife. And then all of the back and forth between Venus and the love interest that ends up marrying somebody else. Like, it's so much going on in this novel about self-love. Ma'am, where did it all come from? Watching life, you know. The main thing about she and Clint breaking up and then him finding a new person.

[00:23:36] After they were together for four years and then he all of a sudden is getting married, you know. On a whim. Like, just random. Random. Like, as if she just wasn't enough all of that time. And all that time was just, like, this devastating thing that I remember happening. And not to me. To someone close to me. I just remember. Seeing how.

[00:24:05] It's devastating. And I just thought, these things happen. It's so shameful. People never want to talk about it. But in general, you know, I don't care if it's a year. But four years? And then all of a sudden everybody's getting this invitation in the mail? What was wrong with you? I mean, that was just so much that I just needed to vent and put in the story. Because it's just part of the whole, you know, living this lie that you think you're in a good place.

[00:24:34] And that you've earned all of these things because your hair is long and straight. So don't you get the husband? Don't you get the career? Don't you get, you know, everything that you're promised? And then this is the biggest non-promise of all. You don't get the marriage. You don't get the doctor. So you've been living this life and forcing all of this energy on this relationship and yourself, on your hair. You know, waking up to be beautiful and perfect. Going to work every day to be perfect.

[00:25:03] You know, you don't get the support of the job. You don't get the raise. You don't get the promotion. All of these things that you think you're supposed to have because you woke up with straight hair. But I feel like women still do that. With the hair and the makeup and the nails. And now with the surgeries, with the BDL.

[00:25:24] All of these different things, tricks that they try to employ to enhance themselves, to cover up for some inner deficit in an attempt to snag a partner that they think will fill that emptiness that's already inside of them. Like, I feel like that's still happening. It really is. And I do believe everyone could use the copy of Nasty and Brad. Like, the movie or read the book, you know. I know it's still there.

[00:25:53] I can see it in real time. And it's sad that, you know, something like this might happen. That they, you know, put in all that energy, put in all that work, and then come to their own realization. Because I find that most things do have to have your own realization. If anything works, you know, there wouldn't be constantly new self-help books coming out all the time. You know, we'd only need one.

[00:26:17] But, you know, we constantly need this affirmation to change and to find our authentic self. That's all everybody, that's the only finish line is being comfortable in your own skin. And it's just a long journey. What has writing Venus from this first inception with Napoli ever after, all these many years later, taught you about yourself?

[00:26:45] Oh, the journey of writing it was partly just the same. You know, it modeled everything else in my life that you want to fit in. And that, to me, is like the biggest hope of all time. Fitting in. Needing to be part of the group, the crowd, you know, moving. The irony is we think we're being unique. And underneath, we're still just trying to fit in, you know.

[00:27:12] And so when that veil comes off and you finally get to that point where you're done, it's a beautiful thing. And I think that was the hair journey. You know, the shaving it off and starting over. Starting from scratch to rebuild yourself. You know, not to accept all of the lies that you're told will bring you all of this joy. And so, you know, that was my journey, even writing it. You know, I was trying to fit in with publishing. I was trying to fit in to get an agent.

[00:27:42] I was trying to fit in to get, you know, people to read the book even. In between all that time, you know. And gosh, it's a hard road to go. Constantly trying to seek approval wherever you go. It's rough. So 25 years later, what does it mean to you to see readers still connecting with this story? It's emotional for me. It really is because, like you said, it's packed with so much stuff.

[00:28:09] And when I see it even on a bookshelf and it's faced this way, I'm like, you just don't get enough credit, little girl. You know, it's just, it's packed with the journey of life. And so, you know, I think when I do meet people that have read it and really connect to it or they're, you know, telling me with, you know, tissue that this changed their life, I'm just like, wow. It's emotional. It really is. And so are you working on anything next?

[00:28:36] I have turned in a book that's probably going to come out next year, I'm hoping. But what I'm working on currently is a book I've been writing on for, like, the last five years. And that's the Diane Carroll story. And that has been a work in progress because she's just so, so like, forget about three-dimensional. She's like five-dimensional, you know, the octagon. And so I'm just working on that and trying to get it right because I love her so much.

[00:29:04] But just, there's just so many layers. And, you know, sometimes I wake up like, aha, you know, it's like this angle, that angle, that, you know, it's like photography. You know, you get a different shot at every angle. And that's how I'm writing her story. So, you know, I know what I'm turning in is probably going to be too many pages. But she deserves it. She deserves it. She deserves every page that you give her, okay? And then some because she's Diane Carroll. Yes, yes.

[00:29:34] And, you know, and I have been asked, like, why do you think you can write that story? Like, I, because I absolutely know I can write that story. And I think she deserves me to write that story. Is it approved through the family? Like, how did this even come about? It came about because I wanted to write it. And I presented it to my agent and my editor. And I put it together. And I talked to people that she knew that were in her life.

[00:30:01] And got a sense of how they felt about her because she had already passed. And so it went forward. And I, you know, and I know people think, well, you know, you have to get this approval or that approval. And, you know, it becomes a different story when you look for certain approval. It just becomes an entirely different story. So, yeah. It's fictionalized, of course. So it's not, you know, one of those things where I have to be, like, on the date of this

[00:30:30] and on the date of that. So it's a historical fiction novel based on Diane Carroll. Okay. Right. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. I'm still excited. I'm still excited. It's not an autobiography, but I've been loving the historical fiction novels about real people that have been coming out, like, the last few years. So I am definitely very excited for this project. And I think, you know, the only difference, because she wrote memoirs, and I've read all of them, and I see, you know, her take on her life.

[00:31:00] And I can see her, you know, the way she presented it to make it palatable. And I know that scenario very well. And I think sometimes you do just have to be an outsider looking in to gather information that sometimes people aren't that forthcoming with. So, yeah, I'm excited about it. All right. So before I let you go for the morning, I want to move to a speed round again. Okay. What is your favorite book?

[00:31:28] Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye. Only because I've read it probably 10 times or more. And it just, it's like I never read it. Everything is always new to me. And I don't know any other book that can do that. Who was your favorite author? It would still be Toni Morrison. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with that. You know, early on, I was told that my voice reminded, it was actually Toni Morrison's first

[00:31:57] editor told me that my voice reminded her of Toni Morrison. And I had already been reading her work and everything. But that, I remember hearing that it was just high praise. And I, you know, I didn't run around saying it out. I felt it in my heart and I was brimming with it all the time. But this is probably the first time I've even said it, you know, publicly that I heard that.

[00:32:21] And it's one of those gems that you keep close to you, like a aura stone that just gives you life anytime you feel like you're not doing your purpose or living in your purpose. Like that was mine. It really moved me forward. I love that. What do you think is the best book to film or book to series adaptation, inclusive of your own? I'm going to just say Napoli Ever After.

[00:32:47] I have to because, you know, we had this conversation in the car, I think, that they changed so much in these stories and they're almost unrecognizable. And so even though people have told me, gosh, you know, this is nothing like the book. It's like it is like the, you know, the essence of it is there. The dialogue is there. You know, the meaning of what happened and the politics are there. You know, it's all there.

[00:33:16] You know, not scene by scene, but it's all there. And I have seen so many books get put to screen where the entire, you know, the new characters, new endings, new personalities, new everything is just so far from where it started that I don't even know how they could say it, you know, based on that story. So I guess I would just say, I do believe Napoli Ever After stayed true to the story.

[00:33:45] If money were no object, what would you do? Where would you go? And where would you live? I wouldn't go anywhere. I know. I just, I've thought about that before. I've always, always done that. I've played that game with myself. Like if you had this much money, where would you go? What would you do? I live every day like I have this much money. I absolutely do.

[00:34:10] And because money is just not going to get you what you think it is. So I just live. I pretend like I have absolutely everything I absolutely want in my life. And that's how I live. I love that. Name three things on your bucket list, if you have one. Oh, my bucket list. Travel isn't on there. I'm not a big, like, I'm not a big fan of that.

[00:34:37] You know, thinking if I go somewhere, I'm going to feel this zen or something. So I guess my bucket list is just peace and sitting in my own peace and feeling that those moments where I can just write in peace and not feel like I have to get up and do anything I don't want to do. That is my entire bucket. See, now normally I would ask what brings you peace, but I feel like you just told us it's writing. Yeah. In solitude.

[00:35:06] Writing in solitude. Yeah. And then so what brings you joy? Seeing the result of that, that writing, seeing the result of that peace. Yeah. I know it should be like, I know all the answers, you know, God, family first. You know, I know all those answers. You know, within my heart, I am, you know, I just, I feel like I do live in my peace. I am with God, with prayer, you know, but it's my solitude that I treasure.

[00:35:35] So our game is called rewriting the classics. Classic is however you define it. Okay. Name one book you wish you would have written. Oh, well, that's hard. The seven daughters. Stop. Stop. Thank you. Stop. I do because it's so layered and I'm going to get teary eyed, but you know, touching all

[00:36:00] of those relationships, you know, it feels like you're with your ancestors, with your family that like, you don't necessarily want to be with them, but you're with them like in spirit. And so you can always just, it just, it's powerful to touch your ancestors. I don't feel like I've done that yet. That was just, it's just a model of how that's done. Thank you. Now I'm embarrassed.

[00:36:29] Um, we're going to keep going with this game though. Name one book where you want to change the ending and how would you do it? Oh my goodness. I hate endings. Um, I do. It's like the, it's just a lost art and I have tried and I have forgiven so many stories over endings and I just don't remember them. I don't. I really don't. I just put them. It's the story.

[00:36:58] It's the journey. I just put those endings out of my head. It is a lost art to close out a story either in film or films are the worst. They are. They absolutely have no skill, but stories are just endings are bad. So I just ignore them. I love that. I love that. I don't even read the end.

[00:37:23] Name a book that you think is overrated or overtaught and why. And you can do dead people. Oh gosh. I would have to go with the current book that's being overrated and overtaught yesteryear. Well, didn't do it for you. I, you know, I thought it was going to be something like such a fun age. Kylie Reid. Uh-huh.

[00:37:49] I thought it was going to be in that vein because of the satire, you know, and I love that book. So I went in with that, you know, thinking it was going to be that kind of look at this mess, you know, of our, you know, that we have made of our lives, this social media life that we, you know, everybody wants. And so I went into it like that, pretty light, pretty happy, expecting all of this. And then it just was kind of a mean spirited, I don't know, icky.

[00:38:18] I felt icky. I felt icky. I'm not feeling icky reading the book. Mm-mm. Mm-mm. Only because the main character was just like so deep in the hole that it's just like, I do not want to talk to you anymore. You know, like that. Like, I don't want to be your friend. All right. And so my final question for you today, when you are dead and gone and among the ancestors,

[00:38:45] what would you like someone to write about the legacy of words and work that you left behind? Oh, Tricia R. Tricia R. Tricia R. Thomas told stories that filled the void. It told the stories that we all know are in our heart but are afraid to tell. Big thank you to Tricia R. Tricia R. Thomas for being here today on Black & Published. You can follow Tricia on Instagram and threads at Tricia R.

[00:39:34] Tricia R. Tricia R. Tricia R. Tricia R. Tricia R. Tricia R. Tricia R. Tricia R. Tricia R.

[00:40:04] Tricia R. Tricia R. Tricia R. Tricia R. Tricia R.

[00:40:57] Tricia R. Tricia R. Tricia R. Tricia R. Tricia R. Tricia R. Tricia R. Tricia R.