From Inspiration to Creation: Willow Smith's Journey in Art and Storytelling

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[00:00:44] How are y'all feeling? Can you guys hear me? I, if you all know me, I usually

[00:01:03] don't have notes, but I brought notes today. So I'm so excited. But welcome again tonight.

[00:01:08] As Grace mentioned, my name is Ramunda Lark Young and I'm the proud owner and co-founder

[00:01:13] of MahoganyBooks along with my amazing husband Derrick who's out there somewhere.

[00:01:17] And shout out to our 22nd wedding anniversary next month. Can we give it up for that?

[00:01:22] Yes, yes, yes. By a show of hands, how many of you all are familiar with MahoganyBooks?

[00:01:27] Let me see. Okay, okay audience. Thank you, thank you, thank you. What I would

[00:01:32] love to ask is that if you please pull out your phones and follow us on Instagram at

[00:01:37] MahoganyBooks as we have lots and lots of phenomenal book conversations happening this

[00:01:42] summer and many are happening here at the library. We would love to see you.

[00:01:45] So again, you can follow us on Instagram at MahoganyBooks so you can keep up with

[00:01:49] some of the latest events. But as for us, we've been in business actually for

[00:01:52] 17 years. Let me hear y'all say 17. 17. Woo, 17 years. With an intentional focus

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[00:02:04] In a moment where so many people are trying to remove books from places, MahoganyBooks

[00:02:09] is committed to making sure our books and our stories are heard. Let me hear snaps

[00:02:12] if you can relate to that. Yeah, we're serious about this thing. But I want to

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[00:02:21] to the DC Public Library Foundation where I am proud to be a board member of the

[00:02:26] foundation. So let's give it up for them really quickly. The DC Public Library, yes,

[00:02:29] and the foundation. I am always delighted when authors reach out to MahoganyBooks

[00:02:35] to host events and that our dear library friends often say yes. Bookstores

[00:02:41] and libraries really, really can coexist and we're just a shining example of that

[00:02:45] of that relationship. And I'm really excited to partner with the team here.

[00:02:48] I want to shout out a few people really quickly. Ryan Williams, I want to

[00:02:52] shout out Chanel Toms, David Quick and Rob Hartman. These are all instrumental

[00:02:56] people who have helped us make this event happen tonight. So let's give it up

[00:02:59] for them real quick. Yes, yes, yes, yes. I just want to say thank you for

[00:03:04] saying yes to partnering with us and bringing these type of events

[00:03:07] together. So let's now get into it. Y'all ready? No, are y'all ready? I got a

[00:03:13] script but I can come off script really quickly. I want to give it up for our

[00:03:16] moderator tonight. Let's give it up for Alex L. She is someone very dear to

[00:03:21] me, a friend of MahoganyBooks, a powerful creative. Alex L. is a New York Times

[00:03:26] bestselling author, a certified breath work coach. Let me everybody breathe in

[00:03:30] and out. Let's go in, exhale out. Now let's try it again. In, out. Okay Alex

[00:03:37] Gourmet, she could show us something later maybe. But she is a certified

[00:03:41] breath work coach and a restorative writing teacher. Please help me welcome

[00:03:46] Alex L. to the stage. Next, please put your hands together. Well let me go back.

[00:04:02] Let me go back. I want us to talk about our featured author tonight. Mahogany

[00:04:06] Books is thrilled to host this conversation with the amazing Willow

[00:04:10] Smith. Let's give it up for Willow. Yes, yes. Willow, Willow was a gifted

[00:04:17] singer, songwriter and activist and tonight we're here to celebrate Willow's

[00:04:22] debut book, Black Shield Maiden. How many have the book in their hands? Let me see

[00:04:25] the books. Okay, oh yes I love it. We're here to celebrate Black Shield Maiden.

[00:04:32] It's a riveting science fiction fantasy novel steeped in African roots and

[00:04:36] Viking lore. Everybody please put your hands together and help me welcome Willow

[00:04:41] Smith to the stage. This is exciting. Congratulations. Let's give Willow one more round of applause.

[00:05:05] So tonight we're just gonna chat about the writing process, about why this book,

[00:05:15] about how you got to this place. So first I would love for you to share

[00:05:20] your why. Why this book and why now? Wow, I you know I wish I had a deeper

[00:05:26] answer that I'm a nerd. I'm such a nerd and I started writing this in my

[00:05:32] teens like my early teens and I was just in a space where I was so

[00:05:38] interested in just history and like just how cultures have evolved, how you know

[00:05:44] humans have evolved and I know it sounds it sounds kind of random but you

[00:05:50] know on top of my already instilled like you know need and want to learn

[00:05:56] about these things. I was also watching the show Vikings. I know it

[00:06:03] sounds crazy. It sounds crazy. I know it does but I was watching it and I

[00:06:07] was like whoa like I'm really getting brought into this time period and then I

[00:06:12] started wondering. I was like we don't learn about what was happening in

[00:06:15] Africa during this time period. Like I at least I didn't learn about it in

[00:06:19] school or anything and I was like whoa I went on this whole spiral of just

[00:06:24] like let me try to find as much as I can about mythology and just like

[00:06:28] different cultures and different languages and I was like whoa like

[00:06:33] it really just took me for a few years and I was like no I have to express

[00:06:37] this like deep desire and and just inspiration for this time period.

[00:06:43] So you mentioned you started writing this in your teens. You are no longer in your teens.

[00:06:47] Yeah. So how has your womanhood impacted your writing? Like when you go

[00:06:53] back and read some of that early stuff, do you feel the

[00:06:59] same? Do you feel like it's deepened? Tell us a little bit about that growth

[00:07:03] and evolution. Man I feel like I used to love reading books that were so like

[00:07:09] descriptive. Like there would be like three pages describing just the

[00:07:12] mountains. Like just you know it's just I love that stuff and I would try

[00:07:17] to just like reading the older chapters. Like I wrote the first 12

[00:07:22] chapters by myself and then I realized oh my goodness this is like a real

[00:07:27] feat that I want to do and I don't have the tools to do this by myself. But I

[00:07:33] was just writing so much during that time and just connecting with like like

[00:07:38] what do I want to say through this character? Yeah. You know? Yeah. So I

[00:07:44] have to go back. You said you didn't have the tools and you essentially

[00:07:48] wanted and needed to ask for help. Yes 100%. How was that for you being

[00:07:55] able to name that and say I want this thing to come to life. I need support in

[00:08:00] doing that especially as a black woman and being able to say I need support

[00:08:03] around our work. Totally. How did that make you feel and how was your

[00:08:07] experience with your co-author? Wow so at first I was like man like I

[00:08:12] just didn't learn anything about this. Like I really need to like if I

[00:08:16] really want to make something worth reading, like I really need to do my

[00:08:20] research and that's when I went to my parents. Actually no let me back up.

[00:08:24] I went to a whole bunch of bookstores and I was like I can't find what I need

[00:08:28] to find. Like about this it's super niche period in time. Yeah. You know

[00:08:32] what I'm saying? And I just couldn't find anything about it and so I went

[00:08:35] to my parents and they were like yo have you been to the library that we

[00:08:39] have in the house? And I was like what? And I found so much literature on

[00:08:44] specifically West African mythology and just culture and I was like oh my

[00:08:49] goodness like that was the basis for me to be like okay let me figure this out

[00:08:54] and then me and Jess met my co-author and she went to college for

[00:08:59] anthropology and sociology and it was a specific like through those two

[00:09:06] lenses it was specifically looking at this time period. Wow. Weirdly enough.

[00:09:10] Wow. And it was just a beautiful meeting of minds and I just love her

[00:09:15] so much. I wish she was here. She's just a beautiful intelligent person.

[00:09:19] Talk us through the main character. Yeah, Fae you. How did you come to want her

[00:09:27] to be the shining star in this book? Well you know I just felt like we

[00:09:35] always write from a perspective of like what we see. You know what I'm

[00:09:39] saying? Like it's very hard to be like oh I'm gonna write a book about

[00:09:43] like an experience or a person that I would know completely nothing about.

[00:09:46] Right. And I just felt super connected to Yafayu and that character and I

[00:09:51] wanted it to be through her eyes because I felt like this kind of story

[00:09:56] arc is just so unique and different and it would be just super cool and

[00:10:01] different to see it through her eyes. So this book is told from the point

[00:10:05] of view of three different characters. Yes. Walk us through their

[00:10:09] relationship and how you brought them together in this in this book. So

[00:10:15] Yafayu is our main character and she's a bold just very strong and driven young

[00:10:25] woman who is from Ghana. And then we have Freydis who you know I feel like

[00:10:32] the thing that really ties these two characters together is that they've

[00:10:35] always felt like they didn't belong or like people were trying to tell

[00:10:40] them that what their nature was was not accepted. So in Yafayu's village

[00:10:45] it's a deep it's deep we could go along I don't know how much time we have but

[00:10:49] her family not her immediate family but her extended family was not open

[00:11:00] or receptive to the fact that she wanted to be a warrior that she

[00:11:05] wanted to you know live her life in these ways that weren't specifically

[00:11:10] feminine ways and so she always felt oppressed on that front and you know

[00:11:17] obviously her immediate family they not obviously I mean if you guys haven't

[00:11:21] read the book it's not obvious. But it will be obvious yes it will be

[00:11:27] obvious. I don't want to rant on and on and on but the string between these

[00:11:31] three characters they're so different but the string between them is that

[00:11:35] they are looking for community and throughout their life they hadn't felt

[00:11:40] like they had a home a place to really belong and so these three characters

[00:11:45] come together to create a space for other people who feel that way and

[00:11:49] pretty much to overthrow the powers that be that try to keep the voiceless

[00:11:56] without a voice. We can give that a clap. That was long I'm sorry guys

[00:12:01] that was long-winded. But that was great and it brought me to two

[00:12:07] questions so I'm big on community and community care and finding a way to weave

[00:12:12] that into our lives. Yeah. So I'm curious what you learned during this

[00:12:16] writing process about community your own community and then creating this

[00:12:21] village this community within the book. Wow I think what I learned about my

[00:12:29] community through writing this book is that you know you have ups and

[00:12:33] downs you have negative moments quote-unquote but the real thing that

[00:12:38] keeps you connected to a person is their ability and their capacity to

[00:12:47] stay right there with you in your common desire for the

[00:12:57] future. We could have a disagreement but if I know deep

[00:13:01] down that everything that you're saying comes from a deep intention to create

[00:13:06] togetherness however whatever that looks like we're just getting our

[00:13:10] wires crossed you know what I'm saying but that knowing deep down and you

[00:13:16] have to trust yeah you know what I'm saying and that's what you have

[00:13:18] faith you and these characters have to do is they have to learn how to

[00:13:21] trust each other in this insanely violent and complicated landscape and

[00:13:28] it says a lot about our time today even though it takes place like right

[00:13:33] when Christianity is just popping off people are like oh Christ I think we

[00:13:38] like him so that's a long time ago but it still informs you know what we

[00:13:44] go through today. What did you learn about yourself and trusting yourself

[00:13:51] when writing this book because writing books is not easy it's a feat I mean

[00:13:55] you've been writing this book since you were a teenager so we clearly know it's a

[00:13:58] six years. So what did you learn about self-trust and like not just

[00:14:03] throwing in the towel because there have been many moments where I know a

[00:14:07] lot of us want to just throw in the towel and say I can't do this I'm

[00:14:10] not built for this I don't deserve this. Yeah. Talk to us about your

[00:14:14] self-trust journey through book writing. I you know just like I was

[00:14:19] saying before about like let's let's write three pages of you know just

[00:14:24] expressing how the mountains look that was you know something that I would

[00:14:30] always come back to and my writing partner would be like hey like you know

[00:14:33] I know that you're trying to inject this sense of beauty but like your

[00:14:40] story speaks on its own and you don't have to like try to like make it

[00:14:46] sound smart or put these words in it that whatever it's like yeah and so I

[00:14:52] feel like that really connected back to my personal growth and just being like

[00:14:56] trust that your story is enough yeah you know like trust that what has come

[00:15:01] from your heart and what has come from your mind is substantial enough that

[00:15:06] you don't need to be like oh and then this and this and that and make

[00:15:10] it like a whole like like theatrical thing that doesn't even need to be

[00:15:14] there right so that was a really big trusting moment. It's always nice to

[00:15:20] have people be our mirrors especially in our work and you do so many things

[00:15:25] curious to know how you've shifted from being an advocate, an artist like

[00:15:31] you're just an amazing young woman you are phenomenal. I'm curious to know

[00:15:35] like how you are being shaped in this season of your life with adding

[00:15:39] author to the you know the list of beautiful things that you're doing but

[00:15:44] also you had an album come out recently that's gorgeous.

[00:15:50] So wearing a lot of different hats and feeling grounded in that and not

[00:15:55] feeling like you have to just be one thing or do one thing curious to know

[00:15:59] what you've been learning about that. You have to know how to manage your

[00:16:04] time right you have to know how to manage your time you have to figure

[00:16:11] out tools to self soothe you know when you're outputting so much

[00:16:17] creative energy you know experiencing a lot of different experiences trying to

[00:16:23] get that creative energy out into the world even more right you can get

[00:16:29] drained and what you want is to be able to even when you are drained

[00:16:34] even when you are tired to like stay there and just be present you know

[00:16:38] that's what I've been really trying to do but the self soothing is so

[00:16:44] important and that's one of my favorite words in the world yeah how are we

[00:16:48] self soothing are we taking a deep breath are we in our body yes because

[00:16:51] writing music writing books it requires us to be in our body and so I love

[00:16:59] that you said that like finding tools that help you self soothe so what are

[00:17:02] your three tools that helped you during this process top three if you could

[00:17:06] name three okay okay I'll try I'll try just what you said like taking a

[00:17:12] deep breath like looking around and being like okay we might not realize it

[00:17:17] but our nervous system is like on the fritz like so much yeah it's almost

[00:17:21] like we're clenching a muscle that we didn't know we were clenching yeah

[00:17:24] and so recently I've just been like okay like where is that muscle that I

[00:17:29] didn't know I was clenching like like on just just for a sec even if

[00:17:34] it's like two seconds yeah and just like not even trying to do anything

[00:17:39] but getting a moment of silence just to like don't be on your phone like don't

[00:17:44] even try to be like I'm meditating because that's a whole thing right

[00:17:49] that's a whole thing is just yeah it's so much more but just being in

[00:17:54] silence yeah you just be in silence which is deeply uncomfortable for a

[00:17:58] lot of us it's a muscle but so we didn't know we were clenching 100%

[00:18:02] yeah 100% but sometimes when there's just so much happening it was like

[00:18:06] I just need a little bit of silence talk us through your writing process so

[00:18:13] you wrote the first 12 chapters you said by yourself yes kudos amazing and

[00:18:18] then you brought your co-author in so I'd love to know the process when

[00:18:22] you were writing the first 12 100% and then when you had Jess come in and

[00:18:26] kind of help you shape the rest of the book totally I was so excited and

[00:18:32] really not organized at all when I first started writing this book I

[00:18:37] remember I was on a hiking trip with my mom and I just started writing I was

[00:18:45] like okay I don't have an outline or anything like I'm just gonna start

[00:18:49] writing this in a notebook best way to do it and so I just started

[00:18:52] chapter one like no like that's I personally feel like if I could go back

[00:18:58] and maybe redo that I maybe would okay but maybe not I mean it was it was an

[00:19:03] emotional thing that happened and that's what needed to happen but first 12

[00:19:06] chapters were written that way and then I started trying to do more

[00:19:09] research trying to find you know someone to write it with me and I met

[00:19:13] Jess and through us talking I realized what her major was and like

[00:19:18] you know the sociology and the anthropology specifically in this time

[00:19:21] and I was like yo like that's literally perfect yeah and so she read

[00:19:26] my 12 chapters and she pretty much was like going through like certain

[00:19:32] historical points that I made like maybe we should move this here because

[00:19:37] this actually happened in history at this time maybe we should move this to

[00:19:40] chapter because it would be easier she she was really instrumental in taking

[00:19:45] my just emotional outburst yeah and putting it on a timeline and we need

[00:19:52] that yeah and because you know people have been saying the book is sci-fi

[00:19:57] fantasy but it's it's really not it's it's it's a historical fiction there's

[00:20:05] really no like magical science things in it it's very real and kind of

[00:20:10] dark at some points but yeah I just felt like I should address those

[00:20:16] science fiction things the joy of writing this book how did it bring you

[00:20:25] closer to your inner child the reason why I'm asking that is because

[00:20:30] fiction is so like it has to be it's imaginative we create worlds and

[00:20:36] characters and kudos to you I don't think I could ever write fiction I

[00:20:41] mean I don't think I would I'm gonna leave that to you but I I love that

[00:20:46] because I don't read like self-help I know I write self-help I don't read it

[00:20:51] I need fiction I need romance I need steamy I need mystery and historical

[00:20:58] fiction so I'm curious like how did you find joy and get back to your

[00:21:01] inner child when writing this book you had to use your imagination and

[00:21:05] it's almost like you have you learn to play again especially in adulthood

[00:21:09] so what was that like for you it was totally me learning how to play

[00:21:13] again in a different way yeah like I would dream about these characters like

[00:21:18] I would be living and be thinking like oh my goodness like that specific

[00:21:23] interaction between those people like oh my goodness that's so you and

[00:21:26] freighter so like I need to write did it it does something it was

[00:21:29] always it was always like a world that I could go to you know like my

[00:21:37] world of my creation you know what I'm saying yeah and it was it's so much joy

[00:21:44] in that yeah yeah there's so much joy in that a world that you can go to

[00:21:47] that you made yeah that's really beautiful and for all the artists out

[00:21:51] there and other writers I think that's what our art does it creates a world

[00:21:56] and so many of us don't dive into our creative hearts because we feel

[00:22:02] like it's not valuable and I think that this is showing us every time a new

[00:22:08] book is born it's showing us that our work is valuable yes and that what

[00:22:12] what comes from our minds with what comes from our hearts that is

[00:22:15] valuable right you know I feel like that has a lot to do with just you

[00:22:20] know specifically being black women and growing up in this society and

[00:22:24] sometimes feeling like you're just not accepted you are your specific

[00:22:29] beauty is not the brand of beauty that people want to see or the way that

[00:22:33] you talk or the way that you dress or whatever it is right and I think you're

[00:22:38] completely right about that like like authors like Octavia Butler you know

[00:22:43] like those the parable of the Sower like that kind of stuff is what has

[00:22:51] always inspired me to be a writer.

[00:22:53] Makerspace offices is proud to sponsor this episode on the

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[00:23:54] Shifting back to the main character she didn't she wasn't really accepted

[00:24:00] with with being a warrior right? How did you create a space for her on the

[00:24:05] page to find her confidence and where did that come from for you?

[00:24:09] I wanted the reader to feel like they were gaining that confidence with

[00:24:18] Yafayu. I have a hard time sometimes of not being like I want people to

[00:24:24] feel this put it on the page like just exactly that and it's like

[00:24:28] sometimes you gotta like slow burn yeah sometimes you gotta like okay like let

[00:24:34] me see how I could more artistically put this on the page right and that

[00:24:39] was a struggle for me I'm not gonna lie like there were a lot of moments

[00:24:43] where I was like Yafayu should just say this or like Yafayu should just

[00:24:47] think this and it's like that's just just kind of cheapening the deep

[00:24:51] beautiful idea that you want to put on the page and like shrinking it

[00:24:55] down to like a sentence yeah you know yeah and I was like dang like that's

[00:25:00] so true I don't want to do that so I feel like I tried really hard to make

[00:25:06] it feel gradual yeah to just make it feel gradual and not like I'm just

[00:25:12] stating things on a page. So many questions so managing your time I

[00:25:20] definitely want to dive into that because you you are doing so much you

[00:25:25] are who you are in the world how did you carve out time for yourself during

[00:25:30] this process and how do you plan on coming down after tour because girl it's

[00:25:37] it's a wild ride. These are the things that I have not figured out yet. It's okay let's talk through it. Let's talk through it on stage. No it's honestly beautiful because even though I haven't figured it out I think about it and I try to

[00:25:53] plan ahead and I try to like if you don't know how to do something you try

[00:25:57] to learn how to do something right but you can't learn how to do something

[00:26:00] when you're just like ah I'm just gonna keep doing what I've always done

[00:26:03] so I'm really in a position right now where I'm trying not to just do

[00:26:09] what I've always done yeah and choose better ways to choose better

[00:26:15] ways to relax. Oh talk about that. Choose better ways to relax. Say more. Yeah because I feel like sometimes the stress of life or when you're so you're working so hard or when it's like you know you're

[00:26:31] one-track minded yeah I feel like sometimes we can kind of feel like we

[00:26:36] want to escape or be like oh no no no no like I need to do this or like

[00:26:39] I'm maybe more judgmental than I usually am or maybe I'm watching more

[00:26:43] trash TV than I usually need to be watching or maybe I'm on Instagram way

[00:26:46] more yeah in between because I'm like oh my mind gets to mindlessly do

[00:26:51] something right you know what I'm saying right and just trying not to do those

[00:26:55] things but lovingly you know what I'm saying not being like you're bad

[00:26:59] for doing this right but it's like finding self-compassion yeah exactly

[00:27:04] because we are human oh my goodness and it gets intense. It's an interesting place to be

[00:27:11] Being a human and being on this planet so what do you want young writers and

[00:27:20] readers and everybody to take away from this book? I want them to feel seen

[00:27:31] and I want them to know that when you really tap into what your soul is

[00:27:39] trying to say like that's that's it you know like people could be like oh my

[00:27:45] goodness I love it or I hate it right but you deep down knowing like that's

[00:27:51] it though. I get what you get. Exactly like I put my soul on the page or

[00:27:56] whatever you're doing with your life I put my soul in that song or I put

[00:28:00] my soul in that plate of food that I made or whatever it is that's it

[00:28:06] like that's the place that we're all searching for that we maybe don't

[00:28:12] know that we're searching for that. I love that. I have one more question I'm

[00:28:19] trying to figure out how to word it so you started writing this book six

[00:28:24] years ago you are here now what words of encouragement what permission

[00:28:30] would you give your younger self if you were mentoring her on this journey

[00:28:36] I need to call this woman to be my therapist guys. Oh what would I say to my

[00:28:43] younger self what what permission would I give my younger self? I would tell

[00:28:48] her not everyone is going to see your vision and I know that that's going to

[00:28:58] make you feel like maybe your vision is a mistake or maybe it's not really

[00:29:04] your vision or maybe it's wrong but I give my younger self permission to feel

[00:29:13] joy even when that is happening. You can still feel joy you can still allow

[00:29:19] yourself to feel joy you don't have to be walking around like like what do

[00:29:26] people think about me like oh like am I wrong like walking around with that

[00:29:30] energy. So yeah. I love that. Everyone give it up for Willow Smith. Thank you guys for coming. So before we go we have some audience questions. Let's see what we got here. Do you have any specific

[00:29:53] habits or rituals that you tap into before writing? Habits or rituals I

[00:30:02] think I think this isn't intentional but before I start writing I always have a

[00:30:08] little bit of just like a creative rant. I'm just like oh no no no and

[00:30:12] this is what I need to do like a just mad scientist moment okay where

[00:30:17] I'm just kind of ranting on and on. It gets me prepared you know it gets me

[00:30:21] ready. You rant out loud or voice memo. I rant out loud. Oh I love that. I rant out loud. Have you considered recording your rants? I haven't. It's like a voice note journaling moment. I probably would be embarrassed

[00:30:33] but I should do that. That's the writing teacher in me. Yeah absolutely do that and then listen back and be like wait. Because there might be gold in there. Yeah you're right. Okay I'm gonna start doing that. Adding that to your ritual of things. Yes I'm

[00:30:46] gonna start doing that. Okay from I'm sorry I didn't say the name. Carlita asked

[00:30:53] that question. Toon is asking this question while creating the book

[00:30:57] Black Shield Maiden and the album and Pathogen was there an inspiration

[00:31:04] overlap? Oh that's a great question. Well thank you Toon for that. Yes someone just

[00:31:13] pointed this out to me the other day which I didn't realize is the cover is

[00:31:18] you know a woman with a beautiful afro and my album cover is me with my

[00:31:25] natural hair out. I didn't realize that that was a thread but someone brought

[00:31:31] that up and I was like wow I was like you know I just love being black

[00:31:36] and I think that that's the overlap. Black joy. I love it. Ayanna asked how

[00:31:51] does it feel to have such a beautiful and powerful impact on younger and

[00:31:57] older generations? It's definitely a responsibility like I don't take that

[00:32:04] lightly I want everything that I put out into the world to inspire people or

[00:32:10] you know make them feel less alone. I think that sometimes some of the media

[00:32:16] that is out in the world is just kind of strips us yeah of you know any

[00:32:21] semblance of like feeling worthy or feeling like you know things make any

[00:32:27] sense and I just want to be there for people to be like you know what

[00:32:30] when I put on her song or when I read her book like it feels like

[00:32:34] things make sense. I love that. Deja Johnson asks how should an inspired artist slash singer get

[00:32:43] their feet wet? Okay so this is something new that I've been doing.

[00:32:48] Okay tell us. You know I have never been the kind of person to I read

[00:32:55] this book called Effortless Mastery and basically it was talking about

[00:33:00] like practicing singing but from like a spiritual place and like looking at

[00:33:07] yourself in the mirror and like making like a tone but like not trying to

[00:33:13] make it a specific note but just like practicing being present looking

[00:33:16] yourself in the eye and making and singing that's cool. I think that could

[00:33:22] get you deeper into your voice and just into yourself. I'm gonna try that

[00:33:25] and I can't sing so I wonder if it'll... You can! Everyone can sing. Willow do not tell me I can sing because y'all will get an album.

[00:33:33] Yes! I was just telling my husband. Listen we were listening to Fantasia when I see you on the way over here and I started singing he said

[00:33:41] well that sounded good I said oh I can sing. He said I said it sounded good so y'all don't tell me that because you'll get an album. I love that so much.

[00:33:50] Okay so I'm gonna loop back to Riley Patterson. This is just really warming my

[00:33:56] heart. I'm a 14 year old trying to find her way to her dream career. Do you

[00:34:03] have any advice for someone who wants to be a singer? I want to cry because

[00:34:09] that 14 year old... This is beautiful. This is beautiful. Riley? Riley. Riley. I would say look up videos of

[00:34:21] like Prince and like Aretha Franklin and like Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis.

[00:34:29] Just like look at all of that stuff just like soak it in like just put it

[00:34:34] on the background when you're not even paying attention. Like just let it

[00:34:38] soak into your subconscious. I find that when we listen to the people who

[00:34:45] have done it the best, we inside of our minds and our hearts we get

[00:34:50] inspired and our creative light gets turned on by their eternal brilliance

[00:34:56] really. Yeah. And so I would say just fill yourself with the highest quality

[00:35:02] of music and just sing. Just sing. I love that. Brandon asked has the current climate for women

[00:35:14] globally impacted the narrative of this story? If so, in what ways... No it's real.

[00:35:22] I'm like that's a good question. If so, in what ways does the essence of

[00:35:28] power dovetail into real life and are there parts of your own life story

[00:35:35] that evoke power? Amen to that question. Yes. Thank you Brandon. This sounds like this

[00:35:44] person might have read an interview that I did or maybe not an interview but

[00:35:49] there was like a author's letter where I talked about Yaffe'u having

[00:35:53] like a more like outward external expression of power and Yaffe'u

[00:35:58] having you know and Freitas having a more internal expression of power and

[00:36:05] I think that's really really interesting because I feel like you

[00:36:09] know in this day and age with the feminist movement sometimes and I am

[00:36:13] included you know we can get so one-track minded and feel like this

[00:36:20] is our goal and sometimes along that line we take on some of the

[00:36:26] characteristics that we may not like. Okay. You know what I'm saying? And I

[00:36:34] have definitely done this and still do it sometimes when I don't align myself

[00:36:39] but you know us as women being like we don't need to exhibit these external

[00:36:47] kinds of power if that's not what comes naturally to us in order to

[00:36:51] try to get you to see me as a human being, to try to get you to see

[00:36:56] that I'm valuable and so that's a really amazing question because yes and that is

[00:37:05] definitely woven into just these specific themes in the book 100%.

[00:37:12] Michelle asks if there could be a theme song for this book what would it be?

[00:37:19] Wow a theme song. Man it would probably we need some cellos, some horns, I don't

[00:37:26] know something cinematic I'm not sure but definitely something cinematic.

[00:37:33] Melanie is asking what are your favorite black books? What books are in

[00:37:40] your parents library you mentioned that earlier? What books are in your

[00:37:42] parents library that have inspired you the most? Wow so I was talking

[00:37:48] about Octavia Butler earlier and the parable of the sower.

[00:37:52] That book changed my life when I read that book. We never really see

[00:38:01] sci-fi fantasy black writers which is why Octavia Butler is so special.

[00:38:08] I say if you're down to cry a little bit and be extremely

[00:38:13] interested in the world that this person has created, read that book. That's what

[00:38:18] I say. And what books are in your parents library that inspired you the

[00:38:22] most? That one? Yeah that one. Oh period. 100%. So that's the favorite. Yeah that's

[00:38:26] the favorite. Okay beautiful. Fata asks what are the

[00:38:32] meanings of Yaffeu, Friedus and the other main characters names and what

[00:38:37] are they rooted in? Wow I would say Yaffeu is the anchor. This is me getting very

[00:38:47] artistic and fluffy so bear with me right now. I would say that Yaffeu is

[00:38:54] the anchor. I would say that Friedus is like a sail. Friedus in this book

[00:39:03] hasn't yet figured out who she is. She kind of lets the wind just take

[00:39:09] her where it may. And Alvater is a boat because Alvater, this is what's very

[00:39:16] interesting about Alvater, is that she is an older woman and you know we see

[00:39:23] these movies like you know Silver Fox men and it's like ah like I'm you

[00:39:28] know I'm a spy and they're like fighting and they're like doing all

[00:39:32] this stuff you know what I'm saying? And we really don't see older female

[00:39:37] characters in this light and Alvater is an older woman who has been the head

[00:39:43] of the battalion, this war, the head of these men leading them in war for

[00:39:50] many many years and she is a badass and I love her dearly. So yeah. I have

[00:39:58] another question. Falling in love with the characters like when did you start

[00:40:03] to fall in love with the characters? I'm like oh this this character exists

[00:40:09] not only on the page but in my heart. Oh wow. Wow. I would have to say like

[00:40:19] after I wrote like the first two chapters because it was in my head and I

[00:40:23] was like ah like how was this really gonna feel when I like write it down

[00:40:27] and leave it for a few days and look back like I might be like ugh

[00:40:29] that's like so cringe. Yeah but I came back and I was like whoa and I feel

[00:40:35] like that's the moment when I was like okay this idea is like this is a good

[00:40:39] idea. Yeah. Yeah. But on those great moments you're like oh this actually isn't cringe and it

[00:40:44] doesn't suck? This is good. Yes! We live for those moments. We do we do we do. Let's see let me refresh again see if we have anything else. We have about five more minutes

[00:40:56] together let's see. How much does songwriting help with the creative

[00:41:00] process of writing a novel? That's from Allison. Wow um hmm I mean we're all

[00:41:06] we're trying to do a story you know it's all about storytelling. I would say

[00:41:11] that writing a novel I try to make my songs sound like they would be in a

[00:41:19] novel like I try to like write my songs in a way where it's like the

[00:41:24] poetic yeah you know what I'm saying like you're feeling that poetic vibe

[00:41:27] like oh I would be reading this in like a poetry book or something but

[00:41:32] writing books it's way more difficult. Yeah it's hard. Writing songs is like you know if

[00:41:40] you if you if you practice it you can you can just like anything though I

[00:41:45] mean if you practice it and you put your heart into it you can you know

[00:41:48] you can vibe it. Do you think there'll be a book too? Maybe. Oh wow I I think so

[00:41:57] I think so I mean these characters have so much more to do these characters

[00:42:01] have so much more to say so so well that'll be fun pray for me and in me

[00:42:07] going out into the wilderness and I'm just in a cabin and you're like

[00:42:11] where's Willow and I'm like ah writing book too. Oh my gosh I love it. Oh how does it feel to be a

[00:42:24] queen? That's from Ayanna too. Oh my goodness I just love you guys like this

[00:42:32] the fact that you guys all showed up to hear me pontificate about a book

[00:42:37] that is just the personification of my nerdiness in every single way you you

[00:42:43] got to the MVPs let's you know let's give it up for you guys actually. Okay

[00:42:52] last we have two more questions. Let me see what okay Lily asks what were

[00:43:04] your main inspirations that you drew to write this book? Thinking back to

[00:43:09] your teenage self. I was obsessed with a six-book series by the author Jean M.

[00:43:19] Owl and it was called The Clan of the Cave Bear and it was historical fiction

[00:43:25] and it was six books and it was extremely in detail like she like

[00:43:31] traveled went to these places I looked at the ground and was like I

[00:43:34] found cave paint like she like it was intense this woman went like for it

[00:43:39] and I was obsessed with that and I think that that was really the impetus of me

[00:43:44] being like maybe historical fiction you know. Love it okay last question we have

[00:43:51] so many good questions here guys I wish I could ask them all let's see

[00:43:59] hold on hold on I'm gonna get it. Technical technical technicalities guys

[00:44:03] you guys ever get annoyed with all the technicalities? Okay here we go

[00:44:09] last question Christiana asks I read in an interview that you guys had to learn a

[00:44:17] lot about African mythology and history my question is what would be an

[00:44:22] important fact to know before reading this book? Wow that's a great question

[00:44:26] okay so an important fact to know about the book that people may not

[00:44:30] know is that there is a glossary okay now this is taking my nerdyness

[00:44:36] to the next level. So there are specific words that come from specific

[00:44:44] Ghanaian traditions and they're in the glossary you can I specifically it was

[00:44:50] a whole it was a whole argument because I was like oh like should we put all

[00:44:54] these words in there if we have to have a glossary like who's gonna go

[00:44:57] into the glass you know what I'm saying but then I was like no we

[00:45:00] should because it gives people an opportunity to dig deeper into these

[00:45:04] topics if they want to you know. That's great so my last question for you is

[00:45:12] when it gets quiet and the tour is done and you are by yourself and you

[00:45:23] are taking your deep breaths what words of love would you share with

[00:45:30] yourself? I would say I'm proud of you and I would say thank you for enduring

[00:45:54] discomfort and fear in order to create which is what you always want to do.

[00:46:05] Thank you for asking that. You're welcome. I feel like I feel like we're connected.

[00:46:13] I love this woman. Everybody give Willow Smith a big round of applause. Thank you.

[00:46:24] Thank you. Let's give Alex L a big round of applause. Yes! This is great.

[00:46:31] Again thank you for the DC Public Library. Thank you for all of give

[00:46:35] yourselves a big round of applause. Yes thank you for coming out. It's wonderful. Thank you to the DC

[00:46:41] Library Public Library Foundation. Thank you again for making space for us

[00:46:46] tonight. Making space for DC, making space for this conversation, making

[00:46:50] space for mahogany books. Yes!

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