Nekesa Afia on her latest book, Harlem Sunset and her future projects

Alumna Nekesa Afia (external link) , ‘17, returns with the second book in her historical mystery series, Harlem Sunset (external link) , where readers follow Louise and her friends on another investigation for justice.

How did the process differ from your first book of the series, Dead Dead Girls (external link) ?

The first one took literal years, but the second one was over a month. It was basically a first draft I just gave it to my editor and was like, ‘here, have it.’ I had less time to be in my head about it. I had less time to be going over every tiny detail of it. It was different because the first one was about a serial killer, so there’s more details and this one’s actually shorter. I think it went faster too because I didn’t have to keep going back and forth, I knew what I wanted to happen and where I wanted to go with it. It was a very different process, it was faster, and I had more fun with it.

What was the research process like for this book?

This time I had to figure out where we would be living, so I chose an apartment in Harlem. Still, asking questions like, what can she be doing for work now? What’s that like and what else could she be doing? There’s all that stuff, I’m constantly learning and doing research, that’s probably the best part of the job. I really liked the research.

Were you surprised about what you learned?

Not really, it was basically building on to the first one. But, for the third one, we're in a new place and a new country, so learning about that has been really fun. I don’t want to give spoilers, but I really want to say.

When did you start planning the third book?

I actually had to give a synopsis for the third and the fourth for my contract, and I was kind of planning it. I took a trip to the place in April with my mom and then it felt like it was finally happening. It’s going on, I'm still working on it.

Have you visited the other locations for the series before?

Yeah, but it wasn't as involved because this one took a transatlantic plane ride. I chose this place because it’s the perfect place for Lou, and it's a place I'd really want to explore if I were in the 1920s. That's why I went with it, but it's funny because the series is called the Harlem Renaissance series and I'm like, ‘actually, we're moving.’

Has the imposter syndrome decreased since the first book’s release?

I feel like an imposter every day. It's wild because I wake up and I live in studio apartments, like just off to my side I have shelves with all my author copies. It’s the first thing I see when I wake up. I'll just be like doing something and be like, ‘oh my god, I'm an author.’

What has the reaction to Harlem Sunset been like from the readers?

It's been good. I think people are just happy to keep seeing Lou grow and change, there are a couple of things in Harlem Sunset that happened and my friends were not happy about and they're like, ‘can you change this back?’ And I keep going, ‘no’ like stuff has to happen. They have to grow and change or else they’re not real people and that's been really important to me the entire time. They have to be real people.

How did you celebrate your book launch?

I was actually in New York for my release this year, which was so fun because both my siblings live there. We were able to go and make a little day of it. I literally spent like a week just being like, ‘I'm gonna go see every show possible,’ because it's been like two years since I've been in New York and that's how I celebrated it. Not everyone loves musicals as much as I do, but for me, that was the perfect way to spend my release week. I was like, ‘I'm just gonna go see all the shows and have fun doing it.’

Do you have any advice for someone deciding if they want to go into publishing or writing?

It definitely depends on what you want to do. It's kind of hard to get into publishing because there's like no jobs, but having opportunities and connections are so important in the industry. It's just having connections, knowing people, but I think you have to be really clear on keeping your writing and your publishing stuff separate. I originally wanted to go into kids publishing, which I still would like to do, but I think the moment passed, I should just focus on my books. I would also really recommend patience, always patience.

How does your writing and pitching your work as a TV series affect your schedule?

They overlap but are different things. So I'm pitching the first book as a TV series, I have to keep rereading it because I haven't thought about it in like a year. I have to sit and keep up with what I'm doing because I'm still really writing the third book. It's actually just kind of wild, it’s making time for each thing.

How’s the pitching process going?

I have two production companies. I still don't know how it happened, but I'm so grateful that they wanted to pick my stuff up and we're sort of at the beginning of artwork. It’s a lot of ‘how do you see this? Where do you see this going?’ This is definitely a series, this isn’t a movie. It's a series. I'm trying to convince all these people to give us a bunch of money to make this TV show and it's really scary actually.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I think that writing a novel is basically like anything. It's patience and determination, I guess it's having the stamina to keep doing it every day, which is what you have to do.

It’s good to remember you're not gonna be a super bestseller right out of the gate. Well, you could be but it's very rare. And I'm pushing so hard, especially for POC, especially, Black people, like Black women, it's so hard to be seen and heard. So, I'm just grateful to be where I am now.