Janelle M. Williams | What Do We Owe Our Families, Ancestors, and Ourselves?

1–What is the title of your latest release?

GONE LIKE YESTERDAY

2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?

Is it a long elevator ride? Zahra is a listless college prep coach, and Sammie is a budding teenage activist. The two women share an unexpected commonality –beautiful, mysterious moths that have been singing to Zahra for years have more recently begun giving Sammie the eerie feeling of being watched. When Zahra’s brother, Derrick, goes missing, Zahra and Sammie embark on a road trip from New York to Atlanta, Zahra’s hometown, in search of him. In order to find Derrick and uncover the truth, they must discover what the moths want with them, and what that answer means for their individual and collective futures. It’s a novel that asks what we owe to our families, what we owe to our ancestors, and what we owe to ourselves.

3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?

They were places I had serious questions for and strong feelings about. Also, I knew they would be interesting in juxtaposition to one another–New York and Atlanta!

4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?

Definitely! She’s a little hard-headed, but that can be an endearing quality, no?

5–What are three words that describe your protagonist?

Zahra is contemplative, smart, and nostalgic, and Sammie is curious, sure-footed, and a visionary.

6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?

I learned a lot about Atlanta and a lot about Black music, two of my favorite subjects.

7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?

I edit as I go, but small edits. I’m not someone who will scrap the whole thing and start over mid project.

8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?

French fries. And I love a good dipping sauce. Aioli and the runny sauce from a steak are a couple of my favorites.

9–Describe your writing space/office!

I’ll write anywhere, but I like to be cozy. Sometimes coffee makes me feel cozy, other times I prefer a couch to my desk chair, or I’ll write in bed.

10–Who is an author you admire?

I feel like I mention her in every interview, but Jesmyn Ward!

11–Is there a book that changed your life?

Not sure if my life changed but reading Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Awakening in high school opened my eyes to what fiction could do.

12–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.

Well, they set up a Zoom interview before I got the official call. I was at my job’s annual sleepaway camp for young writers, so I was tired, hot, and I looked a mess. I was expecting to meet Amber Oliver, the editor who acquired my book on the Zoom, but there were four or five additional people, including Phoebe Robinson who I recognized from TV. I was overwhelmed! But I immediately knew that Tiny Reparations was the perfect imprint. I kept thinking, Phoebe Robinson read my book?! In what world?! I was just trying to keep it together.

13–What’s your favorite genre to read?

Literary fiction and mysteries!

14–What’s your favorite movie?

Love Jones!

15–What is your favorite season?

Probably summer, but fall is a close second.

16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?

With friends and family. Some years I like to go big, but recently, I just enjoy being near the people I love. It doesn’t have to be extravagant, but I like to eat well. Sometimes I’ll ask my dad to cook one of my favorite dishes. My aunt makes cupcakes or this really good strawberry roll cake.

17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?

Abbott Elementary!

18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?

American. I love a good burger and fries. Close seconds – Jamaican and Greek!

19–What do you do when you have free time?

I like watching TV, decorating my house, reading, listening to music, eating and drinking with friends, looking at houses and vintage shopping with my fiance, doing nearly anything competitive, and just chilling with family!

20–What can readers expect from you next?

Honesty. At least, my honest experience. Also, always, a bit of mystery and/or magic.

GONE LIKE YESTERDAY by Janelle M. Williams

A lyrical debut novel that asks what we owe to our families, what we owe to our ancestors, and what we owe to ourselves. Janelle M. Williams’s Gone Like Yesterday employs magical realism to explore the majestic and haunting experience of being a Black woman in today’s America. 

Gone Like Yesterday follows two Black women–Zahra, a listless college prep coach, and Sammie, a teenage girl and budding activist soon off to college–who are drawn to each other through the songs of gypsy moths. Gypsy moths have been singing the songs of Zahra’s ancestors to her for years, so when Zahra realizes that Sammie might be a moth person too, their paths become intertwined.

Then, the unthinkable happens: Zahra’s brother, Derrick, goes missing. Derrick has always been different—sensitive and connected to the spiritual world, he has been drifting from Zahra and her family for some time. But this time feels different. Zahra is panicked that he may really be gone for good, lost to her forever.

Zahra can’t let that happen. So, she, along with Sammie, embarks on a road trip from New York to Atlanta, Zahra’s hometown, in search of Zahra’s brother, but also to uncover just what the moths and their ancestors want with them, and what to do about their individual and collective futures.

Sharp and wholly original, Gone Like Yesterday is a novel about family and legacy but also a literary exploration of racial identity, self, and what it means to be found.

Women’s Fiction [Tiny Reparations Books, On Sale: February 14, 2023, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593471630 / ]