Today we are very excited to share an interview with Author Jumata Emill (The Black Queen)!
Meet the Author: Jumata Emill
Jumata Emill is a journalist who has covered crime and local politics in Mississippi and parts of Louisiana. He earned his BA in mass communications from Southern University and A&M University. He’s a Pitch Wars alum and a member of the Crime Writers of Color. When he’s not writing about murderous teens, he’s watching and obsessively tweeting about every franchise of the Real Housewives. Jumata lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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About the Book: The Black Queen
Nova Albright, the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High, is dead. Murdered the night of her coronation, her body found the next morning in the old slave cemetery she spent her weekends rehabilitating.
Tinsley McArthur was supposed to be queen. Not only is she beautiful, wealthy, and white, it’s her legacy—her grandmother, her mother, and even her sister wore the crown before her. Everyone in Lovett knows Tinsley would do anything to carry on the McArthur tradition.
No one is more certain of that than Duchess Simmons, Nova’s best friend. Duchess’s father is the first Black police captain in Lovett. For Duchess, Nova’s crown was more than just a win for Nova. It was a win for all the Black kids. Now her best friend is dead, and her father won’t face the fact that the main suspect is right in front of him. Duchess is convinced that Tinsley killed Nova—and that Tinsley is privileged enough to think she can get away with it. But Duchess’s father seems to be doing what he always does: fall behind the blue line. Which means that the white girl is going to walk.
Duchess is determined to prove Tinsley’s guilt. And to do that, she’ll have to get close to her.
But Tinsley has an agenda, too.
Everyone loved Nova. And sometimes, love is exactly what gets you killed.
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~Author Chat~
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
The Black Queen is a culmination of so many conversations I’ve had over the years—both in my personal with friends and my professional life as a journalist covering crime and local politics in the Deep South. What black cops working in small towns with predominately white police forces, white progressive friends who grew up in households that weren’t progressive in thought, have shared with me influenced so much of this story. And my own questions around race and what diversity really means served as the driving force in the story I wanted to tell and how I wanted to tell it.
YABC: Which came first, the title or the novel?
The title. I knew from the onset that Nova, this fictional Mississippi high school’s first black homecoming queen, would serve as the nexus of the story. I often brainstorm my titles before I pull together the story. Titles help set the tone for me.
YABC: Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
That the real writing happens in the re-writing. There are so many stories I never finished because I was obsessed with “getting everything perfect” or “right” in the first draft. It wasn’t until I became a journalist and had to write and revise on deadline that I realized no one gets it right the first time. First drafts are for getting your thoughts on paper. Revisions are when you polish everything up, make it look pretty.
YABC: What do you like most about the cover of the book?
EVERY-FREAKING-THING!
Adekunle Adeleke, whose artwork is breathtaking, perfectly brought Nova to life. We get just enough of her face, added with the blood, to know what kind of story this is and who it’s about.
YABC: What new release book are you looking most forward to in 2023?
Promise Boys by Nick Brooks. It’s another YA mystery/thriller featuring black characters at the center of the story. We need more of it! This country’s criminal justice system affects black and brown people much differently than it does white people. BIPOC authors should have a commanding presence in the mystery/thriller space. So it’s great that we’re starting to see more of those stories now.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
Writing my next book. Another YA murder mystery, set in another part of the Deep South.
YABC: Which character gave you the most trouble when writing your latest book?
Tinsley, for sure. I had to step into the mind of a rich, spoiled, racially insensitive and tone-deaf white girl. Writing for her was a constant internal battle of not killing her off the page. Ha!
YABC: What advice do you have for new writers?
They’ve probably already heard this before but read, read, read! And then write, write, write! That’s it. Constantly work on your craft and study those whose work you admire.
Title: The Black Queen
Author: Jumata Emill
Release Date: January 31st, 2023
Publisher: Delacorte
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Age Range: Young Adult
