Better Late(r) than Never

I Sold My Second Novel 16 Years After the First

If you’ve been following my journey for a while, then you know I’ve always wanted to be a novelist. I was a voracious reader as a child, and I knew I wanted to be a writer since I was eight years old. But I chose to pursue journalism because that was the only way I knew how to be a writer with an actual 9-to-5 job. And, let’s be honest, I’m nosy as hell, so I was well suited to be a reporter.

I’m not going to lie, I loved my career as a magazine journalist, and then as a journalism professor. Everything I learned about storytelling, I learned from writing true stories and studying trends and current events. It may be a cliche, but real life is definitely more compelling than fiction.

Because of my job in academia and having three (adorable) children, my dreams to be a novelist were halted right after first novel, Substitute Me, debuted in 2010. Fun fact, I discovered I was pregnant with my third child while on tour promoting Substitute Me.

I always knew I’d eventually get back to writing fiction, I just didn’t know how long it would take me. Sixteen years is a long time. The truth is, the reason we moved to Spain was because I was fed up with waiting for the right time to “take a break” from academia and “waiting for the kids to grow up.” With a push from the pandemic, I decided the time was now to go all in on my creative writing career. That was in 2021. And now, five years later, I have my first book deal as an aspiring full-time novelist.

A Lick of Bitter for a Spoonful of Sweet

Even though I’ve written two novels since moving to Spain, I knew A Lick of Bitter for a Spoonful of Sweet had to be the first book to come out. Why? Because the story takes place in the south of Spain, the protagonist is a Black woman in her late 40s, and books, romance and magic all play a role in the tale. These are all of my favorite things, and I wanted to share them with my readers. I also just want to give my readers a juicy story to dive into and love.

Lori Gone Global

Moving forward, I want to continue to write novels that explore the global Black experience. I’m excited I get to do that from this side of the Atlantic Ocean because in Spain, I feel like I have access to more than a US-only based audience for my work.

In addition to the expat and anglophone community in Spain and the rest of Europe, I am looking forward to finding readers for my work in the UK, Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya. In the Caribbean, and maybe in Latin America. I’m open to going truly global in the years that come. Since moving to Spain, my belief in the power of the written word has grown far more expansive, and I’m so excited to see where my stories can take me. That is also why I’m so absolutely thrilled that I get to work with a UK based publisher like Jacaranda that is owned and operated by Black women from across the diaspora.

Did I want to wait 16 years for my second novel to get published? No. But that’s my story, and I have the power to make the second act better than the first. And that’s exactly what I plan to do.

For the video version of this essay, check out this video I shared on the Literary Lori YouTube channel.