In this delightfully modern spin on Pride and Prejudice, love is a goal, marriage is a distant option, and self-discovery is a sure thing. We had the pleasure of chatting with author Eden Appiah-Kubi about her debut novel The Bennet Women, along with writing, book recommendations, and more!
Hi, Eden! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello, Nerd Daily! Here are a few things about me: I’m an elder millennial born in DC and raised in the Maryland suburbs. I’ve got a cat, a kid, and a loving husband. He and I met while I was serving in the Peace Corps—at a Halloween party of all things. After we returned to the US, I convinced him to leave the West Coast to settle with me in the DC area. (He only regrets it in August.)
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I think I can trace it back to third grade. My elementary school participated in a county-wide competition where we created our own storybooks, right down to binding them with cardboard and contact paper. Everyone got the chance to write a story, illustrate one, or both. I decided to write. My story was a retelling of Sleeping Beauty that ended with Aurora and the Prince starting a catering business—nine-year-old me in the 90s thought this was very progressive. My story won 3rd place. I remember it being so fun, but also being astonished that grown-ups thought my story was worth paying attention to. I can’t remember writing not being a part of my life after that.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
The first one I remember reading with my mom was a collection of nursery rhymes. Those have stuck with me, and I still recite them from time to time. The first chapter book I read on my own was a beautifully illustrated copy of The Wind in the Willows. I reread it a few years back as an adult and let me tell you, Toad is much harder to take.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was the first book that I remember loving the prose and the storytelling. It was the first book that made me wish I could write like that.
As for a book I can’t stop thinking about, I have been telling everyone who’ll sit still to read My Sister the Serial Killer. I love its economic storytelling and the way it introduces readers to modern Lagos.
Your debut novel The Bennet Women is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Modern Inclusive P&P–Black Elizabeth
What can readers expect?
The Bennet Women is a loose retelling of Pride and Prejudice that follows a set of close friends (not sisters) living in the same quirky single-sex dorm. It’s important that readers know, upfront, that EJ is a Black woman and that Jamie is a trans woman. I don’t think we see enough women with these identities in the center of happy romances. And while their identities are a part of their story, it’s not the whole of their story.
Also, I think you could call my book a blend of romance and Women’s fiction because, in addition to watching people fall in love, I also wanted to look at the questions Austen was asking about gender, class, and opportunity in Pride and Prejudice applied to young women today.
Where did the inspiration for The Bennet Women come from?
The whole novel was inspired by an exercise I did for a writing group years ago. We were asked to rewrite a famous scene from literature. My mind immediately went to the proposal scene from Pride and Prejudice. The writing flowed that day and felt more inspired than the story I had been working on for most of that year.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
In a funny bit of timing, I completed the first draft of this novel right before I gave birth to my wonderful daughter. That meant I did the bulk of my revising while I was on maternity leave. Also, I’d up until that point I’d been part of a critique group which I had to leave (for new baby reasons). So, it was the first time I felt truly on my own in the writing process. It was the first time I felt the loneliness of being a writer.
I don’t think I overcame these issues as much as I survived—but I had to commit to keep going. The only way out was through.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
One thing I could say without giving away too much, is that I wrote a lengthy section that takes my characters on a cross-country roadtrip. It’s my favorite part of the book and probably contains my biggest stylistic choice. I love roadtrip stories in fiction, movies–heck, even songs. My favorite Simon and Garfunkel song is “America.”
What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
The word surprising is what immediately comes to mind. I met my agent through the DV Pit Twitter competition that works to promote stories by and about underrepresented people. My book was on submission for over three years, had two pretty big rewrites, and we received an offer from the very last people we pitched. This is the very first novel I wrote, so I was more emotionally prepared to shelve it and start writing the next one, than I was to get published. My husband had to hold me upright when we got the call.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
The Best: When you write dialogue, make sure to anchor your readers in the scene so they don’t lose who’s talking or what’s happening around them.
The Worst: You must write an outline; or, only real authors outline. I just don’t. If I don’t like what I’ve outlined I’ll write want I want and fix it later.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently working on another Austen inspired novel that centers around EJ’s sister, Maya.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
I have been loving audiobooks lately, in particularly Nghi Vo’s novellas The Empress of Salt and Fortune and The Tiger that Came Down the Mountain.
