Today we have best-selling author Brittney Morris discussing with us her newest novel “This Book Might Be About Zinnia” which will be published on July 1st. This book is a moving story of two teens, Zinnia and Tuesday, who are connected through a novel. Told in two timelines that eventually converge, we follow Zinnia who, upon being gifted a book by a known author, realizes the book might be about her and decides to find the author; the other timeline follows Tuesday who is getting her life back together after a “medical incident” according to her mother, and is in the process of healing. The novel explores how the mother/daughter relationship shapes identity and the delicate results, on both sides, of adoption. While there is a bit of mystery involved, the heart of the novel is Zinnia and Tuesday’s stories.
K. Imani: What was your inspiration for Zinnia’s and Tuesday’s story?
Brittney: Like most of my stories, this one began as a half-baked fragment of an idea: What if a mother wrote and published a book full of breadcrumbs for her long lost daughter to find and follow back to her? This quickly grew into a simultaneous exploration of one’s identity as a daughter and as a mother. At what point does one’s preoccupation with being a cycle-breaking parent cross into perfectionism? At what point does a dedication to traditional parenting cross into toxicity? And most importantly, as both a mother and a daughter myself learning what kind of mother and daughter I want to be, I knew I wanted to see the characters in this book grapple with their dark pasts and explore how they may inevitably feed (but not define) their futures.
K. Imani: A definite theme in your novel is the unique relationship between mothers and daughters. Tuesday’s relationship with her mother was similar, in some ways, to Zinnia’s relationship with her mother. How did you go about crafting such a parallel relationship?
Brittney: Tuesday’s mother and Zinnia’s mother are both driven by the same thing when it comes to parenting: fear of the past. While Tuesday’s mother is fueled by a primal need to shield Tuesday from her father’s seedy ties (and make sure they don’t ruin Tuesday’s life like they ruined hers), Zinnia’s mother is fueled by a primal need to shield Zinnia from the adversity and chaos she would’ve been born into had she not been adopted. Tuesday’s mom sees herself in Tuesday—a version of herself that she can save. A do-over. A second chance at life. And she projects this onto her, pressures her to stay on the straight and narrow. Zinnia’s mother is all but consumed by perfectionism in pursuit of giving her daughter a better life than she would’ve had and, unknowingly, projects that perfectionism onto Zinnia. The two stories mirror each other, two sides of the same coin.
K. Imani: I call novels like these quiet novels as they are not filled with “action” per se, but a lot happens that allows the main character to truly grow. What scenes for Zinnia and Tuesday were the hardest to write, or were the easiest to write?
Brittney: By far, the scene in which Tuesday comes home to greet her mother who’s not only ready with conditional affection and manipulation, but gaslighting, projected insecurities, and a victim complex like no character I’ve ever written. It was the hardest scene to write for the same reason that it was the easiest: it mirrors most of the conversations I’ve had with my own mother. I had to dig deep for that one, and realize how much disillusion I’ve undergone throughout my life to be able to write that perspective.
K. Imani: Your novel also deals with both sides of adoption, that of the birth mother and the child, and the effects, both mentally and emotionally, that adoption has. What research did you do to be able to express both of these perspectives?
Brittney: Admittedly, I’m not adopted, nor have I adopted a child. Four people very close to me were adopted, and all of their stories are different. I consulted them when I first developed the premise, and from there I drew on my experiences raising a child who is biracial like Zinnia and thus living in a different world from me in many ways. That’s the closest experience I have personally. The rest is empathy and a hope that I wrote the experience respectfully close to correct.
K. Imani: Can you share what you are writing right now?
Brittney:Next up is my first adult novel – a vampire romcom, and a YA sequel to one of my previous releases. Details on both coming soon!
K. Imani: Oh my! I’m excited for all of those, especially a vampire romcom as I’m a fan of vampires and romcoms. As for reading, what books are on your summer read list?
Brittney: I just finished Fourth Wing (whew!), and now I’m reading the Three Body Problem (also whew!). Up next might be The Heartbeat Library, because I’m ready for Laura Imai Messina to rip my heart out again.
K. Imani: Thank you Brittney for taking your time out to chat with us. We appreciate it so much. And fans, look for my review tomorrow.