Today we have debut author DeAndra Davis sharing with us all about her new novel “All the Noise at Once” which publishes tomorrow, April 15th. The novel takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions as it is about the story of Aiden, who is on the autistic, as he deals with the fallout of a traumatic incident that involves his brother. This novel is both funny and heartbreaking, but full of heart and love throughout.
K. Imani: This novel had me experience so many emotions and even had me putting down the book to take a breath. To have such a story told from a character who is autistic gave us a fresh voice. What was your inspiration for this novel?
I definitely used myself, because I am autistic, and my kids as inspiration since I have autistic and neurodivergent children. It took a lot of tapping into my own sensations though and the experiences of what I have seen beyond just myself, and then finding words for that, to get the voice to come to life. Though Aiden is bits and pieces of my and my kids, he is definitely also unique in speech patterns and thought and getting to know him as someone else on the same spectrum but different was so fun!
K. Imani: I really loved Aiden’s voice and the growth that he experiences in the novel. What was your favorite part of creating Aiden’s character?
I think my favorite part of creating Aiden’s character was getting to know his humor. Aiden is funny! Funnier than me at least, which is odd to say because I wrote him, but I really do get into my character’s heads when I write and they aren’t just me on the page. Aiden is unintentionally funny in a lot of ways too, funny without trying and I loved scenes like that. Even the opening scene with him pondering how hot the devil’s ass crack is specifically, I love it. It’s not something I would do or the way I would process, but he definitely came to me that way and I loved it because he really brought levity in the times that were needed.
K. Imani: The Wright brother’s relationship is absolutely beautiful, and I especially love how they communicate with random facts. Where did you find all of those fun random facts?
I did a lot of research! Haha. It’s funny, because I couldn’t tell you what made me choose that to be their thing, but I knew I wanted Aiden to have more than one special interest. Football is a thing for him, but it isn’t his only thing. I’m that way too in that I have many special interests and there are subjects where I know all these random facts that are ready to go if someone needs them (they rarely do). I loved the idea that it was Aiden’s interest that Brandon took part in to consistently keep up with his brother. It was a really fun way to show, without telling, how much Brandon really loves and cares about Aiden and is genuinely interested in the things that Aiden is interested in. But yeah, a whole lot of National Geographic went into those facts. The armadillo fact is my favorite!
K. Imani: This book at times was a hard read as you did not hold back with the racism and ableism that the Wright brothers experience. What was the hardest scene or chapter to write?
So, at first, I would say that the hardest scene was the incident, but when I consider it truly, I don’t think so. The hardest scenes for me ere the scenes with Aiden and his parents. So much of this book is him figuring out authority and where he fits in with authority and him maturing in so many ways. The scene with Aiden and his dad at the courthouse was a hard one for me and I cried a lot while I wrote it. The cake scene with his mom was also a hugely poignant scene that made me cry and was hard to write, especially since there’s very little dialogue but so, so much happening. Those heavy emotional moments stuck with me more than moments of action. The quiet moments.
K. Imani: Can you share what you are writing right now?
Yes! My sophomore novel is in currently in development and I’m very excited about it. I think it will be good for fans of my debut and it will bring in new readers as well. It follows a teenage girl, right after high school graduation, who decides to go looking for the mother who abandoned her. It’s set in Jamaica and explores ideas of what it means to be the child of immigrants, how we deal with abandonment, how we find ourselves(and maybe even our sexuality) through discovery, and how we find new family along the way. In some ways it’s heavy but again, there are moments of levity just like my debut. Expect breaking and entering, ice cream heists, and those classic games of never have I ever and truth or dare.
K. Imani: As for reading, what books by other Black authors are you looking forward to?
So, so many! An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole, Eternal Ruin by Tigest Girma, Blood in the Water by Tiffany D Jackson, An Ocean Apart by Jill Tew, This Could Be Forever by Ebony Ladelle, and Under the Neon Lights by Arriel Vinson are just a few that I am super excited for!!
K. Imani: Thank you DeAndra for taking your time out to chat with us. We appreciate it so much.
And fans, look for my review on Friday.