Q: What was your inspiration for After Story?
A: The book was inspired by a confluence of things. It was inspired by my work with victims of crime and how families who have had a murder or a death in custody work tirelessly for decades to get justice. The system lets them down in so many ways but their love for their children, siblings and parents is unstoppable. At its heart, After Story is about enduring love. Meanwhile the characters of Della and Aunty Elaine are inspired by one of my dearest friends – someone who was my father’s age, but she became like a big sister to me. Aunty Elaine also draws on two other women Elders I have met on my travels who have been guides and mentors. I wanted to share some of the knowledge they passed onto me that helped me see the world differently.
Q: Tell us about the research process?
A: I mapped out the literary tour that Della and Jasmine take and took that same tour with my boyfriend. At the end of the trip, we spent a few days in Paris, and he proposed. It was a special time. For the tour I also drew on my own love of literature and the stories that were escapes for me when I was growing up and struggling with the racism I was experiencing. I loved the stories of Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters, of Charles Dickens and Virginia Woolf. But I also love the stories that I knew from my Indigenous culture that were not taught in my school. For After Story I was interested in juxtaposing Indigenous knowledge with what is still the dominant knowledges taught in schools and universities.
Q: Tell us something we might not know about you?
A: I love female led action films like Wonder Woman and Atomic Blonde.
