After Publishing Rejections Stacey Abrams Made Her Spies Fall In Love: Critical Linking, November 17, 2020
Critical Linking, a daily roundup of the most interesting bookish links from around the web is sponsored by the Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group.
“Abrams wrote her first novel during her third year at Yale Law School, inspired after reading her ex-boyfriend’s PhD dissertation in chemical physics. She had wanted to write a spy novel: ‘For me, for other young black girls, I wanted to write books that showed them to be as adventurous and attractive as any white woman,’ she wrote in her memoir Minority Leader. But after being told repeatedly by editors that women don’t read spy novels, and that men don’t read spy novels by women, she made her spies fall in love. Rules of Engagement, her debut, was published in 2001, and sees temperatures flare as covert operative Raleigh partners with the handsome Adam Grayson to infiltrate a terrorist group that has stolen deadly environmental technology.”
“Stavans is the author of ‘Popol Vuh: A Retelling,’ a prose rendition of the heroic epic poem about the creation of the world as told by the K’iche’ Maya people of Guatemala. The book, with stunning illustrations by the Salvadoran folk artist Gabriela Larios, is out Tuesday.
The Popol Vuh is considered one of the most important texts about the Mayans and the ancient history of the Americas. Although scholars acknowledge its significance and other versions of the book have been published, it’s not commonly known.”
Yes, please, to this book that retells the epic Mayan creation story.
“This BitchReads list will immerse readers in a thriller set among wealthy, elite families where protecting secrets is worth more than money, a memoir written by a complicated former president, a poetry collection about what it means to navigate our modern world as a woman, and more tales we enjoyed this fall. As we ease back into a (still vigilant) post-election life, let’s hope books continue to be a salve throughout what’s sure to be a tough winter of quarantine.”
