Zetta Elliott's Blog

One of the most important books I’ve ever read is Dionne Brand’s A Map to the Door of No Return. I used to teach it but it’s been a while so I’ll have to paraphrase and hope I’m remembering right. Brand examines the legacy of Atlantic slavery and the impossibility of undoing the damage, the traumatic rupture Black people experienced after being trafficked out of Africa and enslaved for centuries. We can’t go back “home,” but wherever we landed around the world, we developed cultures that encouraged “way-finding”—we searched for or made maps (sometimes in the stars) that would lead us to freedom (or at least someplace better).

With zero fanfare, I released The Map of Doors this week. After having a terrible experience with IngramSpark, I went back to Amazon; you can find the hardcover, paperback, and ebook there. I’ve been looking at the map of France a lot over the past few months and think I’ve narrowed down my first destination. I put my condo on the market and our first viewings are tomorrow. My visa application is underway and I canceled the one in-person school visit I scheduled for March. I haven’t decided whether I’ll store my furniture and ship it to France or try to sell it before I go. One moment I feel like I could let everything go, and the next day I struggle to imagine parting with my heirlooms and more recent purchases. Does holding onto things make you free? No. Could I start from scratch and build a beautiful home somewhere else? Yes.

I consulted my astrologer and my psychic and they both approved the move. I was advised to get my health in order so tried to get three vaccines this week but only succeeded in getting one. A sign of things to come, I suspect. With subsidies slashed, I likely won’t be able to afford even an awful bronze health plan through the government marketplace next year. If this artist visa is approved, I’ll be able to stay in France for up to four years. Both psychic and astrologer saw Rome in my future so who knows where I’ll go next.

Do I feel guilty about leaving when the country’s in crisis? No. And I’ll definitely come back…there’s a tradition of African Americans seeking sanctuary in France. I’ve got pictures of Josephine Baker throughout my apartment…no banana skirt for me, but she blazed a trail and found empowerment as an expat-–something I admire. WEB DuBois fought for a lifetime before renouncing his US citizenship. He died shortly after moving to Ghana. I want more than 2 years of freedom but as my friends struggle to move abroad, I recognize my relative privilege: no dependents, an asset I can sell to fund my move, the ability to speak French at least a little. I’m pretty sure I qualify for the artist visa but I wouldn’t have become a published author if I hadn’t left Canada for the US thirty years ago. We search for a way to be free, to grow, to thrive. I’m grateful for all the doors I knocked on that were opened for me…and also the ones that stayed shut, prompting me to move…

I’m not supposed to share the cover of A Song for Juneteenth, but you can get a 25% discount today if you preorder it from Barnes & Noble on September 5. Use the code PREORDER25! Not sure if there will be interest in my books in France, but I’ve already started writing a picture book set in Tours…

I was diagnosed with endometriosis in my late twenties and the treatment that finally provided relief was a combination of hormones that simulate menopause. Many medical professionals assured me everything would be better once I had kids, disregarding my assertion that that wasn’t part of my plan. I figured eventually I could give up the hormones since I would enter menopause by 50 but that hasn’t happened…and for a while I had endo pain alongside hot flashes, which made no sense whatsoever since one feeds on estrogen and the other is caused by a lack of estrogen.

Now I’ve switched from the Pill to a patch and the day after its application I get the worst migraine. Everything’s a trade-off, it seems. I wanted an apartment in Hyde Park; found one I could afford, got a low interest rate, fixed it up, made it beautiful, and now I’m ready to move on…been in IL for five years but don’t see a future in Chicago, can’t find another affordable big city, and the country’s going downhill faster than expected. Apparently this atrocious bill the Republicans passed recently slashes not just Medicaid but also subsidies for those of us buying health insurance through Obamacare. My bronze plan is already pretty awful but I may not even be able to afford something comparable next year. So what to do? Move just a few years after I finally committed to US citizenship in 2021? I can cast absentee ballots from abroad, I guess, and hope my vote gets counted. Retirement is a ways off, though I suspect Social Security won’t be solvent by the time I reach my 60s. Clearly I’m not feeling too optimistic. I need another republic with universal healthcare and affordable rent. Can’t afford Ireland and might need a bit more sunshine, though I’m not a tropical girl. How to be an ethical expat…

I spent quite a bit of time looking into French visas this week. It’s the only language I can speak besides English and I have Huguenot ancestry that might be fun to explore. The LeBers and LeCordiers didn’t get too far, fleeing religious persecution in France by settling in the Channel Islands before migrating to Canada. LeBer is German in origin so I could do some research in Alsace…or choose a place in the south of France that isn’t likely to catch fire every summer. Canada’s wildfires are why Chicago had the worst air quality in the world for a couple of days last week. Can’t outrun the climate crisis but I could go over to France as a tourist, spend a few weeks touring the country, and then decide if I want to apply for a long-stay visa. Maybe see if any publishers are interested in the foreign rights to my books. Hope that my basic French skills improve rapidly!

Chani says Monday is one of the most auspicious days of the year. Don’t think my new novel is going to be ready by then but she said you can also just write down some intentions or dreams…I’m growing pansies and morning glories from seeds this summer and got my first bloom last week. Not sure if the pansies will ever bloom but I enjoy tending to them every day. It’s not the eventual harvest that matters most…I just want to give them—and myself—everything we need to grow and thrive.

Phew! A lot has happened so far this month. First, I got to see the almost-finished art for my 2026 picture book, A SONG FOR JUNETEENTH. Noa has created a vibrant book that feels very summery and is sure to appeal to kids. Purple is working on final sketches for the interior illustrations for THE MAP OF DOORS (see left), and almost every morning I wake up to find she has sent me amazing new drawings or finished work. I got a lovely portrait of Jaxon from my artist in Hungary, my designer in Indonesia has started working on the cover, and I signed with a new agent on Monday!

I haven’t had representation for a couple of years, which means I lost a third of my income. I never stopped writing, but nothing I wrote could be submitted to editors at the Big 5 because they only accept agented submissions. If you can’t submit to editors, you can’t get offers that pay the biggest advances…and when I submitted to editors at small presses, they rejected my stories or just ghosted me. But things will hopefully change now that Andy Ross is representing me; he came highly recommended by my friend in Berkeley and I trust her implicitly. Still, it will be up to me to be a good partner-client. Having an agent can be challenging unless you share values and goals. I’m hopeful that I’ve finally found someone who respects me as a writer and understands that making money, though important, isn’t my top priority.

On the home front, I’ve been writing a thousand words a day and finally have reached the last chapter of this novel. Last week the electricians came to install updated wiring for my dryer; I love living in old buildings but there’s definitely a price to be paid when it comes to 21st-century renovations. Had some trouble with the plumber but my woman electrician recommended someone else so I might be set…it’s a hassle but a good exercise in advocating for myself.

I tend to eat a lot when I get near the end of a novel so there have been a couple of Instacart orders that contained more than one pint of Ben & Jerry’s (it was on sale!)…but I’m back to running, too, which feels good. I’m going to try hormone therapy to manage some of my perimenopause symptoms and I’m forcing myself to spend time outside with friends even though summer isn’t my favorite season.

I think those are all of my updates. Hopefully the MAP OF DOORS cover will be ready to reveal soon, so stay tuned!

It never would have occurred to me to design a t-shirt for fans of DRAGONS IN A BAG—I don’t own rights to the artwork and so couldn’t put the cover or illustrations on anything. But when Bonfire reached out and offered to do it for/with me, I thought, “Why not?”

Is your school or class reading DRAGONS IN A BAG? Need a unique raffle prize? We now have t-shirts in a variety of sizes, styles, and colors inspired by DRAGONS IN A BAG! Perfect for the young readers in your life and those fantasy fans who are still young at heart. Featuring a quote from Professor L. Roy Jenkins who started it all by sending three baby dragons to Brooklyn…

Order yours now!

Berkeley already feels like a lifetime ago but it was a pretty magical weekend. My friend Laura found me a lovely backyard cottage in nearby Oakland and I spent a fair bit of time there recovering from the journey and then my introvert overload after two back-to-back panels on Saturday. Unfortunately, Covid reared its ugly head; I tested negative and brought home only great memories and the positive energy of being with my West Coast friends. We talk once a month but it’s rare for us to all be in the same place. Laura thinks I should move to California but it’s WAY too expensive and I need a walkable city…the gardens in Berkeley were gorgeous, I do love the architecture, and I’m proud of the protestors standing up for immigrants’ rights right now. Not sure where I’ll head after Chicago but I’m pretty sure the West Coast is out.

Travel can be disruptive and I’m looking forward to spending the summer at home. But on the plane to San Francisco I finally finished my fairytale about the paintings of Walter H. Williams! I closed the file when I got back to Chicago and was ready to move on when I realized I needed to add an author’s note. Then I finished the author’s note and closed that file, too, only to realize I needed to say more…so will open that file again once I finish my lesson plan for Saturday’s workshop: “Magic & Memory: Reframing Trauma in African American Historical Fiction/Fantasy.” We’re focusing on the NYC Draft Riots of 1863 but there are plenty of parallels in the news today. I heard the first Black mayor of Tulsa talking about his reparations package for Black residents and how important it was to stop calling the massacre a “riot.” Sports fans win or lose a championship and they riot, tearing down lampposts and turning over cars. But when a White mob lynches Black people and drops bombs on a thriving business district to preserve their supremacy—that’s something else. Most of the protestors in LA are peaceful but a handful of extremists prompts a heavy-handed response from the White House—but that didn’t happen when law enforcement was under attack on January 6. What’s happening in Northern Ireland is appalling, xenophobic, racist, and has nothing to do with “protecting” women and girls. Lately I keep hearing the voice of Ida B. Wells in my head—she was so right about overreach…groups seeking impunity create fictions that simply aren’t supported by the facts. “Nobody…believes the old threadbare lie…” Back then she was writing about the myth of the Black rapist but there are many ways to apply that logic today. Call someone a rapist or a terrorist or an insurrectionist—regardless of the truth—and it automatically puts them beyond the pale and strips them of their rights and humanity…

I have to believe this chaos is creating conditions for growth or rebirth or revolution. Wildfires in Canada are once again making the air hard to breathe here in the US. Walden Pond Books ordered copies of THE WITCH OF THE WOODS but they didn’t arrive in time for our panel on self-publishing so if you’re in the Bay Area, stop by to get a copy. Marcus Books, which is about to celebrate its 65th anniversary and is the oldest Black-owned bookstore in the country, had copies of THE ORACLE’S DOOR for our panel on MG fantasy. They asked me to sign the remaining copies so please, be sure to support them! I’m pretty sure you can order both books from both stores in person or online.

I found out yesterday that DRAGONS IN A BAG made USA TODAY’S Best-selling Booklist—for the first time since it was published in 2018! I’m happy but also a little confused…sales are steady but they’re still down from the book’s peak popularity three years ago. So why have we made this list now? I’ll never understand publishing. I did my last school visit of the 2024-25 school year yesterday and one teacher made point of telling me—twice—how much her classes enjoyed the dragon series. Another teacher in NJ reached out to my publisher with the same comment; it’s definitely gratifying to know that my books are meeting a need. I never knew it was hard to find books for third graders! Books with a Black protagonist, yes, but teachers keep stressing the pacing and plot are what hook their students. Book 1 didn’t feel any different from the many magical stories I’d penned before…I wasn’t following an algorithm to guarantee commercial success. The publisher put minimal marketing support behind the series and yet it continues to sell—we’re coming up on 600,000 copies sold. It’s a mystery…but I’m very grateful for all the libraries, and teachers, and booksellers, and readers who have support the series for seven years!

My last book festival is next weekend in Berkeley. If you’re in or near the Bay Area, join us! I’ll be on three panels:

I’m still struggling to finish my projects but I did make some progress on my puppet this weekend. She probably won’t get clothes till the summer if I keep working at this pace! She’s not done and she’s far from perfect but it’s still satisfying to keep plugging away until the raw materials start to resemble the vision in your mind. It helped that I’ve had a few days with no migraines and started physical therapy last week; my leg still hurts but hopefully it will start to improve over time. I’m walking less and reading more—lots of witchy novels about women reclaiming their power. Fitting for the times we live in…I’ll be gathering to celebrate Black women at the Chicago History Museum on May 21st; you can register for a free ticket here. Being in Las Vegas last weekend for the Henderson Reads Book Festival got me ready for warmer weather and that’s what’s heading our way here in Chicago. Today I learned that I didn’t get one of the two grants I applied for; will wait to hear about the second and then make plans for the summer. Gotta keep moving forward…

For Earth Day and any day! Find the full story on YouTube. (apologies for cropping some of the illustrations!)

My 2025 reset might need a reboot…I haven’t blogged in over a month and my writing projects have stalled. I discovered this book on my shelf while searching for something else and finally sat down to draw a wreath earlier today. I’m not doing NaPoWriMo for the first time in years, I haven’t finished my hand puppet and class ends Monday, The Map of Doors needs just two more chapters but I’ve let it gather dust, “The Night Butterfly” isn’t finished but I did work on it a bit this week and I went to NYC in early March to see the “Nordic Utopia” exhibit before it closed. I also went to Springfield to attend a friend’s award ceremony but mostly I’ve been home. A lot.

Mostly I’ve been reading loads of books and watching too much TV. I sent postcards of support to librarians fighting book bans in Utah. I had my annual mammogram and got a referral for physical therapy since my persistent leg pain might be an injury and not menopause musculoskeletal syndrome after all. I can’t see the specialist until July and going off the Pill has left me with more than a week of migraines. But mostly I’m okay. Just sort of stuck and realizing that this slow spring might make summer tricky. I have two gigs later this month and will be participating in the Bay Area Book Festival at the end of May but that leaves me with a lot of open squares on the calendar. I should be writing. I’ve ordered some books to help me finish the Amish novel; I find out in May if I got either (or neither) of the two grants I applied for to cover the cost of travel back to Central PA. Chani says June will be spectacular for my career and September will be even better—I can expect almost a full year of growth and recognition. But you have to “work with” the astrology and that means getting a lot more motivated than I have been recently.

A friend keeps asking how the chaos is affecting me and I keep saying, “Nothing’s changed.” I’m one of the lucky few who’s not directly impacted by the dismantling of the government and endless executive orders. Yet. Will I have trouble crossing the border when I go up to Toronto in May? Who knows…for now, I’m just grateful for my health, and my home, and what might be my last year as a full-time writer. Matthew Winner asked me to record a message of hope for The Children’s Book Podcast; you can find mine here. I’m definitely trying to follow my own advice!

Mars has been retrograde for SO long but it’s finally stationing direct. I’m hoping that means the feeling of sluggishness that has slowed me down this month will soon dissipate. I wrote 10K words in a week and then went down to 5K and then barely wrote a word for the rest of the month. I’m chipping away at The Map of Doors now while listening to Samara Joy. Finished reading a long, rather tedious novel on Sunday and hope the next Murderbot novella will soon reach my local library. Stopped binging crime dramas for a while and then fell back into my old habits when the polar vortex descended again. The temperatures have risen dramatically this week so I’m trying to get outside more often; met up with some friends, went downtown to see Fat Ham and walked just a few blocks to tour the Black Creativity exhibit at MSI. I know what I need to do to manage my mental health but fall off the wagon sometimes. It’s always hard to transition from winter to spring, giving up the security of bulky coats and clunky boots. I’ve been invited to a friend’s award ceremony next month so suddenly had to think about dresses and pumps and purses I don’t have or rarely use. It’s good to step outside your comfort zone but I often need a nudge.

With all the chaos in the world today, it’s tempting to seek comfort in favorite foods and activities (like watching foreign films about kid witches) but I often worry about becoming too comfortable…am I growing? evolving? or am I stuck? That’s the title of a book I heard about on NPR recently. Apparently one in four Americans used to move *every* year but now we’re down to 1 in 13 because the cost of housing (and moving) is just too expensive. My NYC friend asked where I was heading after Chicago and I honestly don’t know. Watched a couple YouTube videos on renting in D.C. and was dismayed to find the prices mirror those in New York. $3K a month for a tiny one-bedroom apartment? No way. Cities have more opportunities, especially for single professionals, but few people can afford the most popular urban centers these days. I *really* don’t want to get a car but that would make more places possible. If I sell my condo here in Hyde Park once the Obama Center opens next year, I’ll probably never be able to afford this neighborhood again. So I need to be sure that I’m ready to let go and move on…

Trying to stay present for the time being. Less screen time, more writing! When I finish this dragon tale, I want to work on my Dublin novel. But that would require me to write in the style of Phillis Wheatley…neoclassical verse…ugh. Definitely outside of my comfort zone!