Ep. 64: Catherine Adel West (Author of Saving Ruby King)

<p><strong>Catherine Adel West (author of <a class="has-image" href="https://amzn.to/30DOfVe" target="_blank" rel= "nofollow noopener noreferrer">Saving Ruby King</a>) talks about how she found her agent, the strong women of <a class= "has-image" href="https://amzn.to/30DOfVe" target="_blank" rel= "nofollow noopener noreferrer">Saving Ruby King</a>, and how she decided to make the church a narrator.</strong></p> <p><em>This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).</em></p> <h2>Highlights</h2> <ul> <li>How different her first draft was from the final book.</li> <li>The story of how she found an agent (via a Twitter contest for marginalized writers!) and <a class="has-image" href= "https://amzn.to/30DOfVe" target="_blank" rel= "nofollow noopener noreferrer">Saving Ruby King</a> was bought by a publisher.</li> <li>The exact tweet she used to pitch <a class="has-image" href="https://amzn.to/30DOfVe" target="_blank" rel= "nofollow noopener noreferrer">Saving Ruby King</a> in the Twitter contest.</li> <li>Her advice to querying writers.</li> <li><a class="has-image" href="https://amzn.to/30DOfVe" target= "_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Saving Ruby King</a>‘s original title and Ruby’s original name.</li> <li>The message Catherine wanted to share about the strengths and struggles of black women through her story and her characters.</li> <li>What growing up on the South Side of Chicago was like for Catherine.</li> <li>How she decided to make the church a narrator.</li> <li>How her own relationship with her faith and church shaped the book.</li> <li>Her Dad’s (he’s a pastor and the character of Jackson Potter is based on him) reaction to the book.</li> <li>The prequel to <a class="has-image" href= "https://amzn.to/30DOfVe" target="_blank" rel= "nofollow noopener noreferrer">Saving Ruby King</a> that Catherine is currently working on…and the possibility of this being a 4 book series.</li> <li>How Catherine got Leesa Cross-Smith to blurb