ICW: B.B Alston

Back in August I sat down with B.B. Alston to discuss his new book Amari and the Great Game, the sequel to his 2021 novel Amari and the Night Brothers. We talked his early days of writing, his tips for rejection, which book made him enjoy reading, and much much more. It was one of those chats where the 20 minutes flew by. Keep scrolling to read it yourself, and go to the end for links to buy the Amari series!

Brianna (TBP)
Hi B.B!.

B.B. Alston
How are you doing

Brianna (TBP)
I'm not too bad, how are you?

B.B. Alston
Good thank you!

Brianna (TBP)
Okay so we’ve got 20 minutes. So I read the books - Jada got in contact and said would you like to interview B.B? I said yeah go ahead, and they sent me over the books. I’ve read them in, I would say, 12 hours, both of them.

B.B. Alston
Oh wow!

Brianna (TBP)

Oh my God I loved them. I was a big Harry Potter fan growing up. And like fantasy, magic? That kind of thing speaks to me. If I’d been 13 years old reading this book? Every Halloween, I’d have been like “mum, mum I gotta dress like Amari, she’s the coolest!”

B.B. Alston
(Laughs) That’s awesome.

Brianna (TBP)
So I have no doubt that one day there’s going to be writers sitting in interviews saying “oh there was this series when I was younger by B. B. Alston. And it was this girl Amari and you know I read that and I knew I wanted to write.” – What are the books for you that you read and you said this is what I want to do?

B.B. Alston
Well, for me, a big book for me – I think I was kind of a reluctant reader when I was really really young, which is probably kind of hard to believe now but, it just wasn’t really my thing. I was like, I like to be outside, playing sports and stuff. But um, my teacher introduced me to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and man, that book just really spoke to me. It’s about a kid who was from, kind of, modest means. But you know, he didn’t let that stop him from having these big dreams. And you know the idea of having this magical place inside of the regular world was always the kind of stories that I liked, like that, and Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, all the big series you know. So like that’s kind of what spoke to me. And that kind of made me - it put me on a path to becoming a writer.

Brianna (TBP)
So when did you start writing?

 B.B. Alston
I started writing in eighth grade. I used to write these little corny horror stories with my classmates, and it would always be like a field trip that went terribly wrong. Like the buses crashed into the woods and we had to find a way out of there, and there’s like a haunted house and there would always be something crazy. And my classmates would kind of gather around and see who made it to the end. And I guess that’s probably the first time that I realised you know, something that I wrote could make other people happy. And ever since then it’s been kind of something that I love to do.

Brianna (TBP)
That's so much fun. I’d have loved to have been in class with you. It makes school a little bit more exciting, what has B.B. written today!

B.B. Alston
(Laughs) I’m sure!

Brianna (TBP)
So like I say, I read them both in a very very short period of time. And since then, I’ve been kind of saying to everyone I know that’s got teenage kids. I’m like you’ve got to read it - I keep saying it’s if Harry Potter, Men in Black, and the X-Men had a little book baby.

B.B. Alston
Yes exactly!

Brianna (TBP)
This is that book baby. What were the kind of influences for the story? Where did the story come from?

B.B. Alston
Oh, like you said, I was the biggest Will Smith fan back in the day, and I loved Men in Black. And so one day I just kind of – I took these science classes and I was super bored and they were super long. I was kind of thinking of something fun to do. And I was like you know, what if Men in Black was actually real? And what if it wasn’t just aliens, what if it was like all the supernatural creatures like what would the world look like? And how would the agency to handle that, how would that be different? And so from there, I just kind of played around with making this little kind of magical world. And then I made all these departments, and these talking elevators and all that fun stuff. And I actually, I was actually pursuing med school at the time. So I was determined not to write the story. I was like “no I’m not going to write a story, I tried it for years and years and it just didn’t happen for me.” So I had kind of given up and then Amari kind of popped into my head and the idea of a character that was kind of from my own background was kind of exciting and I hadn’t seen it before. So I jumped in and learned from there and it’s turned out pretty well so far.

Brianna (TBP)
Yeah I mean turned out pretty well is an understatement. You got a film deal! 

B.B. Alston
Yeah! (Laughs) That’s still like mind blowing to me.

Brianna (TBP)
That’s gonna be exciting. Who is it behind it? Marsai Martin and Don Cheadle, right?

B.B. Alston
Yeah, uh huh. And then the production company is Mandeville - they did the live action Beauty and the Beast movie they did the Wonder movie and they did a few other movies too that are pretty cool but you know, they’ve got a long track record of making really great movies so hopefully, we’ve got fingers crossed that everything will turn out well with this movie.

Brianna (TBP)
I think it’s gonna be good! I think Marsai is a little like - she’s so young but she’s a little genius. Her talent is unreal, with her behind it, she’s such a powerhouse I think it’s only going to do good things.

B.B. Alston
I hope so!

Brianna (TBP)
So I read whilst I was reading up on you I read a little interview that you did with Ayana Gray – which, shout out to Ayana Gray she’s wicked – and you said in that that you’ve been rejected over 70 times before you got the green light?

B.B. Alston
Yes.

Brianna (TBP)
What advice would you give to people that are thinking about writing but are scared of rejection?

B.B. Alston
You know, I always say to write for fun but that’s easier said than done because you know, even though we tell ourselves like “Oh I’m just gonna write for me and it’s gonna kind of help me learn the craft”, in the back of your head you’re always thinking like man what if I put it out now and then somebody takes it and it blows up and you kind of have this fairytale thing. I really think that you have to learn to be patient and to write for yourself first. And I know that’s hard because I was the same way. I was like, man. I think the first thing I ever wrote I sent out to agents and they were like “...no” 

Both
(Laughs)

B.B. Alston
It really wasn’t ready but you know, you get so excited. But just write yourself, find that thing that you love to write about and that excites you to read. At least at the end of the day when you’re done you have something that you really enjoy. Even if it’s not ready to be published it’s something that you enjoy. And just keep learning. That’s what I would say yeah.

Brianna (TBP)
So what’s your process? How do you go from having an idea in your head to a fully formed book?

B.B. Alston
I think if I was better with my process I’d hit my deadlines better.

Both
(Laughs)

B.B. Alston
With the first book I started with the world. I created the world and the characters came after that and then I thought if I’ve got this character in this world, what’s the compelling story? And then I can go from there. And then for the second book you know, you have a deadline and you have already established the world, you already have the characters. Then it's like what's the next step, like what's the next logical progression? What's the most compelling for the audience to read, what kind of questions would naturally come from the end of the first book? So you kind of go from plot first and then you think ok what is new after that? And so the third book is kind of -  it's been the opposite of that. I kind of went back to the world and expanded the world because the third book is - where the first two books are kind of like set in the Bureau mostly, the third book is out in the world. She's not at the Bureau at all really. So you kind of get to see like, how the supernatural world and the known world kind of interact a lot more than you do in the first two books.

Brianna (TBP)
Gosh I'm excited. literally like I finished the first one and I was like I've never been happier to have access to a second book. I finished the second book and I was like god damn it I don't have access to the third book.

Both
(Laughs)

Brianna (TBP)
So I'm really fascinated by YA fiction and middle grade fiction because I personally think more adults should go back to them. I think the messages that they send are really important for adults as well as teenagers. What is it about that kind of genre? What drew you to it as a writer?

B.B. Alston
I think just the idea you know that's the time when you're first learning to kind of step out on your own and think for yourself. You know, up to that point you probably kind of just - whatever your parents believe that's what you believe. And so middle school is when you're first starting to kind of see the world for yourself and I think that's the perfect journey, or the perfect time for a fantasy story. When you find out there's more to the world than you thought there was. there's something kind of innocent about you know, experiencing a lot of the world for the first time. I think when you get to an adult you get kind of jaded and you know the world and you get a little bit cynical honestly, and this kind of time period it's - things are still optimistic and fun and happy and you know, who's to say there's not fairies in the forest you know? So I think it keeps me feeling like a kid and I think that's what keeps me coming back to it.

Brianna (TBP)
I was going to say, does it keep you like tuned into that childlike quality that I think is so brilliant? 

B.B. Alston
Yeah absolutely.

Brianna (TBP)
So what's the most fun part of writing and what's the part that if you could get rid of it and never have to do it again you’d say goodbye to in an instant?

B.B. Alston
I think the most fun part is just creating stories, and cool stuff inside of the stories and in the world. Like in the first book, creating those trials was a lot of fun for me because I would write these impossible trials that I’d have no idea how to make work. Like I think it's the second challenge it was like a clue and she has to figure out what’s at the bottom of a bottomless pit or something like that. I had no idea how I was going to get there, I just thought it was a cool idea of finding the bottom of a bottomless pit and just kind of like finding a way to make that work. That's always fun for me. Probably my least favourite is probably cutting stuff. I hate to cut stuff. I just hate it. I know that's necessary or you'd have like a never-ending book but you know, they tell you not to get attached to your characters and your plot and stuff but I always do. I hate the cuts. I even keep it in like a separate file so if I ever go back to it, I have it there, it’s never really gone. So that's probably something that I hate. 

Brianna (TBP)
I get that because they must feel like kind of you know, your baby in a way like they’re born from your imagination.

B.B. Alston
They’re still in your head though. Even if they get cut from the book they're still in your head. 

Brianna (TBP)
What books are you excited for this year? Have you read anything good, is there anything coming out that you're excited for?

B.B. Alston
So recently I was reading the series from Jessica Khoury called Skyborn and it's about how, what if kids were born with wings and each kid is kind of like - it's like different families and they're like related to different birds and I just really fell in love with that. She writes sci-fi like me and I just really fell in love that story. I think if you're looking for more YA but I think a little older up I think Legendborn is going to be really exciting. Ayana Gray’s stuff like I say. So yeah I mean there's a lot of books. Every time I get this question I have books I think about before that I want to say and then I get the question and my mind goes blank like every time.

Both
(Laughs)

Brianna (TBP)
I feel that. I definitely feel that.

B.B. Alston
The second Legendborn book is probably my biggest most anticipated book so far.

Brianna (TBP)
So the question I ask everyone and I normally wait until the end but just in case we run out of time I'm going to do it now - I ask what does being black mean to you?

B.B. Alston
I mean, I think it's being part of a bigger community, a worldwide community. I think it's a diaspora expressed in so many different ways. I was in London earlier this year and I got to meet some people who are, you know, kind of like me but had a totally different experience than I had and I think it's exciting to meet people. I want to go back to Africa one day and meet people there and kind of see how they view things. I think it's exciting just how different we are and how we have the same common ancestor. I think there’s just something cool about being black. Yeah I love it. There's so much history here too.

Brianna (TBP)
There's so much hidden history as well it's quite like interesting to delve into it and see like the mythology that we kind of don't really know that much about. I think the mythology we kind of know is Greek and we know Roman, but there’s so much we don't - like west African mythology and stuff.

B.B. Alston
Absolutely I think there's a lot of really cool books out there that are based off of the mythology like Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone. There's so many cool books that kind of explore that. I think if you're black it's really something that you should look into and learn about you know, your own culture and your own history. Because like you said a lot of it you learn like if you're in the diaspora and you're living in the west you kind of, you know, you learn British History, you learn American History. You don't learn African History too much you know, and even the parts that Black people contribute to English History or American History a lot of that's like kept away from you and so I think it's something that you should really explore, every black person should explore when they get older for sure.

Brianna (TBP)
100%. 100% yes. So other than Amari do you have any other ideas cooking up in your head, is there anything on the horizon that we should look out for from BB?

B.B. Alston
Well I would love to explore more of this world honestly. I would like to maybe write a prequel Quinton I think that would be a lot of fun. But I think Amari is taking up a lot of my time right now and then we've got the movie stuff we’re working on too so right now it's just Amari and then maybe a possible prequel. But maybe in a different format -  I was thinking maybe graphic novel would be cool to explore. 

Brianna (TBP)
That would be dope!

B.B. Alston
Right? So yes Amari for now but I'd love to keep doing any kind of fantasy story featuring black kids, and like black teenagers doing amazing things. I think that's something I will always do.

Brianna (TBP)
I really enjoyed that about this book that you didn't - you created a fantasy world but you didn't remove aspects of our reality that kids would be used to seeing. And I mean that in terms of like she comes from ends, she comes from it's called the woodz where she's from. She talks about how the sort of oppression she faces as a magician is very similar to the expectations people have of her as a young black girl. I like that that's there but she’s still like the most powerful magician ever and you can't take that from her no matter what your prejudices are. She’s still badass. I'd love to speak to some young people that have read it and see what their thoughts were on it because I think I’d have felt incredible as a kid - like I felt really cool reading it as a 25-year old - but as a teenager or younger I’d have just felt unreal reading it. Have you spoken to any younger people, and what was their kind of feedback?

B.B. Alston
I'm talking to a lot of young people. I think it's funny, the thing that most kids write to me about is the twist at the end! They’re like “What? No! Why?!” But yeah I think even you know at World Book Day and seeing kids like dressed up as Amari and maybe they didn't have a character that looked like them before that they could dress up as. I think that's so powerful and the main thing in the story is just kind of teaching kids to learn to believe in themselves and accept themselves. That's a big issue that Amari has at the beginning of the book. She's at this all white private school that's kind of full of rich kids and she feels like she's not as good as everybody else and she doesn't belong, and over the course of the story she learns to become a junior agent and accept herself as a magician. A lot of the story is just her kind of learning to find her own strength and I think that's something that kids can relate to a lot and hopefully they you know they keep reading and they keep enjoying it.

Brianna (TBP)
Definitely. So do you get to kind of be hands-on in the film process? Are you involved in that or is that kind of like they do their thing and you just show up at the premiere?

B.B. Alston
Oh so they consult me on like, story stuff, so I get to read the script each time they do one. They send it to me and I get to read it so that's pretty cool.  I think you know at the end of the day they can do what they want to do. They send me the scripts and I get to read it and you know it's pretty close right now so hopefully it will stay that way. Fingers crossed.

Brianna (TBP)
When you were writing it did you have like a dream cast? Did you have someone that you thought would play Quinton or Amari or any of them?

B.B. Alston
You know what's funny is I used to watch black-ish so I had the idea – when I was writing I actually did think that Marsai would be like the perfect Amari, but I always thought like “Man by the time I actually get this published she's going to be way too old!” So the fact that worked out the way that it has is like incredible. I think for everybody else, I just kind of have these images in my head but I think because she's the main character, I really kind of like focused on her and like who would play her and who would be cool. B ut I'm excited to see who they choose, I think it’s going to be amazing.

Brianna (TBP)
I'm excited to see who they choose! What's your ideal soundtrack for this movie?

B.B. Alston
Oh gosh, that's a great question. I think something powerful. I think like the last Beyonce album - it's just so much power and like black power and girl power and yeah. I think something like that would be amazing - just something upbeat and catchy like that I think that would be amazing.

Brianna (TBP)
It's got to be banging, I'm almost as excited about that as I am the movie on its own and of course to read the next book which I can't wait for. I think we're just coming up to the end of our 20 minutes so can you say where people can find you and where they can get the book and stay in touch?

B.B. Alston
Yeah so I'm on Twitter and Instagram @bb_alston and you can find the book in all book stores, all the big ones. I think like if you’re in the UK then Waterstones, Amazon. If you're here in the US then Barnes and Noble. Any bookstore should have it so yeah. I'm excited to see if you guys like it!

Brianna (TBP)
I'm sure they will because it is wicked.

B.B. Alston
Thank you so much.

Brianna (TBP)
No thank you for your time and enjoy the rest of your day.

B.B. Alston
Thank you and you bye.

Amari and the Great Game is out now. If you haven’t yet read Amari and the Night Brothers, click here to get a copy.