Episode 14 --- Daniel José Older
Photo Credit: John Midgley
Daniel José Older is passionate about a lot of things, and this comes through in his work and in talking to him for even a short while. I caught up with the man behind the New York Times bestseller Shadowshaper and the urban fantasy Bone Street Rumba series while he was in Miami to mentor emerging writers of color through the Voices of our Nation Arts Foundation, or VONA, program. The latest book in the series, Midnight Taxi Tango, was published earlier this year.
It centers around Carlos Delacruz, an agent for the Council of the Dead, who's investigating paranormal activity in Brooklyn's Von King Park. He's helped in his efforts by Kia, a teenage girl who's beginning to see ghosts, and Reza, a woman who works as an assassin. Although this is clearly fantasy, Daniel says at the heart of it, Midnight Taxi Tango is about grief and loss.
We talked about the strong, female characters in his work and the need for literature to reflect the diversity of our world. He calls it writing honestly. And, we discussed his love of Twitter. If you're not following him, fix that right now. He's @djolder, and his feed is always interesting.
Interview highlights:
Daniel reveals...
- why he thinks the publishing industry is perpetuating a lie
- how songwriting influences his prose
- why he owes his success to black women writers
- the novel he almost threw across the room
Click here to listen to the podcast.
We have a free, signed copy of Midnight Taxi Tango to give away. It will go to the first listener to contact us on Facebook or Twitter (@ReadMorePodcast) and tell us the bestselling novel that Daniel calls, "very trashy in the laziest possible way."
Contest Rules:
If you have won a ReadMore giveaway in the last 90 days, you're ineligible for this contest. Also, if you and I have ever worked a pledge drive together you're probably ineligible. ReadMore does not have a friends and family plan! But we'll always have memories of those tote bags and mugs.
You can also support ReadMore when you order this book from Amazon.com using the link below: