My third book, REGGIE AND DELILAH’S YEAR OF FALLING, is now available everywhere books are sold!
Here’s a letter I wrote for my publisher about why I wrote this book and what it means to me:
Dear Reader,
From 2006-2010, I spent my weekends singing in a punk band in venues across Los Angeles and Orange County. This was very out of character (I got hives just giving presentations in front of my high school classes), but my friends asked me to do it. And, wanting so badly to be the cool girl who would do something like that—I agreed. It was absolutely terrifying (and there were still a lot of hives), but it was also exhilarating and freeing. I loved the permission that being on stage gave me, the person I got to be for that twenty-minute set.
As much joy as these shows brought me, though, I was also hyperaware that I was often the only Black person in the room. And because of this, I couldn’t help but feel like I was on display—but not in the way I was choosing. Was I just a novelty or a token to them? And what about the Black people who said I wasn’t Black at all because of my punk rock alter ego? Or because of the way I dressed or talked or all the other things I liked?
I wanted to explore all those complicated feelings in REGGIE AND DELILAH’S YEAR OF FALLING: What it’s like to love something that doesn’t always love you back and make a space for yourself anyway. How difficult it can be to push past the fear of rejection and others’ preconceived notions of you to be boldly and authentically yourself.
(And of course, if you’ve read HAPPILY EVER AFTERS and ONE TRUE LOVES, you know it’s all wrapped up in a sweet love story—this time anchored by holidays as a nod to my obsession with Lifetime and Netflix Christmas movies!)
REGGIE AND DELILAH’S YEAR OF FALLING is a celebration of the Black kids who, like my teenage self, feel like they don’t belong—as if there’s only one way to be Black. But as Reggie tells Delilah in the book: “I’m Black. Period. So anything I like, anything I do, is something that Black people do.”
I hope this book makes Black readers feel seen—whether they’re leading D&D campaigns or picking up their weekly comics on Wednesdays, at the center of the mosh pit or crying along to a Taylor Swift song. Black kids belong anywhere they want to be.
Love, Elise
I’m so grateful that I get to continue writing stories for you, and I really feel like this one is my best work yet. Thank you for going on this journey with me!