Meet the Finalists for the 2024 BookLife Prize Fiction Contest

Five authors were named finalists for the 2024 BookLife Prize Fiction Contest in the categories of General Fiction, Mystery/Thriller, Romance/Erotica, Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror, and YA/Middle Grade. The finalists chatted with BookLife about their writing, their lives, and their thoughts on creativity. Stay tuned for the announcement of the winner in PW on December 16.

Helen Bonaparte by Sarah D'Stair

 

Sophia Stewart, a PW editor and editor of The Millions, chose Helen Bonaparte by Sarah D’Stair as the finalist for General Fiction. Stewart referred to Helen Bonaparte as "a taut, poetic meditation on art, eros, and obsession…an introspective and entrancing tale of one woman’s search for identity—and the ravenous desire that consumes her in the process."

 

 

Helen goes on a trip to Italy in part to explore aspects of her identity she can’t quite access. Ultimately, she learns that she hardly exists outside the desires that compel her.  Her actions, performed mostly in secret, are designed to prevent exposure—a revealed desire is nearer to acceptance or rejection, to the end of the build up of suspense. She finds in the art of Italy a kind of aesthetic rapture that seems to fulfill her. At the same time, she must ask herself whether she’s capable of acting on a desire for another person—or are the shadows truly where she finds herself to be most beautiful. I was intrigued by her search for answers to these questions (and perhaps to watch her come to no conclusion at all).

 

 

Balancing Helen’s artistic awakening with her sensual curiosity was one challenge during the novel’s initial framing. The two are inextricable, but I didn’t know that from the start.  She really does want to forget about Marieke at times to focus on Michelangelo, but the tour guide’s ability to unnerve her is central to her experience as well. Helen gets to live in an entirely imagined world for a week, to test her capacity to commune with beauty in its many forms. I’d like to think that Helen’s path toward more intimate self-knowledge resonates with readers since it’s a journey we can all recognize.

 

 

I myself was at a crossroads full of longing when I decided to write the novel. What did I want the rest of life to look like? Had life-choice inertia taken over, with me blindly in its wake? For me, the answers are almost always found in works of art, and I wanted to capture what that feels like. Helen sees in Michelangelo’s David not really David himself, but the artist’s longing to create one true, perfect thing, for meaning to find itself attached to a human creation. In some mystical way, at least in Helen’s view, that kind of longing allows for deep human connection as well.

 

 

I knew from the start that I wanted Helen’s world to feel as alive as Helen feels while she’s in Italy. The streets, the statues, the storefronts, Marieke’s cold fingers—all of it is just as active in the story as Helen. I wanted to construct sentences that give the inanimate world a pulsing energy. The streets of Florence experience epiphanies right alongside Helen, and hotel doors are complicit in her secrets. Helen is pure emotion, and I wanted the language to capture that quality. 

 

 

So often, we are compelled to reconcile opposing desires, to choose a single direction when two or ten feel equally right. I hope readers see in Helen that there is beauty to this complexity, and that reconciliation, while often a moral necessity, is sometimes not the only way forward. Helen loves her life back home, her children, the sweet life she leads with her husband. She equally loves her passion for Marieke. She finds no need to justify her actions based on a prescribed set of possibilities. I hope readers can celebrate the messiness of Helen’s strange obsessions, and perhaps find value in their own.

 

 

Death of the Ice Angel by J.C. Ceron

 

Mystery author James Benn selected Death of the Ice Angel by J.C. Ceron. He praised the novel's "clear, crisp, prose," and added that, "the story rolls along delightfully, presenting a compelling mystery filled with interesting characters, and a riveting action-packed conclusion."

 

 

I think it’s all about character and trust. There will always be dedicated detectives working cases and bringing criminals to justice. What changes over time are the procedures and personalities. Likable, smart, and resourceful detectives who master the era's police procedures will earn the reader's trust. Having said that, the plots I create for these detectives are drawn from newspaper stories, true crime books and documentaries, social media, and the job experiences of friends in law enforcement. This combination of familiar and new ideas offers a dynamic foundation to work with.

 

 

Miles Jordan is a tribute to two Black men who, as hiring managers, gave me opportunities that profoundly changed my life for the better. They became good friends and mentors, and Miles carries a piece of each in his makeup. As a fan of James Patterson’s Alex Cross series, I knew Miles couldn’t be both cerebral and muscular without coming across as a carbon copy. Clearing cases requires more brains than brawn, so I couldn’t skimp on intellect. To set him apart, I decided that Miles would struggle with obesity and heart disease. For emotional eaters like Miles, stress is a major trigger—and few jobs are as stressful as that of a homicide detective. Thus, the job he loves is slowly killing him. He knows this and halfheartedly attempts to take care of himself, but the job, which always comes first, inevitably gets in the way.

 

 

Death of the Ice Angel started as a novella. The plot idea came from a newspaper article I’d read about an emergency medical technician who murdered his wife in a remote cabin in the Catskills. I was intrigued by the idea of murder in a remote or wooded area. The novella went nowhere and sat in a drawer for years. One day, I stumbled across it while doing some cleaning. I blew off the dust and read it. It quickly occurred to me that the story didn’t have much of a plot or a heartbeat. Still, I liked the idea of murder in the deep woods. I decided to start over, using only the novella’s setting and summer season. As I outlined the new plot, I realized that warm breezes and clear sunny skies were too upbeat for a story about a young woman’s long-unsolved murder. I turned to a winter setting instead—one as cold as the twenty-five-year-old cold case that drives the story. It offered an easy way to convey dark emotions and mood swings using mist, arctic winds, overcast skies, snow, and freezing water.

 

 

I completed each timeline and perspective separately to keep the goals, motivations, characters, and narratives consistent, then I combined them. I spent a lot of time outlining so I knew how all the pieces fit together. I didn’t start writing until I had worked out exactly where the story would go and how it would evolve—a blueprint that the engineer in me demanded.

 

 

Even small towns have secrets. You never truly know people as well as you think you do. Give them the benefit of the doubt. Everyone has a story and a reason for being who they are.

 

 

Flipping the Birdie by S. L. Woeppel

 

 

 

Reading and writing has always been an escape for me, where I can detach and step into another world. As a teenager, I wrote angsty poetry and short stories and wanted to work for National Geographic. In my twenties, I was focused on school and career building. Writing took a back seat. In a sense, my path mirrored Birdie’s. By the time I reached my late twenties, I knew something in my life was missing. For Birdie, it was an acceptance of her unique self. For me, it was simply rediscovering my love for the immersive experience of writing.

 

My male-dominated career path definitely helped shape the character of Birdie. Perceptions and expectations of women are always changing; I wanted to highlight Birdie navigating this inconsistency in a light-hearted yet provocative way.

 

 

Birdie started out more hard-boiled with stubborn grit, snark, and humor; a mix of Jessica Jones and Ouiser (played by Shirley MacLaine) from Steel Magnolias. Her softer complexities (a sort of Bridget Jones-like tone) emerged more slowly through rewrites and edits. Her all-consuming job as a superhero was a great metaphor for the role that women play, juggling family, careers, relationships, and more. Often, in all that, what is abandoned is a sense of self. I wanted to strip away those responsibilities and explore what was left—an openness to experience, love and sexuality, playful irreverence, and the simple delight of female friendship—giving her a chance to start over from a place of joy, reclaiming her identity on her terms.

 

 

Humor is often the best format to explore serious themes in a relatable format. It came pretty naturally in this story as the notion of femininity is ever-evolving, ripe for irony and sarcasm. The early success of the Marvel franchise came from a focus on character growth in high-stakes storytelling, while at the same time, capitalizing on poking fun at the sheer ridiculousness of itself. My hope was to strike a similar tone in the romcom universe. Also, if I'm going to spend that much time with someone (even in the sense of creating a fictional person), I'm going to want them to have depth AND a sense of humor. In the end, it was important for me to bring lots of ‘com’ as well as ‘rom.’ 

 

 The contrast between Chicago and Grove is so vivid. Why did you choose these settings, and how do they mirror Birdie’s journey?

 

As someone who grew up in a small-town environment but spent most of my adult life in big cities, the tone and feel is different, and I find each connects me to a different side of myself. For stubborn Birdie, who has buried herself under her commitment to the city of Chicago, the total shift of environment was a vital catalyst for her personal evolution. The vacation-style setting allows Birdie to reconnect with aspects of herself that she had long neglected.

 

 

In Kevin Smith's 1995 movie Mallrats, a character is talking to Stan Lee about the power of Superman's ...uh... climax, and whether or not it would kill Lois Lane. Even 30 years later, what a potentially hilarious way to flip the script and explore the themes of femininity and strength with a superhero whose power is being diminished by the questioning of her ability to control her own vagina. Ultimately, I wanted to introduce readers to a public-facing, powerful, and underappreciated woman. Despite her strengths, she is bogged down by societal nonsense and a misguided perception of herself. This sets the stage for a unique twist on the classic romantic comedy.

 

Harriet's Escape: Harriet Tubman Reimagined by N.D. Joones

 

Author Kathe Koja selected Harriet's Escape: Harriet Tubman Reimagined by N.D. Jones as the finalist for the Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror category. Koja called the book "a bold and heartfelt, wholly original recasting of a hero for all time," and praised the novel's "vivid fantasy landscape of Birdfolk and Dragonkin, freedom and danger (well-complemented by the book's illustrations).

 

 

I do not think of Harriet's Escape as a novel with characters who are magical or can perform magic in the more traditional way of viewing the trope. Characters do not cast spells or turn curses. There are no potions that need brewing, prophecies the protagonist must face, or magical items to unearth. But there are fantastical beings who inhabit my alternate world—shapeshifting dragons and Birdfolk, gryphons, and harpies. These fantasy beings are stand-ins for real-life groups, just as specific characters are for real-life historical figures. For example, the Birdfolk in the novel represents Africans, whereas the Dragonkin personifies Europeans or what would become White Americans. 

 

My inspiration for blending history with fantasy is the understanding that characters, regardless of whether they are human or fantastical creatures of lore, have hearts, minds, goals, and drives. Every character is very "human" in what moves and motivates them. When I approach writing from that perspective, be the novel a paranormal romance, a dystopian fantasy, a historical reimagining, or a contemporary romance, the result is characters who feel authentic and a world that feels believable and lived in because the emotions and relationships are relatable to readers. 

 

 

My goal in reimagining the life of Harriet Tubman was to approach the story as one of not only resistance and resilience but of family and love. As such, I created my novel's timeline based on the historical timeline of key moments of the Ross family. I first introduce readers to Harriet's father, Benjamin Ross, then her mother, Harriet "Rit" Ross, and her three older siblings. I wanted to craft a story of Harriet's why that is often untold. Yes, most people know that the reason for her courageous actions was to be free and her belief in the abolishment of slavery. But Harriet's driving force for many of her rescue missions was to liberate a family member. Repeatedly, she returned to Maryland, risking her freedom, to "steal away" a loved one. The following quote expresses this point clearly: "I was a stranger in a strange land; and my home, after all, was down in Maryland, because my father, my mother, my brothers, and sisters, and friends were there. But I was free, and they should be free."

 

Honoring any figure in a medium, such as a book or movie, is to tell their story honestly and respectfully. That meant leaning into my research skills as a 20-plus year educator and former social studies teacher of African American history, United States history, and American government. Despite the fantasy nature of the novel, most of the plot beats in the book are historically accurate, such as the names and fate of Tubman's siblings, the ingenuity of her rescue missions, the mistreatment of the child Minty Tubman at the brutal hands of her temporary owners. 

 

But there is something satisfying about the portrayal of slave catchers as mangy, foul-smelling gryphons.

 

 

The most challenging part of capturing Harriet Tubman's resilience and heroism was filling in the quiet moments. For example, what did she think when a rescue mission did not go according to plan? What did trust and faith look like when she plotted and implemented her missions? What was married life like between an enslaved woman and a freeborn man?

 

These questions and more plagued me during the writing of Harriet's Escape. I remember sharing my thoughts with my husband, particularly about Harriet and John's relationship, such as where their marriage stood when she escaped to the North. What was the nature of their conversations before her fateful decision to flee? Relationships and emotions in their myriad forms are the heartbeat of every story I write. 

 

Resilience and heroism are only such in light of the emotions attached to the relationships that are developed, strengthened, challenged, or dissolved by a character's actions and behaviors.

 

 

The Birdfolk in Harriet's Escape are Sankofa bird shifters. I chose this mythical bird because of the relevance of its meaning and symbolism to the real-life Harriet Tubman. The word Sankofa is from the Ghanaian Twi language and means "to retrieve," "to go back and get it," "to fetch," and "to seek." The Sankofa bird is illustrated with its feet facing forward but its neck bent back, reaching for a cherished egg. The Sankofa definitions and Sankofa bird image wonderfully capture much of Harriet's years as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Like the Sankofa bird, Harriet’s feet were planted forward, forever moving forward in her fight for liberation, but her head was also turned back to what she most cherished—the people left behind in bondage. Thus, like the Sankofa bird, Harriet Tubman represents resilience and strength but also the future and the past. 

 

As the Sankofa Birdfolk symbolized freedom, the Dragonkin symbolized oppression. For my dragons, I deliberately adopted the trope of dragons as hoarders. In Harriet's Escape, the most precious component of their hoard was the Sankofa bird shifters. The more vibrant and unique the Birdfolk feathers, the more valuable they were to the Dragonkin's horde. Dragons as hoarders were fitting for historical enslavers, with the size of a dragon's horde creating a wealth and power gap among the slaveholding class in America. Thus, the novel's Sankofa Birdfolk and Dragonkin dragons aptly symbolize freedom and oppression.

 

 

Harriet Tubman is one of a rare few African American historical female figures with widespread appeal. Many schools, parks, streets, museums, and social organizations are named after Tubman. Artists have depicted her likeness in statues and paintings. She has been on postal stamps and the 2024 silver dollar, which I proudly own. In November 2024, Tubman received the posthumous honor of One-Star General of the Union Army during the Civil War for her actions as a nurse, cook, spy, and scout. 

 

Harriet Tubman achieved much in her life without the benefit of formal education and within overlapping systems of oppression. She was often sick and tired, and as Fannie Lou Hamer once said, "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired" (The Nation, 1964). Unfortunately, African American heroes are often forged in the fires of America's racist hellscape. Such was the life of Harriet Ross Tubman. 

 

I want readers of Harriet's Escape to understand the depth of the impact of racial oppression on individuals and the families and communities to which they belong. I want them to challenge their beliefs about racism and enslavement and the legacy of both in the lives of African Americans. Finally, I hope readers will adopt even a slither of Tubman's strength and fortitude in fighting for freedom, equality, and justice. If you need guidance, follow Harriet's words: "Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars, to change the world."

 

Eat and Get Gas by J.A. Wright

 

Author Ryan Graudin called Eat and Get Gas "one of those rare novels that makes the real world fall away." She added that, "I found myself utterly immersed in Wright's version of the 70s, and the complex cast of characters that populate it.War dodgers, family secrets, and even a clever nod to D.B. Cooper all come together to make this book impossible to put down."

 

 

I wasn’t sure Eat and Get Gas was a YA story until it was ready to be published. I’m not a writer who creates and follows a set plan, and I rarely know where I’m heading until I catch the main character's voice. In this novel, Evan, a thirteen-year-old girl struggling with various family issues, must find a way to adjust to unpleasant situations. I, too, struggled as a teenager, and I view that awkward period as a gift in disguise. Without the experience, I couldn’t have created a realistic Evan.

 

 

My experiences provided the setting for a family-in-crisis story, with a protagonist who needed to become resilient and eventually the hero of her life. Setting the story in the Vietnam War period appealed to me because of my personal connection to that time. I was a teenager in the Pacific Northwest during the 1970s when a few boys from our area were drafted. Several returned in bad shape, including my stepfather, an Army officer who fought in Vietnam for several years. He suffered from PTSD for the rest of his life.

 

 

Evan is a mix of my sisters, friends, and me. As teenagers, we were naïve, silly, and awkward. I took a chance and gave Evan some of our characteristics, hoping to make her an interesting and likable character. I think it worked. Once I knew where the story was going, staying in touch with Evan was easy.  When away from my desk, I often sent myself messages when an idea popped up, and there were many nights when I woke up with an Evan idea and had to write it down so I could go back to sleep.

 

 

I read everything I write out loud because I never really know what I mean until I hear myself say it. I wanted the story to flow easily, so I had to smooth out the edges, and reading out loud helped me find those edges.

 

 

I’m drawn to fiction that makes me cry and laugh. It’s the kind of novel I wanted Eat and Get Gas to be, so I hired an incredible editor. Once I had a decent draft, she guided me until we had a balanced work, which included toning down the louder characters and deleting a few scenes. I love editors!