In many ways, the second book was a lot harder to write because it needed to be more intentional, whereas a writer’s first child had been culminating for years, waiting until the author had gained enough skills and experience to finally birth it. I labored through Constellations of Eve, but the joy I gained was also tremendous and completely different from the first publication, which more closely resembled an outpouring, a flood. This time, my happiness was quieter, more my own.

Constellations of Eve is formally inventive, which for a literary author, is like a playground with infinite possibilities. The multiple reincarnations of three people’s lives allow me to speculate, to shuffle fates like cards, explore my own questions about love, friendship, and destiny. Many of you have probably wondered, “if I had done one thing differently, would it have changed everything?” This question is at the heart of the novel.

It wasn’t easy to find a publisher for the book. In the literary fiction market, the less straightforward a book’s structure is, the more challenging it is to sell to a publisher. In fact, when my agent started submitting the manuscript in 2019, the DVAN/TTUP imprint didn’t yet exist.

In April 2021, I received news that Constellations of Eve had been chosen to be published as the inaugural title of a new series, a partnership between Texas Tech University Press and DVAN, founded by Isabelle Thuy Pelaud and Pulitzer winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen. I cried, for what seemed like days. For all of you aspiring/despairing writers, don’t fret if your works have not found a home yet—it is just waiting for the right opportunity.