Women Breaking Barriers: UAB student Micki Janae pens diverse fantasy novel

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COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTING BARRIER BREAKING WOMEN. IMMERSING YOURSELF IN ANOTHER WORLD IS ONE OF THE JOYS OF READING. WVTM 13, CARLA WADE EXPLAINS WHY A UAB STUDENT DECIDED TO CREATE A WORLD WHERE THE HEROES LOOK JUST LIKE HER. AT JUST 20 YEARS OLD, MICKEY JEANETTE HAS PUBLISHED HER FIRST NOVEL WITH HER OWN TWIST ON GREEK MYTHOLOGY. JEANETTE WAS STRUCK WITH THE IDEA FOR A BLOOD AND LIGHTNING AFTER SHE HAD TROUBLE FINDING BOOKS IN THE FANTASY GENRE FEATURING YOUNG BLACK WOMEN. EVERYTHING IS PAINSTAKINGLY SLOW. MICKEY JEANETTE IS LIVING A WRITER’S DREAM, RETURNING TO HER ALMA MATER AND TALKING TO STUDENTS AS A PUBLISHED AUTHOR. IT IS ABSOLUTELY SURREAL. ANY WRITER WHO SPENDS TIME, YOU KNOW, BY THEMSELVES IN THAT REALLY SOLITARY POSITION OF WRITING, THEY’LL KNOW THAT TO SEE THOSE WORDS ON A PAGE IN A REAL BOUND BOOK, IT’S ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. HER STORY AS A WRITER STARTED RIGHT HERE AT THE ALABAMA SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS. THE FIVE YEARS I SPENT THERE REALLY CEMENTED MY LOVE FOR THE CRAFT AND IT GAVE ME AN ENVIRONMENT TO THROW STUFF OUT THERE TO MY MENTORS AND MY CRITIQUE PARTNERS AND REALLY SHARPEN THOSE TOOLS THAT I WOULD NEED TO TELL THIS STORY. THIS STORY IS THIS BOOK OF BLOOD AND LIGHTNING, HER DEBUT NOVEL, SO IN BLOOD AND LIGHTNING, WE HAVE A 17 YEAR OLD BLACK GIRL, OPHELIA JOHNSON, WHO INHERITS THE POWER OF ZEUS JUST MONTHS AFTER HER FATHER’S UNTIMELY DEATH. SHE WROTE AND PUBLISHED IT WHILE STUDYING FILM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM. SHE HOPES TO SOMEDAY WORK AS A SCREENWRITER, CRAFTING HER OWN CONTEMPORARY TAKE ON GREEK MYTHOLOGY TOOK SEVERAL MONTHS AND COUNTLESS HOURS OF WRITING AND REWRITING. LITERALLY ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE I COULD SCROUNGE IT UP. ANY FREE TIME BETWEEN CLASSES, BETWEEN ASSIGNMENTS, BETWEEN WORKING. I JUST REALLY GET LOST IN THE STORY. I FEEL THAT I’VE TRULY LIVED MORE IN MY FANTASY WORLD THAN I HAVE IN REALITY. IN REALITY, SHE’S ALWAYS SEEN HERSELF AS A WRITER, BUT SHE SAYS SHE NEVER SAW HERSELF IN THE CHARACTERS OF THE FANTASY GENRE OF BOOKS, WHICH CAPTURED HER IMAGINATION AT A YOUNG AGE. FOR EVERY STORY THAT I WRITE, I ALWAYS WANT TO CENTER BLACK GIRLS AND BLACK WOMEN BECAUSE WE’RE NOT JUST STEREOTYPES, WE’RE NOT JUST A SUPPORTING CAST MEMBERS. WE ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERS AND WE ARE THE HEROES. THROUGH COURAGEOUS CHARACTERS LIKE OPHELIA, A TEENAGER NAVIGATING THE UNEXPECTED LOSS OF A PARENT, JEANETTE PUSHES BOUNDARIES AND PUSHES BACK AGAINST STEREOTYPES OF YOUNG BLACK WOMEN. WE HAVE THE OLD, THE ANGRY BLACK WOMAN TROPE AND THIS IS A WAY OF ME RECLAIMING THAT. IT’S OKAY TO BE ANGRY. IT’S OKAY TO BE ANGUISHED. IT’S OKAY TO HAVE ALL OF THOSE HUGE FEELINGS INSIDE YOUR HEART, AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO SWALLOW THEM OF BLOOD. AND LIGHTNING IS NOT A LITERARY LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE. FOR JEANETTE. SHE’S ALREADY WORKING ON THE NEXT INSTALLMENT IN WHAT WILL BE A SERIES OF BOOKS. THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL OF BLOOD AND LIGHTNING IS THE FIRST BOOK IN THE GARDENDALE SAGA, WHICH IS A TRILOGY ABOUT OPHELIA AND FRIENDS ENGAGING IN A HOLY WAR AGAINST A3000 YEAR OLD ENEMY. AND I CAN’T GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY UNTIL THEN. YOU CAN CATCH JEANETTE AT UPCOMING READINGS, INCLUDING ONE WITH ALABAMA STATE POET LAUREATE ASHLEY JONES. THAT’S ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER NINTH AT 2:00 AT BARNES AND NOBLE PAYT

At just 20 years old Micki Janae has published her first novel with her own twist on Greek mythology.Janae was struck with the idea for her debut novel, "Of Blood and Lightning," after she had trouble finding books in the fantasy genre featuring young Black women. "It is absolutely surreal. Any writer who spends time, you know, by themselves in that solitary position of writing," Janae said. "They'll know that to see those words on a page in a real bound book, it's absolutely incredible!"Her story as a writer started at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. "The five years I spent there really cemented my love for the craft," Janae said. "And it gave me an environment to throw stuff out there to my mentors and my critique partners and really sharpen those tools that I would need to tell this story.""Of Blood and Lightning" tells a unique story from a teenage girl’s point of view."So, in 'Of Blood and Lightning,' we have a 17-year-old Black girl, Ophelia Johnson, who inherits the power of Zeus just months after her father's untimely death," Janae said.She wrote and published it while studying film at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She hopes to someday work as a screenwriter. Crafting her own contemporary take on Greek mythology took several months and countless hours of writing and re-writing."Literally anywhere and everywhere I could scrounge it up. Any free time between classes. Between assignments. Between working. I just really got lost in the story. I feel that I've truly lived more in my fantasy world than I have in reality," she said.In reality, she’s always seen herself as a writer. But Janae says she never saw herself in the characters of the fantasy genre of books, which captured her imagination at an early age. "For every story that I write, I always want to center Black girls and Black women," Janae said. "Because we're not just stereotypes. We're not just supporting cast members. We are the main characters. And we are the heroes."Through courageous characters like Ophelia, a teenager navigating the unexpected loss of a parent, Janae pushes boundaries and pushes back against stereotypes of young Black women."We have the angry Black woman trope. And this is a way of me reclaiming that," Janae said. "It's OK to be angry. It's okay to be anguished. It's OK to have all those huge feelings inside your heart. And you don't have to swallow them.""Of Blood and Lightning" is not a literary lightning in a bottle for Janae. She's already working on the next installment in what will be a series of books."Oh, there will be a sequel. 'Of Blood and Lightning' is the first book in the saga, which is a trilogy about Ophelia and friends engaging in a holy war against a 3,000-year-old enemy," she said. "And I can't give too much away."Until then, you can catch Janae at upcoming readings, including one with Alabama Poet Laureate Ashley Jones. That's on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 2 p.m., at Barnes & Noble, located at 171 Main St. in Hoover.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —

At just 20 years old Micki Janae has published her first novel with her own twist on Greek mythology.

Janae was struck with the idea for her debut novel, "Of Blood and Lightning," after she had trouble finding books in the fantasy genre featuring young Black women.

"It is absolutely surreal. Any writer who spends time, you know, by themselves in that solitary position of writing," Janae said. "They'll know that to see those words on a page in a real bound book, it's absolutely incredible!"

Her story as a writer started at the Alabama School of Fine Arts.

"The five years I spent there really cemented my love for the craft," Janae said. "And it gave me an environment to throw stuff out there to my mentors and my critique partners and really sharpen those tools that I would need to tell this story."

"Of Blood and Lightning" tells a unique story from a teenage girl’s point of view.

"So, in 'Of Blood and Lightning,' we have a 17-year-old Black girl, Ophelia Johnson, who inherits the power of Zeus just months after her father's untimely death," Janae said.

She wrote and published it while studying film at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She hopes to someday work as a screenwriter. Crafting her own contemporary take on Greek mythology took several months and countless hours of writing and re-writing.

"Literally anywhere and everywhere I could scrounge it up. Any free time between classes. Between assignments. Between working. I just really got lost in the story. I feel that I've truly lived more in my fantasy world than I have in reality," she said.

In reality, she’s always seen herself as a writer. But Janae says she never saw herself in the characters of the fantasy genre of books, which captured her imagination at an early age.

"For every story that I write, I always want to center Black girls and Black women," Janae said. "Because we're not just stereotypes. We're not just supporting cast members. We are the main characters. And we are the heroes."

Through courageous characters like Ophelia, a teenager navigating the unexpected loss of a parent, Janae pushes boundaries and pushes back agai

nst stereotypes of young Black women.

"We have the angry Black woman trope. And this is a way of me reclaiming that," Janae said. "It's OK to be angry. It's okay to be anguished. It's OK to have all those huge feelings inside your heart. And you don't have to swallow them."

"Of Blood and Lightning" is not a literary lightning in a bottle for Janae. She's already working on the next installment in what will be a series of books.

"Oh, there will be a sequel. 'Of Blood and Lightning' is the first book in the saga, which is a trilogy about Ophelia and friends engaging in a holy war against a 3,000-year-old enemy," she said. "And I can't give too much away."

Until then, you can catch Janae at upcoming readings, including one with Alabama Poet Laureate Ashley Jones. That's on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 2 p.m., at Barnes & Noble, located at 171 Main St. in Hoover.

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