Tomi Adeyemi
New York Times bestseller and author of the Legacy of Orisha Book Trilogy
What's going on, my brothers and sisters? Today, for "Black Writer of the Month", I would love to showcase one of my favorite writers: the inspiring Tomi Adeyemi.
Adeyemi has been writing stories since she was five years old. Throughout her childhood, Adeyemi was never exposed to her heritage as a Nigerian-American because her parents (who both emigrated) decided to withhold it. She would eventually learn about her culture independently, implementing it into her writing. However, we aren't there yet. As Adeyemi grew older she began to get acclaim for her academics, earning both the Young Scholars and Rani Sharma scholarships before going to Harvard University.
You may think that graduating from Harvard with an honors degree in English Literature would be the last step in Tomi Adeyemi's educational journey. (Well, I doubt you actually thought that; you're smarter than that.) After earning her degree, though, Adeyemi began her venture into Salvador, Brazil to study how the Brazilian slave trade differed from the slave trade in the Americas. Initially, Adeyemi wanted to write a book about two sisters who were separated by the slave trade. One sister fell into the American system and the other to the Brazillian. The plan for that story quickly fell through once Adeyemi actually got to Brazil. From there, our Black Writer's plan would change direction due to El Salvador's rainy weather.
One fine day in Salvador, Brazil, Tomi Adeyemi was forced to flee from a harsh rainstorm. Actually, I don't think it was harsh. It probably wasn't a storm either, but it was rain and Adeyemi needed to escape it. Fortunately, a nearby shop owner was using their store as a safe haven for the storm. Adeyemi took advantage of the opportunity. It was in that gift shop where Adeyemi found her inspiration for her first best-selling book. Adeyemi found a poster in the shop featuring many African gods and goddesses, all of whom Adeyemi had never even heard of. She described the poster as looking "like an African The Last Airbender." From there, Adeyemi shifted her focus to studying these gods in preparation for a new book idea. It was around this time that police brutality in America was once again reaching news headlines so Adeyemi decided to incorporate this aspect of reality into her book as a form of social commentary. This all culminated in the publishing of Tomi Adeyemi's first best-selling book, Children of Blood and Bone.
Children of Blood and Bone is a #1 New York Times best-selling fantasy novel set in the fictional land of Orisha and based on West African mythologies. It centers around the character of Zeile as she fights alongside friends and family to restore magic to the aforementioned land of Orisha, magic that had been previously stolen by a cruel monarchy. Many have compared this book to the likes of the Black Panther movie or the Harry Potter franchise which I believe to be a disservice to the book and the world created within its pages. The world that Adeyemi creates is so distinct from any piece of media I have ever taken in. It's a world full of culture, diversity, turmoil, and conflict. There is no way that I can express to you how unique and magical the land of Orisha is, not without spoiling the book anyway. Along with the world, the characters that Adeyemi creates are captivating. Nearly every named character has a fleshed-out story and a depth to them that makes you care about that character (even if you care about hating them).
Children of Blood and Bone is the first in a trilogy. The second, Children of Virtue and Vengence expands upon the world created in the previous book while adding to and changing how the world functions. Character developments and relationships shift as the story progresses in ways that I couldn't predict. Children of Virtue and Vengence also achieved the rank of #1 New York Times best-selling novel at the time of its release. The final book in the trilogy, Children of Anguish and Anarchy has yet to come out but will be published soon on September 22nd, 2023. Personally, I can't wait to buy it.
Do me, as well as yourself, a favor and buy this trilogy. You won't regret it. Unless you just don't like well-developed fiction stories, in which case: Boo.
As well as owning her own website, Tomi Adeyemi is also active on both Twitter (or whatever Elon Musk wants to call it) and Instagram. All of the previous you can find by searching Adeyemi's name in each respective platform, or by following the links in this article.
If there are any black writers you'd like me to feature in future posts, DM the blog on Instagram and I'll respond within 24 hours. Keep reading and writing, Broncos!
- Obadele
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