Breshea Anglen's Blog

Because I love books, I wanted to share a few books that have stuck with me over the years. These are books that, for whatever reason, I haven't been able to forget. I recognize that one of the books I discuss contains problematic topics. I will briefly discuss any problematic topics within this recommendation and also know that it goes much deeper than what I’ve written below.

Promise of Shadows

Promise of Shadows is a young adult fantasy novel written by Justina Ireland and published in 2014. The story follows Zephyr Mourning, a Harpy who very reluctantly gets thrown into her destiny. Ireland mixes Greek mythology with relevant, contemporary themes and does it with ease and grace. The novel is dark, contains well-written sly humor, delivers excellent action, and even a touch of romance! It satisfied all my YA needs.

Zephyr was a super relatable character for me at the time. This book left such a lasting impression on me--it was my first black girl book. It was the first book I read where the black girl was the hero. And Zephyr was black, visibly; I distinctly remember a scene where one character was greasing another character’s scalp. That was a wholly black experience. It brought me joy that I couldn’t contain. I felt seen for the first time.

I know that every black girl who reads has had this experience, and it’s one that...Read More

If I recall, it was 2015. I was in grad school at Bowling Green State University, working on my Masters. I was also working on the first version of A Shrouded Spark. As I was working with Archway Publishing, they offered editing services for upwards of $2000. As a grad student, there was no way that I could come up with that money. Instead, I sought out other options.

I went online, researching editors and the typical price ranges. I was hesitant to choose someone hastily, especially a stranger who wasn’t invested in my cause and purpose.

My roommate at the time, Jay, suggested that I send an inquiry through the writing commons. I felt apprehensive about putting my book in the hands of a stranger, but Jay assured me that she knew someone who knew someone that could help me. Fast forward a few days, and I get an email from someone named Naomi N. It was very professional and to the point. We planned to meet in the coming weeks.

We met at a coffee shop in Bowling Green called Grounds for Thought. They’re well known in the city for their wide variety of coffee, tasty drinks, and sweet treats. I found Naomi at a table in the front of the shop. She greeted me with a polite smile and we chatted for a bit about the project, her prices, and a proposed timeline. It was all extremely professional.

I printed the manuscript, delivered it to her, and waited. Patiently. Nervously. I waited.

When the manuscript came back to...Read More

After people read A Shrouded Spark, they usually ask about the process of writing the book and how the story came to be. And, to be honest, I always stumble over the answer.

Not because I can’t articulate it, but more in an “I have too much to say and too little time” kind of way. That on-the-spot feeling prompted me to sit down and think about the journey from start to finish (usually an overwhelming task). I wrote this post to talk about the process of creating A Shrouded Spark--its origins, its inspirations, and its journey.

The inspiration for the story started with the idea of the Yggdrasil--the Tree of Life, in Norse mythology. I was interested in the idea that the Yggdrasil could connect multiple realms or worlds; I wanted to play with that, to see what it would be like to write a scenario in which a character or characters could utilize or visit this tree and travel between worlds and/or planes of existence.

Before anyone put their eyes on it, the working title for A Shrouded Spark was “Divine Intervention”. There were overtly biblical themes littered throughout the book (angels and demons, no less). The main character’s name was Grace. She was white, her friends were wealthy and white, and her savior was a white angel--furthermore, the “worlds” that I wanted my characters to travel to were recycled--versions of heaven and hell. It was all very much born out of two things--1. My Christian/Catholic upbringing and 2. My affinity for reading about, watching, and writing fanfiction about characters that just so happened to be non-black....Read More

In the fall of 2018, I was…pretty depressed, for lack of a better word. My book wasn’t selling (I was not a marketing genius), and I was working for a school that--bless the kids--drained every ounce of energy and joy I had, so I had none leftover for my book. The past summer had been a reprieve from the madness, but the fall had hit me like a ton of bricks.

So when my good sis, artist Suhaylah Hamzah (IG: suhaylah_theartist), invited me to an art show in which she was participating, I’ll admit that I didn’t have the spoons to go. Outdoors, it was cold and wet; on the inside, I was dark and twisty--you get the picture. Nevertheless, Suhaylah is one of my dear friends, and when I make her a promise, I always want to come through. So, I got out of bed (with my hair still in twists, so you know I wasn’t about it)--I trudged through the muck and the awful fall Cleveland weather, and I attended the RAW Artists show at the Cleveland House of Blues.

The House of Blues has always been one of my favorite venues. I’d gone there for plenty of notable concerts (SZA, Miguel, Smino, Adele, etc.) but had...Read More

On September 17th, I attended the Great Lakes African American Writers conference, GLAAWC for short (or Glossy, if you ask anyone there). This was the 5th annual conference, but my first time in attendance. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, I wasn’t able to attend every session, but I’ll discuss the ones I did attend.

I had never visited the Louis Stokes wing of the Cleveland Public Library, which was where the conference took place. It is vibrant, vast, and a beautiful setting for an event such as GLAAWC. On the lower level, a collection of local authors, publishers, and celebrities (Wayne Dawson, anyone?) were arranged outside the auditorium, where the main events took place. I paroused the tables and bought a few books, notably Stick With Your Own Kind: How to Use Highly Effective People to Achieve More and Life Better by Deante Young, and Just Like Old Times, by Chichima Cherry. The former is a self-improvement book, a gift I purchased for a friend. The latter is a book I bought for pleasure and pure indulgence (I love a good romance novel). There were several other authors present whose novels varied from hot, steamy romance, to urban fantasy to nonfiction/self-help.

The first session I attended was Grief and Writing as a Healing Modality, a panel discussion with Joy Reid, Teresa Winston, and Shavonne J Moore-Lobban. The women onstage discussed their trysts with grief (their own and others), and how they managed to transform these experiences through writing. The overall message was that the weight of grieving, a...Read More

Dear readers,

I want to start by thanking you all for your readership in the past years. Whether you met me through book signings, spoken word circles, Education, or just in passing--thank you. I have enjoyed meeting you, knowing you, and sharing my art with you.

For the past two years, I have been digging deep into my writing. My first novel, A Shrouded Spark, was released in 2017. This was a huge accomplishment, but it wasn’t quite my vision. Two years later, I re-released A Shrouded Spark with a new cover, one that I felt was more representative of the main character, Noni. Years have passed, I have grown, and so has this story and the series as a whole.

With that being said, I am so excited to share these updates with you:

The official title for the series is ✨Noni & The God Tree✨. The official website, noniandthegodtree.com, will launch at the end of the year.

Noni & The God Tree: A Shrouded Spark, book 1 in the series, is set to be re-released (and repackaged 😉) in 2023. Book 2 (title to be announced) will be released March 2023. More to come on that.

I hope you all are as excited as I am! This has been a labor of love, and I am thrilled to get to share it with all of you. Get ready to dive back into Noni’s world 🌍✨

In November 2015 I finished my first novel, A Shrouded Spark. This was a huge moment of success for me--I had been writing the book for almost 4 years. I was a graduate student at the time, studying education at BGSU, as well as completing two internships. Finishing this book during such a time was strenuous, to say the least. But I did it, and I was proud of it. The self-publishing process began in February 2016, and carried into my first year as a 5th grade English teacher. E

I got to share so much of this process with my students. They were the first to see the cover proof, the first to get the news of finalization, the first to SEE the physical book--everything. They witnessed and shared in the excitement and it was truly a sight to behold for twenty-three year old me.

Fast forward 2 years, 2019, and I’m teaching 7th grade. I now have the same group of students from my first year, my first group of 5th graders. The first thing they asked me when they realized I’d be their 7th grade teacher was, “Ms. Anglen, can we read your book this year?” and I was floored that they even remembered. Furthermore, this was the first time I had heard kids telling me that they wanted to read a book. I knew that I had to use that leverage, that momentum. And when my babies want something, I always make it happen.

So I went to my principal. Knowing that we have a prescribed curriculum, I knew that what I was asking might be pushing it. However, my principal was supportive and encouraged me to, at the end of the year, do the whole module. Because of a few...Read More

In November 2015 I finished my first novel, A Shrouded Spark. This was a huge moment of success for me--I had been writing the book for almost 4 years. I was a graduate student at the time, studying education at BGSU, as well as completing two internships. Finishing this book during such a time was strenuous, to say the least. But I did it, and I was proud of it. The self-publishing process began in February 2016, and carried into my first year as a 5th grade English teacher. E

I got to share so much of this process with my students. They were the first to see the cover proof, the first to get the news of finalization, the first to SEE the physical book--everything. They witnessed and shared in the excitement and it was truly a sight to behold for twenty-three year old me.

Fast forward 2 years, 2019, and I’m teaching 7th grade. I now have the same group of students from my first year, my first group of 5th graders. The first thing they asked me when they realized I’d be their 7th grade teacher was, “Ms. Anglen, can we read your book this year?” and I was floored that they even remembered. Furthermore, this was the first time I had heard kids telling me that they wanted to read a book. I knew that I had to use that leverage, that momentum. And when my babies want something, I always make it happen.

So I went to my principal. Knowing that we have a prescribed curriculum, I knew that what I was asking might be pushing it. However, my principal was supportive and encouraged me to, at the end of the year, do the whole module. Because of a few...Read More