about the book
Makeda and Abby were born conjoined, with Abby’s head, torso and left arm protruding from Makeda’s chest. When they were separated, Abby was left with a limp, but Makeda faired much worse. She was left with no mojo at all. Coming from a magical family, that makes her just a useless half-breed claypicken human!
Growing up, Abby and Makeda are very close, and when Abby needs help, Makeda is always there for her. They have no contact with their mother, and their father, a demi-god with powers over all growing things, raises them in a very unusual home in Toronto. Their Uncle Flash is a grim reaper, Grandma is an ocean, and the rest of the godly family is a real quirky group.
Besides all her other magic, Abby is gifted with an unearthly singing voice. As the years pass, while her sister’s powers grow, Makeda remains cursed with the tragic flaw of mortality. The two gradually grow apart, and at age 24, Makeda decides it is time to move out and make her own very independent life. She does not tell Abby where she is going.
Working as a dishwasher, making wind-up toys to pass the time, she creates a new home in a run-down two-story teal and purple warehouse. These lofts are called Cheerful Rest and the residents are anything but usual, especially the building superintendent, a very charismatic and attractive musician. Not haint-proof, Makeda is bothered by a shape-shifting daemon.
When her elderly father goes missing, she reconciles with Abby and her otherworldly relatives to search for him…and his soul. If she has any hopes in finding him, she’ll have to discover her own unique talent!
about the author
Nalo (pronounced Nah-lo) Hopkinson was born in a literary home in Jamaica and grew up in Trinidad, Guyana, and the U.S. Her mother worked in libraries and her father was a poet, playwright, actor, and teacher. When she was sixteen, her family moved to Toronto, Canada, and that was her home for 35 years.
Nalo suffered from learning disabilities but persevered and earned a master’s degree in creative writing from Seton Hill University, where she studied under science fiction writer, James Morrow.
Racked by chronic disease and huge medical bills, she found herself homeless for nearly two years before she became a professor of Creative Writing at the University of California in Riverside. She still works there and writes free-lance. She is the author of six novels, and the editor/co-editor of four anthologies.
Nalo writes what she likes to read, so you’ll find her science fiction, mythical, and fantasy novels filled with gods, zulu warriors, monsters, daredevil stunts, fractal math, time travel, magic, and evolutionary theories. She already has a few new novels in the works.
When she isn’t busy writing or teaching, you can find her sewing, cooking, gardening, and designing fabrics.
Sources:
Author website
Author biography: Amazon
Author biography: Wikipedia
Also by Nalo Hopkinson:
The Chaos. Margaret K. McElderry Books. 2012.
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