The Ninety-Ninth Bride: Back in Print

Hello, faithful readers. It has been a while, hasn’t it?

As of Tuesday, January 25th, I am self-publishing The Ninety-Ninth Bride with Ingram Spark. I’m putting this story back out into the world, a leap of faith. 

Detail of Bride’s cover art, by Reiko Murakami.

You see, between when Bride first went out of print and now, I was in a stew of self pity and doubt. It can be hard for a writer (or an artist, or a musician, you get the picture) to look back on their recent work with a non-judgmental eye. The artist sees all the growing pains and flaws. If the writer’s craft has developed even a little, they look at their late choices and go “Ugh, I should have done this differently.” And that’s not taking into consideration the doubts that plague every artist I know.

But, in November of 2021, clarity broke upon me. I snapped out of the fog and realized my doubts were holding me back. There are people who want to read The Ninety-Ninth Bride, and the book is good enough to stand on its own two feet and be out in the world. So it’s not perfect—so what? It is a picture of my soul at the time of writing. 

The story of Bride is this: one night in college (“Friends forever, Whittier”) I was thinking about the One Thousand and One Nights, and I got an idea. Unfortunately, to spell out the idea would be to give away the ending of the book, but suffice to say I wrote out a tidy little scene in a spare notebook, and when I was done, I looked upon my work and said, “Hey, not bad.” 

It took a couple more years (and a trip to England) before I developed the scene into a short story (well, I say “short,” it was really more of a novelette) and submitted it to the Book Smugglers, for their anthology of “subversive fairy tales” (a genre near and dear to my heart). 

When the Book Smugglers asked me if I would expand Bride into a proper novel, I agreed readily.

In looking back, it’s kind of stunning how the novel I wrote was also an autobiography. The time when I wrote the novel wasn’t an easy time for me, and here were all the aspects of my soul on display: there was the Sultan, pacing about in a shrinking circle of wrath; Zahra, the storyteller from the shadows, the voice of intuition who always acts on her own time, and no one else’s; Upalu, the djinn whose grief threatens to consume her like fire; Munir, shrinking in fear from everything, and—

—in the middle of it all—

There’s Dunya, trying to listen, trying to see the underlying pattern of the city, trying to make sense of it. 

That’s my girl.

Now, in the year of our Lord (I say that tentatively) 2022, why self-publishing? 

Well, for my Greek myth project, I am still pursuing the advantages of the traditional path: an agent who knows the market inside and out, a publishing house that can help with distribution and publicity and binding, a professional editor (swoon). 

But Bride has already been in print once; it has been edited copiously by the Book Smugglers and myself. In this instance, I prioritized getting my book into the world again.

You see, writing is only partially about getting the words on paper. It’s also about (among other things) creating the headspace in which the book dwells. I could list out the elements of Bride’s headspace, like a Pinterest board (dusky blue, shadows at midnight, crookedy streets like Cairo) but… that’s not the same as being able to enter that headspace and live in it again.

All that is to say, I think it is right to let Bride exist as a relic of the time it was written. Let it be, as the song goes.

Last thoughts: 

If it had been entirely up to me, I might have let Bride gather dust for ages, a “trunk novel” to only be brought into the light when I am rich and successful. But on Saturday night, I had the opportunity to hear Guillermo del Toro speak. It was at a screening for his new film Nightmare Alley: Vision in Darkness and Light. 

I asked the last question of the night (on the motif of monsters in del Toro’s work) and del Toro told me that there are two big lies that society sells us: perfect romantic love, and success. 

If success is a lie, what am I doing, then, letting Bride gather dust? 

No, Bride’s place is in the world, available online in ebook and print formats. I’m publishing it not to assuage my vanity, not to chase that elusive success, but for my readers, past, present, and future.

Del Toro also spoke aboke the challenges of art in the time of COVID, and said “It sounds like a Chinese cookie, but it’s true—in art, the blocks, the obstacles? They are the gift.” 

My heart overflows with gratitude: to my family and friends, who supported me and believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. I’m grateful to Reiko Murakami, who loved Dunya as well as I did, and who kindly let me use her breathtaking cover art for the new edition. And the Book Smugglers themselves, Thea James and Ana Grilo, who gave me such support and such help, as editors and colleagues. Most recently, Thea suggested I use Ingram Spark for self-publishing. It has been a true voyage of discovery, and it’s not over yet. 

And I am grateful to you, faithful readers.

Shukran kteer, thank you very much. 

Now, let’s see what tomorrow brings.