In other words, an author with a capital A. Eva writes vampire erotica and Shane is a Colson Whitehead type. The book follows two long-lost, star-crossed lovers Eva and Shane, who have been separated by time, distance, and an unspoken betrayal only to run into each other again 15 years later at a books panel at the Brooklyn Museum. Seven Days in June, which was released in June, is her fifth novel. Those ruminations led to this series, in which I actually ask the authors of recently released novels, biographies, and nonfiction what books they read while they wrote, and what books they feel their book is in conversation with.įor the fifth installment of this column, I spoke with Tia Williams, author of The Perfect Find, a soon-to-be Netflix film starring Gabrielle Union. I’ve long imagined, for instance, that Alice Walker thought fondly of Zora Neale Hurston while writing The Color Purple, or Nicole Dennis-Benn called on Toni Morrison while crafting Here Comes the Sun. With its keen observations of creative life in America today, as well as the joys and complications of being a mother and a daughter, Seven Days in June is a hilarious, romantic, and sexy-as-hell story of two writers discovering their second chance at love.When I read a book, I find myself wondering what books the author read while they were writing it. Before Shane disappears though, she needs a few questions answered. Over the next seven days, amidst a steamy Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect – but Eva’s wary of the man who broke her heart, and wants him out of the city so her life can return to normal. While they may be pretending not to know each other, they can’t deny their chemistry – or the fact that they’ve been secretly writing to each other in their books through the years. What no one knows is that fifteen years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. When Shane and Eva meet at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their buried traumas, but also the eyebrows of the Black literati.

Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award-winning novelist, who, to everyone’s surprise, shows up unexpectedly in New York. Seven days to fall in love, fifteen years to forget, and seven days to get it all back again…Įva Mercy is a single mother and bestselling erotica writer who is feeling pressed from all sides. ‘A vision of life as it truly is: complications and difficulties punctuated by profound joy’ Rumaan Alam ‘A smart, sexy testament to Black joy … I absolutely loved it’ Jodi Picoult ‘A sexy, modern love story to start the summer off right’ Reese Witherspoon

Seven days in june book