Joy Keys chats with Author Ayana Gray about Beasts of Ruin

Regina Hartfield is CEO and president of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. Hartfield served on the association’s board of directors for three years, including as chair of the fundraising committee. Previously, she managed federal, state and commercial contracts for CVP, an information technology consulting firm in Virginia and Maryland. Hartfield was a community affairs professional in the nonprofit arena in New York for more than 25 years where she gained experience as a leader in nonprofit organizations. She graduated with honors from Lehman College of the City University of New York with a Bachelor of Arts in community outreach. Servio Astacio was born in the Dominican Republic with sickle cell anemia and experienced symptoms from an early age. His condition prevented him from pursuing his dream of military service, but he remains driven to growing in other areas of his life. Now 25 years old, Astacio lives in Miami, owns a business and pursues interests in finance and technology. He advocates for sickle cell awareness and research and has spoken at conferences, symposia and roundtables.

***THIS IS A PRE-RECORDED INTERVEW.*** Catherine Adel West was born and raised in Chicago, IL where she currently resides. She graduated with both her Bachelors and Masters of Science in Journalism from the University of Illinois - Urbana. Her work is published in Black Fox Literary Magazine, Five2One, Better than Starbucks, Doors Ajar, 805 Lit + Art, The Helix Magazine, Lunch Ticket and Gay Magazine. ​Catherine's sophomore novel THE TWO LIVES OF SARA is slated for release September 6, 2022 (Park Row Books). Her debut novel SAVING RUBY KING was published June 2020 (Park Row Books). Her short story ORION'S STAR is featured in the body positive anthology EVERY BODY SHINES (Bloomsbury, May 2021). ​ ​In between writing and traveling, Catherine works as an editor.

***Pre-recorded interview*** Corey Gumbs, the owner of Black Label Media, LLC, has over 20 years of experience in recording as an independent music producer and artist. His experience in the music industry also includes working as an intern at Def Jam Records as a key member of their street promotions team in the mid-late 90s, as well as promotional tour support for Def Jam recording artist Foxy Brown, and Violator Records recording artists CRU during the 1997 Smoking Grooves Tour.  He is currently the founder of Black Label Media, LLC and chief recording engineer of its service imprint: Black Label Podcast Studio, as well as the chief Podcast Development Strategist.  In addition, Corey has a Bachelor of Science in Web Development and Design from Full Sail University. He is also the Founder of The Black Podcasters Association Powered By Afros & Audio, an online community dedicated to black podcast creatives and professionals. His mission is to create a space that offers support, collaboration, and can act as an advocacy body for Black podcaster creatives and professionals within the greater podcast economy. To work with Corey or to learn more about Black Label Media, LLC’s, Black Label Podcast Studio, or our other programs and services, contact the team at: [email protected]    

Nasheeda Pollard is a wife and proud mother of two beautiful breastfed children! An International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, author of Magical Milk, and owner of Lactation Goddess LLC. A brand focused on helping new and expecting families unapologetically define their breastfeeding journey so they can feel confident in their abilities to lactate in a way that fits their lifestyle.  Her passion for supporting lactating families of color and normalizing breastfeeding is the motivation behind Magical Milk. Working with breastfeeding families and hearing their stories along with her own experiences pushed her into purpose.  

In this much anticipated follow up to New York Times bestselling Beasts of Prey, Koffi’s powers grow stronger and Ekon’s secrets turn darker as they face the god of death. Koffi has saved her city and the boy she loves, but at a terrible price. Now a servant to the cunning god of death, she must use her newfound power to further his continental conquest, or risk the safety of her home and loved ones. As she reluctantly learns to survive amidst unexpected friends and foes, she will also have to choose between the life—and love—she once had, or the one she could have, if she truly embraces her dangerous gifts. ABOUT AYANA GRAY: Ayana Gray is a New York Times bestselling young adult fantasy author and a lover of all things monsters, mythos, and magic. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, she now lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she reads avidly, follows Formula One racing, and worries over the varying moods of her adopted baby black rhino, Apollo, and her mini goldendoodle, Dolly. Her debut novel, Beasts of Prey, is being adapted for feature film.  

MOROWA YEJIDÉ, a native of Washington, DC, is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Time of the Locust, which was a 2012 finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize, long-listed for the 2015 PEN/Bingham Prize, and a 2015 NAACP Image Award nominee; and Creatures of Passage, which was short-listed for the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence and was a 2021 Notable Book selection by NPR and the Washington Post. She lives in the DC area with her husband and three sons. NEPHTHYS KINWELL IS A TAXI DRIVER OF SORTS in Washington, DC, ferrying passengers in a 1967 Plymouth Belvedere with a ghost in the trunk. Endless rides and alcohol help her manage her grief over the death of her twin brother, Osiris, who was murdered and dumped in the Anacostia River. Unknown to Nephthys when the novel opens in 1977, her estranged great-nephew, ten-year-old Dash, is finding himself drawn to the banks of that very same river. It is there that Dash—reeling from having witnessed an act of molestation at his school, but still questioning what and who he saw—has charmed conversations with a mysterious figure he calls the “River Man.” When Dash arrives unexpectedly at Nephthys’s door bearing a cryptic note about his unusual conversations with the River Man, Nephthys must face what frightens her most. Morowa Yejidé’s deeply captivating novel shows us an unseen Washington filled with otherworldly landscapes, flawed super-humans, and reluctant ghosts, and brings together a community intent on saving one young boy in order to reclaim itself.

Louis Chude-Sokei’s work includes the award-winning, The Last Darky: Bert Williams, Black on Black Minstrelsy and the African Diaspora, The Sound of Culture: Diaspora and Black Technopoetics as well as the acclaimed memoir, Floating in A Most Peculiar Way. He teaches at Boston University, directs the African American Studies Program and is Editor in Chief of the journal, The Black Scholar. He is also founder of the sonic art and archival project, Echolocution and was a curator of Carnegie Hall’s 2022 Festival of Afrofuturism.   

Special Guest:  Dr. Kyra S. O’Brien grew up in Northern Virginia and received her bachelor’s of science in biology from Yale University. She received her medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and stayed to complete her internal medicine internship and neurology residency training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focus during medical school and residency aimed to characterize the clinical syndrome of primary age-related tauopathy and identify its potential genetic risk factors. As a clinical fellow at the Penn Memory Center, she hopes to focus her research on improving access to and quality of care within community practices for patients with Alzheimer’s dementia. She is excited to gain more experience with clinical trials and looks forward to working with the staff, patients and caregivers at the Penn Memory Center.

LaSheena Riley-Duval, MSW, LSW, CCM, is a licensed social worker with more than 15 years of experience working in a variety of settings within diverse communities. LaSheena’s career started as a case manager working with children, youth, and families victimized by sexual abuse.  Additionally, she has worked extensively with adolescents and families in areas of behavioral health, parenting, and life skills training.  LaSheena currently works as a high school social worker in the City of Philadelphia. Her passion is working with teens and their families to combat barriers to success.  In the evenings LaSheena is a therapist working with adults, children, and families impacted by trauma.     Janelle S. Peifer, PhD, LCP is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Richmond. She also leads Peifer Psychology (peiferpsychology.com) as a speaker and consultant for organizations committed to inclusive excellent and mental wellness. In addition, as a licensed clinical psychologist, she founded and leads The Center for Inclusive Therapy + Wellness (inclusivetherapywellness.com). Dr. Peifer earned her PhD in Clinical and School Psychology at the University of Virginia and is an alumna of Wake Forest University. Her research examines college student development with a focus on questions of identity, intercultural competence, and mental health with a focus on complex trauma    

Alex Jennings is a writer/editor/teacher/poet living in New Orleans. He was born in Wiesbaden (Germany) and raised in Gaborone (Botswana), Tunis (Tunisia), Paramaribo (Surinam) and the United States. He constantly devours pop culture and writes mostly jokes on Twitter (@magicknegro). He loves music, film, comix, and even some TV. He’s going a little nuts shut up in his Central City apartment, but thankfully he has two of the best roommates on earth (one of whom is a beautiful beautiful dog named Karate Valentino. His debut novel, The Ballad of Perilous Graves is due out from Redhook in 2022. You can also find him goofing around on Instagram: (@magicknegro) Nola is a city full of wonders. A place of sky trolleys and dead cabs, where haints dance the night away and Wise Women help keep the order. To those from Away, Nola might seem strange. To Perilous Graves, it’s simply home. In a world of everyday miracles, Perry might not have a talent for magic, but he does know Nola’s rhythm as intimately as his own heartbeat. So when the city’s Great Magician starts appearing in odd places and essential songs are forgotten, Perry realizes trouble is afoot. Nine songs of power have escaped from the piano that maintains the city’s beat, and without them, Nola will fail. Unwilling to watch his home be destroyed, Perry will sacrifice everything to save it. But a storm is brewing, and the Haint of All Haints is awake. Nola’s time might be coming to an end.