What's the story behind the story? What inspired you to write this book?
My readers are entirely to blame for this one! When I wrote Scarlet Yearnings: Stories of Love and Desire, I believed I had emptied the well. I laid out those twelve stories, bared my soul, and thought that was the end of it. But then the questions started coming. Readers kept asking me, “But what happened after?” They wanted to know what happened when the initial dazzling spark faded, and the real work of love began. I realized that the first glance is easy, but the reckoning that comes after—the maintenance, the forgiveness, the choice to stay or leave—that is where the true story lives. This collection is my answer to that curiosity, exploring love in all its demanding, complex, and beautiful forms.
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of your book, what would they be?
Oh, I love this question, because I actually built a playlist for this collection! Every story has its own sonic heartbeat. Marcia and Talia in "Love on the Fourteenth Floor" are pure "Brown Skin Girl" by Beyoncé and Wizkid—that celebratory, chosen-sisterhood energy is exactly right. For Nadine and Charles in "Released for the Day," I chose "La Gozadera" by Gente de Zona, because that story is about the brief, electric freedom of a single afternoon that clarifies everything. Cleolin in "He Did Not Come Back" is "Lost My Way" by Sickick—dark, pulsing, and full of an absence that refuses to resolve. Link to full Spotify playlist here.
What's your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
I am drawn to stories that tell the truth about the human heart, regardless of the genre label. I read widely across literary fiction, contemporary romance, spicy fiction, and creative nonfiction, especially works that center the Black diaspora and the Caribbean experience. The book that has moved me most deeply, and continues to, is Earl Lovelace’s The Wine of Astonishment. It exposes human nature through the lens of Trinidadian history, and the way Lovelace captures the betrayal of roots for personal desire cuts right to the bone. That tension between what a community holds sacred and what individuals sacrifice in pursuit of their own survival or ambition—that is the messy, unresolved struggle with identity, love, and legacy that I keep returning to in my own writing. My reading and writing absolutely mirror each other. I write what I want to read: emotionally riveting stories about mature intimacy, family, and the spiritual connective tissue that binds us across cultures and generations.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
My nightstand is always a beautiful, precarious tower. Right now, the pile includes Ronaldo Katwaroo’s Greetings From The Barracuda Hotel, which I am very curious about, and Talia Hibbert’s The Princess Trap, because Hibbert writes with such sharp wit and emotional precision that I always come away feeling seen. I also have The Horned Women and Other Stories by Christy Matheson and Tessa McWatt’s The Snag: A Mother, a Forest, and Wild Grief. That last one is calling to me in particular. She was the 2026 Bocas Lit Fest winner, and a book about grief, nature, and a mother’s story—that is exactly the kind of layered, emotionally honest work I gravitate toward.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
There is a moment in "Love on the Fourteenth Floor" where Marcia is literally on the ground outside her best friend Talia’s apartment, trying to peer under the door like a spy from a terrible movie. She is terrified something is wrong, but the situation is also completely absurd. Writing that scene brought me so much joy. It captures the exact frequency of true sister-energy—that blend of dramatic nonsense and fierce, protective love. We are meant to share our burdens, and sometimes that looks like making a fool of yourself in a hallway just to make sure your friend is okay.
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
My flow state arrives long before the sun does. On weekends, I am up between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. The house is completely silent, my husband is asleep, and the world hasn’t started making demands yet. That is when the ancestors speak the loudest and the stories pour out. I also rely heavily on text-to-speech playback when I am editing in the afternoons. I am a highly auditory person, so I need to hear the rhythm of the sentences to know if the emotional resonance is correct.
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
“Love beyond first glance isn’t magic, it’s maintenance.” That is the epigraph of this book, and it is the absolute truth of my life. Whether it is my thirty-three-year marriage, my relationship with my children, or my connection to my heritage, I know that love requires patience, courage, humility, and the bravery to look again. It is the work we do after the fire starts.
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
I want readers to remember that the stories of our lives, our families, and our loves deserve a second look. Connection grows when we see each other clearly, honestly, and with compassion. Success in love is not about finding perfection; it is about the willingness to engage in the repair, the care-giving, and the profound grace of staying.
Scarlet Ibis James is the author of the new book Scarlet Yearnings Beyond First Glance (The Scarlet Yearnings Collection)
Connect with Scarlet Ibis James
