Sadeqa Johnson's new book is And Then There Was Me: A Novel of Friendship, Secrets and Lies.From her Q&A with Deborah Kalb:
Q: For much of the book your main character, Bea, is pregnant, serving as a surrogate for her husband's cousin. Why did you decide to include surrogacy as a theme in the book?--Marshal Zeringue
A: I decided to include surrogacy because it's not a topic that comes up a lot even though it happens more than we know. When I started researching the topic I was fascinated with the information that I found and wanted to really share that experience with readers. Bea carrying Lonnie's cousin's baby also gave her another level of sainthood that I liked. Again, putting everyone's needs before her own.
Q: Another theme is bulimia. Why did you choose to incorporate that in the novel?
A: It wasn't a conscious effort to include bulimia. I was writing the first draft of the story and Bea threw up on my page. I stopped for a second and I could feel the hairs raise up on my forearms. I wrote down, Bea are you bulimic? And Bea said...[read on]