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Off The Shelf with Morgann Book

#33: Folklore, Fairytales & Fantasy with Imani Erriu

2/5/202649 min

This week on Off The Shelf, Morgann sits down with fantasy author Imani Erriu to talk folklore, fairytales, and the creation of her celestial universe. Imani shares how growing up in the English countryside shaped her imagination, the moment Heavenly Bodies first formed, and how TikTok helped launch her story to a wider audience.

We chat about her shift from indie to traditional publishing, the evolution of her writing process, the collaborative work behind her maps and covers, and what readers can expect from Holy Monsters and the expanding five-book saga.

CHAPTERS:

Clips

The TikTok That Changed Everything
Her Darkest Romance Yet
She Knew The Last Line
Writing The First Scene
How Trad Polished The Series
Holy Monsters Vibes And Lore
Why She Went Indie First
Nailing The First Line
From Trilogy To Epic Five
Her Viral Content Playbook

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Imani Eribu· Guest0:00

    Elara is actually one of the moons that surrounds Jupiter, and her name means dark moon, and so it was so- Oh, perfect ... perfect. And then Enzo is actually my sister that helped me with his name, and I was like, "It needs to be a hot name." [laughs] Like, it needs to be some, an attractive name. Like, what can we pick? And then we brainstormed that together and decided on Lorenzo, and then Enzo for short.

  2. Morgann Book· Host0:20

    [upbeat music] Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Off-the-Shelf. Today we are joined by Imani Irwu, the author behind the Heavenly Bodies series. Known for her celestial world building and emotionally charged slow burns, Imani has quickly become a standout voice in the romantasy space. Imani, welcome to Off-the-Shelf.

  3. Imani Eribu· Guest0:45

    Hi, thank you so much for having me.

  4. Morgann Book· Host0:47

    Of course. And, um, welcome to Toronto.

  5. Imani Eribu· Guest0:49

    Oh.

  6. Morgann Book· Host0:49

    I'm sorry the weather is so horrible for you.

  7. Imani Eribu· Guest0:51

    [laughs] Don't apologize. Everyone's telling me the weather's horrible, and I'm like, I feel like I'm in a slo- snow globe. It's so beautiful.

  8. Morgann Book· Host0:56

    [laughs] I'm, I'm so happy you said that. We are dying a bit inside- Yeah ... with all of the snow we're getting. Um, and before we jump into anything today, I recently read your author bio.

  9. Imani Eribu· Guest1:05

    Mm.

  10. Morgann Book· Host1:05

    And in it it says you love eating pasta and re-watching The Office.

  11. Imani Eribu· Guest1:09

    What? Yeah.

  12. Morgann Book· Host1:09

    So I think I need to ask- [laughs] ... what's your favorite type of pasta?

  13. Imani Eribu· Guest1:12

    Okay.

  14. Morgann Book· Host1:12

    Noodle and sauce.

  15. Imani Eribu· Guest1:13

    Okay. Mm-hmm.

  16. Morgann Book· Host1:13

    And what's your favorite season of The Office to re-watch?

  17. Imani Eribu· Guest1:16

    Okay. Oh my gosh. I love both those questions right off the bat. [laughs] So I love rigatoni, and pasta alla vodka is just the best.

  18. Morgann Book· Host1:24

    Same.

  19. Imani Eribu· Guest1:24

    The best. I feel like you just can't get it wrong, and when I make it, I make a really good one too, so I love

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