Author Interviewing Characters: Author Angela Jackson-Brown Interviews Katia Daniels

UNTETHERED

Sometimes family is found in the most unlikely of places . . .

In the small college town of Troy, Alabama, amidst the backdrop of 1967, Katia Daniels lives a life steeped in responsibility. At the Pike County Group Home for Negro Boys, she pours her heart into nurturing the young lives under her care, harboring a longing for children of her own. Katia’s romantic entanglement with an older man brings comfort but also stirs questions about the path she’s chosen.

The weight of her family’s history bears down on her; a twin brother is missing in action in the heart of the Vietnam War. Having lost her father to cancer, Katia took up the mantle of caretaker, ensuring her mother and brothers were looked after. Her sense of duty extends to the boys at the group home, creating a web of obligations that stretches her emotional bandwidth thin.

Amidst a power struggle at work with the board, Katia finds solace in the pages of romance novels and the soothing melodies of Nina Simone. When Seth Taylor, a familiar face from her high school days, reenters Katia’s life, he brings with him a breeze of nostalgia and a reminder of a time when her dreams felt less tethered. As their friendship rekindles, Katia grapples with the idea of making choices for herself, even as the realization that she can no longer have children weighs heavily on her.

This novel is a poignant tale of a woman torn between the demands of her heart and the responsibilities she’s shouldered for so long. Set against the backdrop of a changing South, this novel delves into the complexities of love, family, and self-discovery in a time of transformation and upheaval.

Author Interviewing Characters: Author Angela Jackson-Brown Interviews Katia Daniels

Angela Jackson-Brown: Katia, thank you for sitting down with me today. I know you’ve got a lot on your plate with your work at the group home. I’d love to start by asking what led you to work there. Why did you take on such a demanding role?

Katia Daniels: Thank you, Angela. And thank you for telling my story. I have always been a giver. It is in my nature. Even as a small child, I was always concerned about the well-being of others, so majoring in social work at college made the most sense to me. My mother and father gave birth to my brothers later in life, so I also took on a lot of responsibility helping to raise them, almost like sons of my own. My father passed away from cancer when I was a senior at college, and my responsibilities increased as a direct result of his death. I became the primary support for my brothers and mother, but when I was given the opportunity to be the Executive Director at the Pike County Group Home for Negro Boys, I did not think twice about taking on that added level of responsibility. I love to be needed, and I love to serve others.

Angela Jackson-Brown: It sounds like your sense of responsibility runs deep, especially when it comes to family. How does that affect the way you live your life now?

Katia Daniels: If the truth be known, Angela, I struggle at times with mental and physical exhaustion. I push myself beyond measure and I seldom give myself breaks. My main pleasures are listening to my Nina Simone albums and reading romance novels, but because of how hectic my life is, it is seldom that I get the chance to relax in a bubble bath and indulge in my guilty pleasures. Those are the great escapes for me, but I never seem to be able to get other people out of my mind like my mother, my brothers, and the boys at the group home. I am always putting others first and although I don’t regret any of the sacrifices I have made, I still wish I could have just a little bit of what I find underneath the covers of my books or in they lyrics of my favorite artist, Miss Nina Simone.

Angela Jackson-Brown: So, inquiring minds want to know about your two love interests Leon and Seth. Which one will you choose?

Katia Daniels: (smiles) Now you know I can’t answer that question. That would ruin the story for the readers. But I will say this, both men are amazingly kind and both men would be great for the right woman. One thing I have learned about love is that I am very fortunate to have two men who are interested in dating me. But at the end of the day, I have to follow my heart, just like in those cheesy romance novels I read. I am sed to making decisions based on my head. That isn’t a bad thing, necessarily, but the heart is also important and because of that, all I will say is this: I ended up with the best man for me and hopefully vice versa. 

Angela Jackson-Brown: So, let’s pivot a bit and I will ask a more lighthearted question. A little birdie told me you loved Nina Simone. What is your favorite Nina Simone song and why?

Katia Daniels: That’s easy. I love a song from her newest album, Nina Simone Sings the Blues, called “Do I Move You?” The lyrics are extremely risqué, but the song pushes me to step outside of my goody-two shoes box. It encourages me to celebrate me in spite of the fact that society might not think about a woman like me when they think of beauty or sensuality. I’m forty. I weigh over 200 pounds. I’m a card-carrying member of the nerd club. And yet, I am beautiful and sexy because I claim that for myself. It took a while to get here, but I finally see all of those things in myself

Angela Jackson-Brown: It seems like you’re at a crossroads in your life. What do you see for your future? Do you think you’ll continue to put others first, or is it time to put yourself first for a change?

Katia Daniels: I’ve been asking myself that very question lately. I don’t have all the answers yet. Part of me still feels this pull to keep caring for the boys at the home, to keep doing what I’ve always done. But there’s another part of me that wonders if it is time for me to start living for me. It’s hard, though, to let go of what you’ve known for so long, to even imagine putting yourself first when you’ve spent your whole life taking care of others. But I think I have finally reached the time in my life when I want to explore the possibilities that exist outside of service to others. Knowing me, I will never stop being a caregiver and that is okay. I just have to make sure I find ways to center me because I will not be any good for others if I am not good for myself. 

Angela Jackson-Brown: Thank you so much for allowing me to interview you Katia. Telling your story was a joy to me.

Katia Daniels: You’re welcome. I appreciate you telling my story.

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Angela Jackson-Brown is an award-winning writer, poet, and playwright who is an Associate Professor in Creative Writing at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN and a member of the graduate faculty of the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing at Spalding University in Louisville, KY.

Angela is a graduate of Troy University, Auburn University, and the Spalding low-residency MFA program in creative writing. She has published her short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry in journals like the Louisville Courier Journal and Appalachian Review. She is the author of Drinking from a Bitter Cup, House Repairs, When Stars Rain Down, and The Light Always Breaks. Visit her online at angelajacksonbrown.com.

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Interviews, On Writing