A taste of magic, p.24
A Taste of Magic, page 24
✶Add milk and cocoa; heat thoroughly.
✶Add remaining ingredients.
✶Mix well to remove most lumps. Spread mixture over top of cake.
TEA CAKE COOKIES
INGREDIENTS
1 Cup Butter softened
¼ Cup Shortening
1 ⅔ Cups Sugar
2 Eggs
4 Cups Flour
2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
2½ Teaspoons Baking Powder
1½ Teaspoons Nutmeg
DIRECTIONS
✶Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
✶Beat butter, shortening, and sugar together; mix well.
✶Add eggs to mixture; mix well after each addition.
✶In a separate container, mix flour, vanilla, baking powder, and nutmeg together.
✶Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, pausing to stir well as you add.
✶Chill dough for 1–1½ hours.
✶Once chilled, roll dough into 1.5-inch balls (about the size of a golf ball).
✶Flatten balls slightly with fingers.
✶Bake on a greased cookie sheet or parchment-lined sheet for 20–25 minutes.
(Makes approx. 2 dozen)
Don’t let them brown!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book is the summation of so many emotions. The idea came to me in a rush in 2019 and over nine days I let it spill out on the page, documenting my speed-drafting on YouTube for my followers to see. I was in a writing slump at the time. I had also just finished my first novel—Wings of Ebony—and was convinced that was the only story I’d ever be able to write. So I set out to prove myself wrong, and that with a bit of persistence, much like Kyana, I too could do what, at the time, felt impossible.
So, I poured so much of my own insecurities into Kyana, Russ, and Ash. At the time, I lived hundreds of miles away from my family, my own “Memaw,” my own always-working momma, and my younger sisters. I missed them all so much. So I drummed up the scents and smells of home in my memory and turned those into deliciously descriptive words. I furiously transcribed daydreams of being back in the kitchen with my grandma into the plot, magic, and characters.
Then, during revisions in late 2019, my entire world shifted on its axis. My real-life Memaw, the source of all those great tips Kyana learns, the author of these delicious recipes in the back of this book, was diagnosed with leukemia. I grieved and wrote and wrote and grieved. I poured more of Memaw into these pages with each revision, steeping myself in memories, writing moments in fiction I wished could be real again. Then 2020 arrived with a fury and the picture of the world began to distort further. Grandma was still holding on, but the doctors weren’t sure for how long. The world was quarantining. What did all of this mean? What would the world look like six months later? Two years later? Who would be in it?
Suddenly it hit me—my questions could not be answered. No one could know what was to come. I could only know the now. The joy in my hands. The people I could call up right then. I FaceTimed my grandma that day, and we just held the phone. She was too winded to talk for most of it. So, I’d just sit and look and listen to her breathe. I then lost myself in Kyana’s world all over again, reading and rereading, waiting for the next pass of revisions. I folded my questions over what would come in a pandemic world into humorous magical creatures and wacky world-building. I made up a talking stove because the idea made me giggle, hilarious BFF banter, a security squad of ferrets, which kept me laughing at their ridiculousness. I wrote a story that gave my soul what it so desperately needed—sweet, unrestrained laughter. JOY.
And after much drafting and a few months of revising with my agent, Kyana’s story was ready to start its journey into the world, and the wonderful team at Bloomsbury enthusiastically agreed!
I couldn’t have done any of this alone, and the list of people to thank is truly endless. It feels like a decade has passed since 2020 alone, so I sincerely apologize if I’ve missed a name of someone who’s been on this journey with Kyana and me.
First, thanks to God, who gave me this gift of words. To my husband, who is forever the cheerleader. And whose own sacrifice of his work and personal goals allows me to pursue this writing dream. Huge thank-you to my kids, who inspired these characters so much. Who so patiently, over and over again, put their wants on hold so Mommy could “get some more words down.” To Mariah, my shy little bird, you will soar. Dare to claim the sky, darling one. Ash reminds me of you so much. To Daniel, my supadupa fly middle kid. Your confidence is its own set of wings, son. Fly to the moon and back. This world is yours. Russ’s confidence and coolness remind me so much of you! And to little Sarah, who knows what she wants unapologetically. You shine like Kyana. I love that you’re not afraid to take up space. Never lose that, sweet one.
To my grandma, who inspired this book, whose persona has infused its pages with tenderness and sweetness. You’re still holding on as I write these words. You’ve stubbornly defied the doctor’s time clock! I’m so grateful to be in the same city now. It is my greatest hope you’ll be able to hold this book in your hands once it’s in print, and really behold a big part of your life’s work: giving all you had to raise me. To see that all you poured into me is being reflected back to the world.
To Grandpa, my ace, who keeps Grandma taken care of and keeps me lifted. You are my rock. Have been my rock. Will always be my rock. To Mommy, Paigey, and Yunei, who are my go-to girls! I reach for the stars, so you can dare to dream bigger and beyond. To Unc and Syd, Micah, Roslyn, Rocqell, Aunty Regina, Uncle Roy. All of you who were the village to make sure my dreams found solid ground to stand on. To Jennifer and Diarra, who keep me rooted—love you, my sisters! To Kim W., Marian F., Amy D., and Alyssa Shaw, thank you for always encouraging me to keep writing and for being proud of me. And to my Book Mom, Nic Stone, who keeps me grounded, hopeful, and realistic. Love you endlessly!
To Sarah Shumway and Claire Stetzer, who gave so much time and energy and love to this story from the very beginning. To Lily, Faye, Erica, Beth, and the entire team at Bloomsbury, both those I’ve had the privilege of being able to meet and those I have not—this book could not exist without your diligence. Thank you! To Natalie, who knew from the moment she met Kyana she would make it to shelves. For believing, fighting, hoping right alongside me. To Jodi, my ever-amazing agent. I could not have shepherded this book into the world without you! Your energy and relentless passion for my stories and my career are such a gift. You’ve changed my life. Thank you!
To my writing loves, who let Kyana into their heart: Jessica Froberg, Mary Roach, Del, Ana Franco, Naz Kutub, Jessica Lewis, Jessica Shaut, Sarah Janian, Jas Hammonds, and Emily Golden. Thank you for every read, bit of feedback, and fierce love of this story. To my Twitter family, who kept me going when writing this book was hard. To Kelis, Kris, Lisa, Steph, my entire Queen Squad crew, every critique partner, beta reader, friend in DMs with encouraging words. For every like, tweet, story-share, every blogger, bookstagrammer, educator, bookseller, and librarian who put this book in a reader’s hands. I am so grateful for all of you!
This book is the hug I needed, a canonized memory if there is such a thing. A reminder that we can spend our lives chasing what we wished we had or clinging fiercely, fighting to protect, remembering to cherish, the things we do have. I coped and healed and loved on myself through Kyana’s story. And it’s my hope that these pages do the same for you!
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This electronic edition published in 2022 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published in the United States of America in August 2022 by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
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Copyright © 2022 by J. Elle
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Elle, J., author.
Title: A taste of magic / by J. Elle.
Description: New York : Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2022.
Summary: Twelve-year-old Kyana bakes up a plan to keep her inner-city magic school open after redistricting and gentrification threaten to close it down.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021056248 (print) | LCCN 2021056249 (e-book) |
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0671-9 (HB)
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0672-6 (eBook)
Subjects: CYAC: Magic—Fiction. | Baking—Fiction. | Contests—Fiction. | Middle schools—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction. | African Americans—Fiction. | LCGFT: Novels.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.E438 Tas 2022 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.E438 (e-book) | DDC [FIc]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021056248
LC e-book record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021056249
Book design by Jeanette Levy
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J. Elle, A Taste of Magic
