Jukebox is here!

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Jukebox

Today is JUKEBOX‘s book birthday!

Please join me to celebrate the virtual launch tonight at 7pm PST with Hicklebees bookstore. I will read from the book, share a drawing demo and answer questions!

I’ve waited years for today. I pitched the story in 2016, signed the contract in 2017 and submitted final art in 2020. I set out to create a story featuring two desi girls who go on a time traveling adventure. Years ago, I promised to my very good friend and artist, Faheema Chaudhury, that I would make a book with a Bangladeshi Muslim main character because it’s so underrepresented. That promise helped me find Shaheen (Shahi) and Tannaz (Naz). I spent years living with the characters in my head and then drawing them on the page. There were countless hours spent researching albums, history, watching documentaries and historical footage. I made a conscious decision to feature Black musicians because they’re the foundation of American music. My hands hurt as I inked the pages and I learned to ice them at the end of the day. JUKEBOX brought me to new places in panelling, pacing and color. I loved the process. As I finished the book, I thought about this lyric from the song What Light by Wilco “Just remember what was yours, is everyone’s from now on.”

As JUKEBOX enters the world, I know it’s no longer mine. It belongs to everyone.

Thank you for reading, sharing and supporting, always.

One week until JUKEBOX!

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One week until the release of my graphic novel JUKEBOX! You can still pre-order from Bel and Bunna (or your local indie bookstore) to get your book next week! If you pre-order from Bel & Bunna you will receive 2 postcards, a double sided guitar pick and bookmark as seen below:

Wherever you pre-order from is great! In case you’re wondering why pre-orders matter, this post from Jennifer Laughran is wonderful:

“If there are a lot of pre-orders, the publisher will pay attention. They might give the book more promotion/marketing, because hey, people are excited, clearly, let’s build off that buzz!

* If there are a lot of pre-orders at physical bookstores – those bookstores will naturally order more books. Like, maybe they normally get three copies of a new book – but if dozens of people have pre-ordered it from them, well, they are likely to get a giant pile of them instead. Win/win – more copies in the store means more visibility which means more booksellers have it on their radar – all of which means more sales.

* When you pre-order a book, it actually goes through the cash register and is SOLD on release day. If there are a ton of sales on release day (or very soon after release) – then things like The New York Times Bestseller List and Indie Bestseller List are a possibility. And if authors get that coveted “Bestseller” status, again, their publisher will be even more excited about their book, the book will get promoted more (not to mention that the list itself is a promotional tool, and being able to have “NYT Bestseller” in your bio is a promotional tool) which means the book will have more visibility, which means that MORE people will buy it.

More people excited about the book ahead of time = more promotion for the book when it comes out = more books sold = the author can feed their family.”

Thank you for your support and your messages about my comic last week.

Sjorgen’s syndrome

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I’m sharing this comic about some recent medical things that I experienced. Trigger warning I discuss pregnancy loss. I made this comic to share and process my own complicated emotions. Thanks for reading (also understand if you choose not to read).