Engineering the Story with Vanessa Riley

This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Vanessa Riley, author of the historical fiction romance novel, Queen of Exiles. An engineer and self-proclaimed math nerd, Vanessa applies her  inventive and analytical mindset to her creative writing. Her historical novels showcase the hidden histories of Black women and women of color, emphasizing strong sisterhoods and dazzling multicultural communities. 

In our conversation, Vanessa outlines the two engineering questions she always asks herself to guide her storytelling. Plus, why she believes money trumps race. And, why she refuses to run from or be ashamed of history in telling a story about the good, bad, and ugly of Haiti and how the first Black nation  was robbed, pillaged, and plundered.