A Taste of Honey

A masterful reimagining of the Yoruba river goddess Oshun set in the American Lowcountry at the cusp of the Harlem Renaissance, where her spirit possesses iconic Black historical figures to help them reach their full potential as she embarks on a quest for true identity and eternal love.

For years, the Yoruba Orisha Oshun—the goddess of sweetness, love, fresh water, and dance—has wandered the earth as a disembodied spirit. Having forgotten her true divine identity, she survives by inhabiting the bodies of human hosts, acting as a muse who ignites their creative fire. In early twentieth-century America, Oshun’s spirit possesses some of the most iconic figures of the Progressive Era and beyond, including tarot illustrator Pixie Colman Smith, fierce folklorist Zora Neale Hurston, intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois, and the innovative vaudeville dancer Aida Overton Walker. While Oshun brings unparalleled brilliance to her vessels, carrying the full force of an Orisha comes at a cost, threatening to consume the mortals from the inside out. Enter Stephen, a Gullah root doctor known as Dr. Buzzard, who has loved Oshun across lifetimes. Stephen recognizes both the danger Oshun poses to her hosts and the peril she faces by remaining untethered from her celestial home. Determined to protect her, he sets out to help Oshun remember who she is before her presence exacts an irreversible price.

Rich with dialect, folklore, and sensory language, A Taste of Honey is a sweeping, synesthetic masterpiece of historical fantasy exploring the price of artistic genius, the enduring power of African diasporic spirituality, and the boundless nature of love. Can Oshun remember who she is without losing the mortal world that taught her how to love?

Anita Kopacz is an award-winning writer and spiritual advisor. She is the former editor in chief of Heart & Soul Magazine and managing editor of BeautyCents Magazine. When she is not writing, you can find her on the dance floor or traveling the world with her children. Anita lives in New York City with her family. She is the author of Shallow Waters, The Wind on Her Tongue, and A Taste of Honey.

• Publisher: Atria/Black Privilege Publishing
  
• Publish Date: August 24, 2027
  
• Pages: 224
  
• Language: English
  
• Type: Hardcover
  
• EAN/UPC: 9781668242209
  
• Dimensions: 9 in H | 6 in W | 0.6 in T | 0.9 lb Wt
  
• BISAC: Fiction / African American & Black / Women
  Fiction / Fantasy / Historical
  Fiction / Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology