Bookwild - Nekesa Afia's As Long As You're Mine: Solving Mysteries in Old Hollywood

Episode Date: October 21, 2025

This week, I talk with Nekesa Afia about her new historical-contemporary mystery As Long As You're Mine. We dive into her inspiration for the book, her fascination with the past, and how her present and past characters are up against similar power imbalances.As Long As You're Mine SynopsisProfessional ballerina Thea Ross’s world shatters when her screen-legend father commits suicide, leaving behind a shocking confession to a decades-old murder. Determined to uncover the truth, Thea teams up with a relentless journalist, following a trail of clues that leads her back to the glittering yet treacherous world of 1930s Hollywood.There, she discovers the story of Lorelei Davies, a struggling actress willing to endure anything for her family’s sake. As Thea peels back the layers of Lorelei’s life—her dreams, fears, and dangerous secrets—the connection between Lorelei’s past and Thea’s present challenges everything she believes about her family history. But as she untangles all the lies, she comes to know herself more truly than ever before.As Thea navigates the glamorous facade of Old Hollywood, she must decide whether uncovering the truth about her father is worth sacrificing the life she planned—and whether some secrets are better left buried in Hollywood’s golden age.  Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week I got to talk with Nikesa Afia about her historical kind of mystery thriller as long as you're mine. And if you are a fan of Hollywood, of old Hollywood and some mystery, you are going to love this one. Professional ballerina Thea Ross's world shatters when her screen legend father commits suicide, leaving behind a shocking confession to a decades-old murder. determined to uncover the truth, Thea teems up with a relentless journalist following a trail of clues that leads her back to the glittering yet treacherous world

of 1930s Hollywood. There, she discovers the story of Lorelei Davies, a struggling actress, willing to endure anything for her family's sake. As Thea peels back the layers of Lorelei's life, her dreams, fears, and dangerous secrets, the connection between Lorelei's past and Thea's present challenges everything she believes about her family history. But as she untangles all the lies,

she comes to know herself more truly than ever before. As Thea investigates the glamorous facade of Old Hollywood, she must decide whether uncovering the truth about her father is worth sacrificing the life she planned and whether some secrets are better left buried in Hollywood's golden age. If you like kind of jumping back and forth at time, if you like cold cases that are from years ago, if you love old Hollywood, you will love this one. So for now, let's hear from the Kessa. I am super excited to talk about as long as you're mine. It matches like all of my decor too, so I do love the cover so much. I have my nails done specifically to match for my launch last week. Yeah. That's the best. I just covers are so cool what they can do with covers.

I know. But first, I did want to get to know a little bit more about you. So what was your journey to writing like? Did you always know you wanted to write or like what was the moment where you decided to try? So I always wrote, but I didn't really know that I'd be a writer. So my first book came out, it's called Dundda Girls and came out in 2021. But before that, I was like rewriting the first chapter a lot. I was doing it a lot. And my friend was like, you have to stop doing this. Like, I'm going to try to query 100 agents this year. Like, you should do it with me. Like, we'll just get, like, the feedback. I'll, like, move on. I'll, like, make a book spreader.

I was like, okay. I guess I can do that. And then by, like, age at 10, I had an offer. Oh, nice. And then, like, six months after that, I had a book deal, which is crazy. Like, it was so fast. Yeah. And now it's just, like, I'm obviously working on that series, but I also got to do this, too.

I love this book so much. So, yeah, it's a, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, Apparently I was reading really early, so the writing just followed that. Yeah, that makes sense. How do you approach writing? So is it something that you feel like you have to do every day? And then also, are you a plotter or a pancer or somewhere in between? So it depends on where I am in the writing process.

If I'm trying to draft, I'm writing every day. I'm just trying to get it out. If I'm editing, I'm doing more reading. I'm going back and forth. I'm kind of a mix. I do like to make sure that I know the who, the why, the when, the where, and the how before I start because I write mysteries and like that's a heart of a mystery.

And then it's just kind of building the story up from that. Right. Yeah. I just, yeah. Go with the vibes. Yeah, if I'm drafting, it'll be like a thousand to two thousand words a day. It depends. And yeah.

That's cool. I love that. With this one, there's a lot going on. We're in the 30s, we're in the 50s, Hollywood, ballerinas. We've got all kinds of stuff going on. What was the inspiration for this one? Okay. Well, okay.

So I've actually been working on it for longer than it seems. So I remember very distinctly texting a friend of being like, I want to write a book about a dead blonde. Yes. And then like I got hit, I was like kind of working on it while I was querying. But then obviously I didn't have that much time to work on it while queering because they got an Asian class. So I was just like, well, it just kind of went on to the back burner.

But I kind of like kept revisiting it. I kind of like kept changing it. It changed. We've worked out it for years. It's changed every month of all of those years. Oh, yeah. Yeah. My friend was like, oh, like you're so tenacious.

I was like, yeah, either of that or like I just don't know how to quit something, you know. it's not in your DNA no it is not apparently yeah yeah but I like I love this book like first I was like oh it should be like the 50s and the 80s but I was like I don't know what happened to 80s like water late maybe it's just not like a timeline time period I really like yeah you like want to write in and like my brother was born in 82 so like is that really historical fiction I would say yes he would say no um we've had that argument on the podcast before too. Yeah, right? Because like how far back is it? Um, like, I love the 1930s. I feel like they're really like underwriters and era and then 20 years later is the 1950s and I love the 1950s. Um, I really

have more of like a 50s gal than I am like a 20s gal. Don't tell Blue I said that. She can't. Yeah. She is real. Um, I mean, they all have their merits, but like I sew and like I make my own clothes. So like almost everything I make is like, we'll be like from the 50s. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Everything, Laura, like. Yeah. Everything, Laura, like, and Thea wearer in the book are based off of real clothes or real patterns in the book. I can send you my Pinterest. Wow. Yeah.

That is so cool. I love those little details. It was reminding me of, um, oh, like, glitter in the dark is like a 1920s. Yes, my friend, Alicia. Okay, so you know Alicia. Yeah, yeah. She's like, so into the 20s that I was like, tell me everything you know. And it does just like make the books even better.

Yeah, it does. And her book is so good. So good. I got to blurb in and I was like, this is amazing. Yeah. Even if she weren't my friend, I'd be like, it's so good. It's fantastic. Well, that's cool.

So you guys were friends like before writing even? Yeah. So we actually met via a mutual friend. Oh, that's cool. Oh, I know another friend who writes mysteries in the 1920s. I was like, there are two of us. Oh, my God. That is so cool.

Yeah. So it was after like my two bucks happened out. And obviously hers just came out in April. But yeah, she's been a fantastic support system. She just sent me flowers for my release last week. there you're but yeah it's amazing yeah yeah what what about the 30s

is super interesting to you like compared to the 80s well it's just like I don't know the 30s are like really close to the 20s like I knew like they're just on the tail end of a prohibition the depression just hit and like that really feels like when like the system's really starting but like if for the 80s it'd be like the time line at the and she'd be like what wearing acid wash jeans true she'd be like the style is not there so i'm not saying that i base all my um time periods on fives but that's three quarters of it i would say yeah

that makes sense though did you have to do any extra research for it or since you're kind of like really interested did you kind of like go into it knowing a lot i watched so many carry grant films That's the hardest research I've ever had to do. I just have to spend on the first watching Carrie Grant on screen. Yeah. Writing is so hard sometimes. No, I'm joking. I did watch a lot of Carrie Grant films.

I did base Tommy off of him because he's a looker. He's hot. Yeah. I do have a crush on Carrie Grant. Our time periods just didn't match up, which is fine. Yeah. I'm not fair. I'm totally fun with being alive right now.

Yeah, it's totally fun. It's totally okay. they just don't make men like that anymore. I was talking to, this is a complete tangent. But I was talking to my friend, and she's like, men just aren't putting their best foot forward right now. It's like, no, they are not. Where's the Kirkland?

Where's the Gregory Peck? Where's the Jay Stewart? Where are they? So anyway, that's what I did. I knew you, yeah. So sorry. No, it's a podcast you're supposed to talk. Yeah, okay, true.

Yeah, so it's just like the same research. It's like kind of learning about like the studio system. like trying to figure out like what um films laurlis doing like what she wants to do and like what's realistic for her time period and like what she's doing and then for fia um i actually do ballet classes i'm not like a prima or anything um but like i made her ballerina because i love ballet nice and that's like i wanted something that's like she's dedicated to and like does like her whole life like acting but like not an actress she just wanted to be an actress but she still has that thing. Right. So yeah. Yeah. I do make sure of like stuff off like what I do in my real life,

which is. It probably makes it easier to write about like when it's like it also. It also does mean that my classes are tax deductible, I think. Well, that works too. Um, so they both are living very different lives, not just because it's like the 30s versus the 50s. Um, we have like an actress And then we also have like a ballerina who's like world has been very, very, very, very controlled. So how did you go about deciding on these two? Because they are so different, but it makes the story more fun, even more fun. So I also do think that they are pretty similar though because Laurelides are very controlled. They're just being controlled by different people.

That's like one like major threat that I wanted to keep in. So I don't want to spoil anything. But before I decided on fear roles in the story, I was like, oh, like, she should be, I was like, oh, like, it's a year after Laurelite's death. And it's, like, a reporter, like, being like, oh, like, what happened to her? Or it's, like, 10 years after her death. And Tommy Ross is, like, vanished from society and, like, where is he? And it's just, like, trying to figure out, like, with every change, I was, like, getting closer to what I wanted.

Mm-hmm. And, like, it's just figuring out, like, what serves the story best, you know? Yeah. Yeah. sense. I always wonder too with ones where you're like jumping between POVs and time. Did you write it in the kind of in the order that it is in the book or did you like write one of their stories and then write the other person's story? Oh no, I definitely was like swapping back and forth. And that's just that's like this is my first like dual timeline. Okay, so that's

not true. One year for camp national novel for writing. month. I tried to do like a dual timeline with one timeline going forward and one going backward like the musical of the last five years. I didn't finish it, but that's because it was so hard. I bet. And I was like being, I was like, what, 17, 18? I don't know. It was something like that. Yeah. And it was so hard to do. I was like, obviously I didn't finish it. But like, dual timeline is nice because of one timeline is giving you trouble. You can just go to the next one. and then you're still making progress. That's right.

Yeah. That's a really good point. I hadn't thought of that. It's kind of like you get bored. You can switch it up a little bit. Yeah. That's awesome. Was there something about Hollywood in general that was alluring to you?

I know as a reader, it's always fascinating for me in stories. Yeah. Like I'm like a classic Hollywood girl. Like I love a good old movie. I love a good old musical. Yeah. And it's just like, this world is so fascinating. Rurali went through so much.

And like obviously all actresses went through so much. Like it wasn't just fun and games. No. But there's like determined women who are like going to make the best of it. There are women who like I base Laurelia off of who are just like, who like have like tragic ends or like they were like made moves in their career. So I went with classic Hollywood. Also it's classic.

It's Hollywood. Right. It's kind of self-explanatory. always yes was there anything on on with other characters so was there anything like ballet related that you were like oh i really want to work this in because of like my experience with it which maybe not yeah so not really um it's just because like thea's been doing it for her whole life and i've been doing it for four years so i mean like i was like looking at like variations she could do like little pieces from different shows.

So like at one point she's doing like Clara's, one of Clara's pieces from the knuckraker. And she's just like, I'm doing this to think. I'm doing this to think. Like I just have this member as much like I can never. Right. And like I was looking at like, yeah, I was just like looking at like other pieces.

I was like, well, I'm never going to be that good. Yes. That's fantastic. Yeah. Yeah. Something I loved about both of the characters too is like, which it's kind of. that we're still saying like strong female lead on like Netflix categories because it's like

most women are stronger than a lot a lot of men in certain ways anyway but they were they were both really nuanced and so they had like very strong moments but they also were fully realized like they had their their vulnerable moments too yeah so how did you approach that or is that just kind of come out as you wrote them so I always try to like make my characters like real people. Like I give them flaws. I give them likes. I give them lists dislikes.

And like for me, they always have to make mistakes. Yeah. Laurel is making a huge mistake for most of the book. Yeah. However, I cannot blame her. I too would make that same specific mistake, I think.

Yeah. Then like, Thea has always done like exactly what her parents tell her, exactly what her mother tells her to. She's done exactly what her mother wants her to do. and like low-key she's just a powder kick she's just going to explode yeah and she also doesn't i think she does so like really like nicely and neatly but she still does sort of like start to rebel i love her for that love that for her yes i do too yeah her relationship with her mom is very

complicated uh well complicated is one word for it i guess basically but how did you how did you craft that turmoil that was going on there. Okay. So Sylvie actually has like huge betty draper pots. I love that. She has huge buddy draper pots. But like if she were also a stage mom and she just wants everything to be her way exactly. Just yes. It's because she's like the youngest sibling and I'm also the youngest sibling. So it's just like competition and she's like she sees Thea as like an extension of her which maybe isn't gross healthy thing. It isn't mostly. selfie thing. No. But she's like my little extension of me has to be

perfect at all times. She has to be flawless. She has to be the best ballerina. She has to be the best model. She has to be this and that. And she has to be like putting up all these like public public appearances. Yeah. That's just what's expected of her. That was what was expected of Sophie too.

So she's passing along the trauma a little. Right. Totally. Was there? Did you have a favorite? timeline to write in or were they both pretty equally fun for you? Honestly, I loved both of them. Something I found really fun was figuring out like where all the characters from the 1930s

timeline and like where they were when they carried over to the 1950s. Yeah. And it was like, it's saying to be like, okay, well, if this person's here now, what will she be doing next? Yes. And like just figure out like where they would be in their lives because two decades isn't actually that long of a time period. I know. Yeah. It feels

so long, but like it isn't really. I think it's like the older you we get. Yeah. Oh, decades like go by so quickly. Oh, decades go so fast. Yeah. Yeah. So it's like, where would Julian be? I'm like, what is Julian doing? And what is

Ramona doing? And like, what is Tommy? Yeah, that was like the most fun thing for me to explore. But also, I did love both timelines for both reasons for so many reasons. Yeah. Yeah. So both of the characters too, they kind of have, there's a tension of like wanting something and like what are they willing to do to get it. And like kind of because the systems they're a part of are not the best systems. And so sometimes you're like, am I going to choose to do this so that I can maybe have what I want? So what was kind of intriguing to you about writing in that tension?

It's just like, it's a good question. It's like I just want to see how they like thrive survive and thrive you know Like what does she have to do survive like what does she want? Yeah, my friend noted that she's like my friend was like oh it's interesting how they both get injuries to their feet and then they they really are forced to like face like what's going on with life and what they want I would do that because I had a foot injury that I had to have surgery for it. That's wild.

Cool though. So if I have to suffer, they do too. You're like, I needed to work this out for myself. Yeah. Yeah. Were there any parts that were like harder to write than others? The hardest thing I think was like keeping up with all the characters in the dual timeline. There's one character who low key I did forget about in revisions so I killed him off.

That's a clear. that's a totally reason. Yeah, I didn't know what to do with him. I was like, so he died a year before this, sorry. Yeah. But I think that was like the hardest thing. And then like keeping up like the timeline of like Lorelai and her life, like what she's going through and then like

Theo too and like how they're different and like how they're the same. Yeah, well I think that's it. Yeah, no, that totally makes sense. What was the other thing I was? going to ask. I just had a follow up. Why did it leave my mind? I just lost it. My brain was just like, nope, nope, you're done. None of it is coming here. Okay. Oh, have you had any reactions from readers that surprised you? Um, they like the book, so that's good. I guess that's not a surprise. Yeah.

You might not. That'd be good. Yeah. Yeah. It's nice for people like the book that I write. Yeah. I was surprised to see how many people were like, Tommy's problematic, but I go for him anyway. Yes.

Yeah. I think that's a common feeling for people. Yeah. I mean, he's tall, hot. He can, like, cares. Mm-hmm. It's problematic, but I do like him a lot. And like, yeah.

It's so different from my other books that, like, I wasn't sure how it be received. But, like, people do seem to be enjoying it, and people do seem to be, um, resonating with it. So that sounds like. Yeah. Yeah. Were any of those scenes with, what, what was it like writing the scenes with him? Hmm.

Okay. So I don't want to get too deep into my personal, but like last June, last June, I caught for someone and then I was in revisions by September. So not our text base for, um. But it's just nice to be able to fantasize, you know? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Just fantasizing, just thinking.

That is so cool, though. Like, you're like, my foot got hurt, so I kind of wrote about that. I kind of got feelings for someone, so I wrote about that. Listen, I don't think I'd people who have done it without, like, having, like, a mega crush on someone. Yeah. Yeah. And like you're saying, like, it, like, lots of people resonate with that feeling. Yeah.

um i did have like i have to my friend lorne um i had her peer review all my like intimate scenes just because like i don't know if i'm doing the well that's what i wondered about like he's there were like meters for that yeah i did um have my friend peer review all of them uh-huh um and she's also an editor so she like worked over with like an editorial eye and i was like yeah yes yeah i mean they were fun and like you're saying i think i think more people relate to that kind of push and pull feeling. Yeah. And enjoying it a little bit.

Yeah. I'm like, Laurel, I know she should not be doing this. Yes. But I don't blame her. Yeah. Yeah. I'm just thinking of you watching Carrie Grant movies now.

My favorite pastime. Totally. So I would assume, again, without spoilers, that based on the ending, like, the purpose is for it to be a standalone. but did you ever think about continuing the story at all? Not in so many words. Like, I don't know. Like, I think it'd have to, like, if I wanted to, like, follow Thea, like, after, like, it'd be, like, a genre switch and just be, like, a romance.

Oh, that's a good point. Yeah. Yeah. There's a minor character. Her name's Joanna. I love her. And, like, I'd love to write a novel. That's just, can I say this?

Can I? Yeah. It's just her and Julian serving cunt. Can I say that? that. Yes. I would read it. Just them surfing cunt all day every day. Yes. But like that's not a plot. Like that's not really a plot. Like something would have to happen. Yeah. So I'm not thinking about it officially, but like it would be, it'd be fun to like, because I love her and like she doesn't get that much page time. Like she's just fun. Totally. I know it is.

It's kind of like that saying where they talk about there are no there aren't small roles. Oh, there's no small parts, just small like actors, yeah. Yeah, something like that. The point being sometimes, like, that really small role is, like, so impactful. So the whole story that, like, that's the sticking out character. Yeah, and I'm like, what is she doing? Like, where's Joe?

Like, what's Joe? Yes. Seriously. Yeah, I'm with you on that. Was there anything you kind of want readers to take away at the end that doesn't give away spoilers or take away after they read it? Uh, no, I just hope to be, yeah.

Yeah, I mean, I hope they're nice to people, you know? Yeah, that's a good one. I hope that they enjoyed the book. Yes. Yeah. I think, I think people will. They pick up. I just, I really loved, I kind of just got into more historical fiction just within, like,

the last, like, year and a half. Um, and it's kind of fun because I'm realizing, like, so many other genres, there's, like, all kinds of different stories you can write within historical fiction. And I really, I do like having like that like still like a mystery. Like there's some suspense happening. But you're like also kind of getting this like change of scenery, change of time. Like it makes them like really, it makes them unique. Obviously, I love like a textbook domestic thriller that's like contemporary. But also, if I'm being honest, sometimes they all be. blend into each other. So I've noticed it's getting into historical fiction, like, just, like,

opens up the ability for stories. Yeah. So this was going to be a single timeline, but, like, the more I thought about it and the more, like, I visited, like, Laura and I'm like, her life, I was like, we have to meet her. We have to. Like, we have to. Yeah. I think that the book is stronger for it. Like. I think so too. Yeah, dual time has so much more work, but. I bet it is. I have heard different authors saying what you said, though, where they don't think they're going to have two timelines, but then they keep writing about the past. Yeah. They write about it enough that they're like, oh, no, this needs to actually kind of be its own

story too in its own chapters. So that is kind of cool that, like, I just love that creativity isn't like one perfect direction right when you sit down to do it. Yeah. So as my close personal friend, the late Stephen Stanton says, it's content dictation. content it takes form. So it would have been fine as a single timeline. I'd just don't think it would have been as strong.

And the work that we put into it during the editing phase, like only made it stronger and only made it better. Yeah. I love this book. Oh, that's so cool. Yeah, it's got to be so fun, like doing kind of a different structure. Yeah. And then I'm being like, I loved that.

Yeah. That's awesome. So you're working on, did you say you are working on something else right now? Yeah. So I'm working on. the fourth book in my Harlem-M-A-S-Hon series and I'm also pitching my agents and stuff that we're working yeah awesome well where can people follow you to stay up to date of that okay you can follow me on instagram and threads and blue sky which i don't use um yeah i'm at nekessa writes books

and e-k-esa writes books everywhere uh it's because my name's like kasa and i write books right easy to remember well the The other last thing that I always ask is if you have read anything recently that you've loved. Oh, okay. I'm sort of doing your phone again. I know sometimes people don't read if they're writing. Yeah, so I've just started, I'm like halfway through-ish, Marash City by Lev A.C. Rosen. He's also my friend, but my God, these books are so good.

What was the first word? I just heard the city part. A mirage. Okay, Mirage. Yeah, so he's so, like, so. strong and like voicing his plows are always so like interesting um and i want him to like stop being so mean to andy his main character and i'm like if like i'm gonna take andy away from him because he's being really mean um also edanger and then andy is the name i

love that yeah yeah yeah it's wonderful and like it's just so perfectly aesthetic and just so like gorgeous that like the covers yeah and it just get you just get you just get it's swapped away with him um so it's out it's out now um whatever whatever books are sold oh wow yeah a lot of books yeah um yeah i also just finished whatever happened to lorry lovely by sarah mccoy it's very same like same uh premise to mine um but it's like 50s and like more 90s which is yeah see now i'm kind of glad you didn't go 50s and 80s right yeah you're going there yeah but it's like about like when time it's about a whole Hollywood actress who becomes a nun and then like the second timeline is um her niece um interfering

her as nun like at the nun house place they live oh so good so fun i was like this this book is really close to mine i'm glad that i did not read them but i read this now that like my book is out or else i would have been for a yeah this is another beautiful cover for anyone who's not looking it almost looks like a like a billboard ad the way it's like kind of has the texture of being painted on. Oh my gosh. I had not heard of either of these. So you officially grew my TBR. Oh, sorry, not sorry. It's okay. That's totally okay. I'm always here for it. Well, thank you for coming here to talk about it and for writing it. It was so much fun to read and talk about it. Thank you so much for reading it and having me on your podcast. Yes.