GROWING up, Jamaican American Trisha Tobias was always captivated by the stories her mother shared about her childhood in Jamaica.

However, having been born in the United States, Tobias said she struggled to truly connect with these cherished moments, as she’d lived a different experience.

In a bid to bridge that divide with her Jamaican roots and help others who might be in similar a situation, the young author put pen to paper and created her first book, Honeysuckle and Bone, which explores a young woman’s journey to discovering more about her Jamaican heritage by travelling to the island to work for a big political family.

While in Jamaica, the main character, Carina, uncovers dark secrets and supernatural elements, such as the Jamaican duppy (ghost) on the family’s estate.

Tobias’ book was picked up by Sweet July Books, a publishing agency created by Ayesha Curry, an American actress and businesswoman who also has Jamaican heritage.

Curry shared that her publishing agency aims to highlight diverse voices in the writing industry that create deep and meaningful stories. She said that she was immediately drawn to the book because of her Jamaican roots, and felt connected to the storyline.

A first-time author, Tobias said she was incredibly shocked when she found out that her debut project would be recognised on such a large scale.

“I wrote this story not really knowing how many people would actually be interested in it or would connect with it, and so to find out later after writing it that not only would it be publishing, and it would be my first book, but also that I have the opportunity to publish under Sweet July Books and collaborate with Ayesha Curry — it was just really surprising.

“I had no idea, at the time, that she was also with Jamaican heritage, and it’s just so funny that what she’s trying to do with Sweet July Books and what I am trying to do with the book, that we met up at the right time and we were able to find each other and work together and start something new — me with my writing career and her with Sweet July Books — and putting out books that speak to writers of colour and authors of colour, especially those like myself who maybe have Jamaican background. It just feels kind of like a dream. I couldn’t make it up if I tried, honestly,” Tobias told the Jamaica Observer.

She shared that growing up, she could always be found with a book in her hand or at the library, and being a published author is definitely a dream come through.

After her father passed away, Tobias shared that she experienced feelings of anxiety and fear, and needed an outlet. The thought of writing a horror novel then crossed her mind, as she felt it would allow her “to channel some of that anxiety into something where when you feel scared and when you feel uneasy, it actually makes sense”.

Her mind immediately drifted to the folk tales she would hear from her Jamaican mother about ghosts, most commonly referred to as duppies in Jamaica.

“I remember she told me a story about soon after her father passed away. She was about 12 years old, and there were a lot of kids, cousins, people in the house, and babies. They [the babies] would not stop crying for anything, and it was making everyone lose their minds, until one day my grandmother walked into the nursery and looked around and said, ‘You have to leave the babies alone. You cannot take care of them any more.’

“All of the babies quieted down, and that’s when they realised that my grandfather was still trying to take care of the children after he passed, but he was upsetting them,” she recalled.

“He left them alone, and instead, he started protecting the family and he was kind of intense, but I think it was a better fit for him,” she laughed.

“I think about that story all the time, because it’s both kind of funny and kind of sweet in a sort of backward way, and I think it shows that a duppy doesn’t always have to be scary. It’s all dependent on the situation. I’m glad that my mom has those sweet stories about her father, even after he passed, that she can hold on to,” said Tobias.

She told the Sunday Observer that her mother would also tell her that the smell of a honeysuckle meant that a duppy was around, and that inspired the title or her book. However, readers would have to purchase a copy to find out what the bone in Honeysuckle and Bone means, she joked, not wanting to give away the secret.

“In this book, that is true for Carina. Every time she smells honeysuckle, something bad is about to happen to her, but it also just becomes a metaphor for what she is running away from in the [United] States — her own guilt and her own secrets,” Tobias explained.

She added that so much of the story is also about Carina’s lack of connection to her Jamaican heritage and wanting to know more. However, she is not met with any answers from her mother, who refuses to touch the topic.

“Carina’s story is very much inspired by a lot of things I felt growing up. Both of my parents lived very different lives than I did, and so I always felt a bit disconnected from both sides of myself,” said Tobias.

While her mother was from Jamaica, her father grew up in the United States in an era where segregation was a huge topic — an experience much different from her own upbringing in modern New York.

“With my mother, it was very similar. I thought it was so cool that she was from another country and had a very different experience than I did, having way more siblings than I did, and living on a farm for some time. The stories she told me were just so unrelatable but interesting, and so I couldn’t imagine myself in either of those worlds.

“Growing up, there was definitely that separation, and so I imagined Carina would probably feel very similarly, thinking there is so much I don’t know about this part of myself. I want to experience it, and I want to learn more. That’s what the story allowed her to do,” she explained.

Since its release, Tobias said she has received a wealth of support from readers, including people of Jamaican heritage, who say the book resonates with them and has taught them so much about the Jamaican culture.

“More than anything, I think I’ve heard from people who are not Jamaican at all, who said, ‘I didn’t know anything about Jamaican culture, and I feel like I’ve learned so much; this is so interesting.’ That’s been very rewarding.

“When you write a story not knowing if anyone is actually going to be interested, and to see how that has played out and how many people were interested in something that was born from the stories that my mom would tell me growing up, I’m like, ‘Wow’. It’s very exciting and fulfilling,” she said.

Tobias shared that the book has also refuelled a desire to revisit the Caribbean island, sharing that her childhood memories of visits to Jamaica are starting to disappear.

Until then, she will focus on her second book, which will also be set in Jamaica. While it will not focus on the Jamaican duppy, Tobias said it is sure to be an interesting read.