In this episode of The Author’s Mic™, Kelly Morgan sits down with indie author Dorcas Renee to discuss her powerful novels Y’all Chose This and Wait, What?, her path to self-publishing, and how storytelling became a tool of healing and reclamation. Discover her books, her journey, and where to find her work.

Finding Your Voice Again: A Conversation With Author Dorcas Renee

Hey fam, welcome back to The Author’s Mic™ — where indie authors come to share their work, their journey, and the real stories behind the stories they write.

This week, I sat down with the brilliant Dorcas Renee, an author whose work digs deep into the emotional and political moments that shape who we become. Her novels explore identity, belonging, displacement, community, and the quiet ways ordinary people navigate extraordinary circumstances.

And trust me — both of her books hit hard in the best possible way.

From Journalism to Fiction to Finding Her Voice Again

Dorcas didn’t arrive at authorship through the front door — she found her way back to writing after a deeply personal life shift. A divorce temporarily shook her confidence, but storytelling helped her reclaim her voice.

She started with plays, fragments of novels, and ultimately took the NaNoWriMo challenge in 2014. That’s where her first full draft of Y’all Chose This was born. And even though traditional publishers told her the themes were “too risky,” she knew her stories mattered.

So she self-published — not out of defeat, but out of ownership.

“As women, as Black women, as people of color, when have we ever had the luxury of waiting for permission? I decided: I am acceptable. I wrote this for a reason.”

A word. A whole word.

Book #1 — Y’all Chose This: The Diaries of Trina Part

Dorcas describes her debut as contemporary political social fiction — a diary-style narrative set in a United States quietly sliding from democracy into autocracy.

Trina, the protagonist, is relatable, flawed, Christian-ish, conservative-ish, and trying to hold her life together as the world she knows slowly shifts under her feet.

We see everything through her eyes — her relationships, her community, and her unraveling reality.

She’s not an all-knowing narrator; she’s an everyday woman trying to make sense of chaos with the limited information she has.

It’s fiction, but also… not. Dorcas writes as a student of history, informed by years of working in global communities where these shifts have already happened.

Nothing new under the sun.

Book #2 — Wait, What? The Decimation of Lady Liberty

This loose companion novel explores another unsettling possibility: a United States that repeals birthright citizenship, redefining who “counts” as American.

Follow, a Sierra Leonean immigrant, and Solomon, his U.S.-born teenage son, are swept up in the fallout. When Solomon is deported to a country he’s never known, the story becomes one of identity, survival, and the human spirit’s capacity to rebuild after devastation.

Dorcas balances the brutality of political change with the resilience of ordinary people. It’s a story of loss — and rebuilding.

Will There Be an Audiobook?

Short answer: yes — eventually.

Readers have been asking nonstop, and Dorcas plans to create audiobooks for both titles. She wants to do it well and is currently researching cost, process, and narration options (including her incredibly talented sister).

Connect With Dorcas Renee

Learn more about her books and upcoming projects here:

👉🏾 https://dorcasrenee.com 

Join the Indie Reader Society™ – Our Official Book Club

If Dorcas’s books sparked your interest, you can absolutely pitch them to the Indie Reader Society™, Bright Headed Publishing’s official book club for indie authors and real readers.

Readers buy the books.
Authors get support, visibility, and a dedicated Q&A.
And yes — you can pitch your book directly through the website.

Join or pitch here:

👉🏾 https://brightheadedpublishing.com

👉🏾 https://brightheadedpublishi ng.com/be-a-guest 

Want to Be a Guest on The Author’s Mic™?

If you’re an indie author, poet, editor, or publishing creative and want to share your story, pull up a chair.

Tap the link below and submit your info — it’s truly that simple:

👉🏾 https://brightheadedpublishing.com/be-a-guest

Your Free Indie Publishing Guide

New writer? First-time indie author?
Download your free 44-page guide So You Wanna Write a Book — Without Losing Your Mind.

It won’t write the book for you… but it will help you publish it.

Grab it here:

👉🏾 https://brightheadedpublishing.com

Final Words From Dorcas Renee

When asked what she’d tell someone afraid to share their story, Dorcas left us with this:

“Just do you. They’ll adjust. Trust yourself. Create. Let your artist soul breathe. You’re doing it for you — give yourself that freedom.”

And when asked if she proudly claims the title “author” today?

“Yes. Because I’m buying into myself. I’m naming the gift.”

We love to see it.