HOUSTON – Third Ward native J. Elle has been on Houston Life before, and today she returned with an EXCITING new project! The New York Times best-selling author just wrote a book inspired by Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid!
J. Elle is a prolific Black author and advocates for marginalized voices in both publishing and her community.
From growing up being poor, to a first-generation college graduate, her tenacity and passion dates back to earlier in her career with education. She taught tweens and teens from underserved areas how to fight for their dreams.
The Little Mermaid is a childhood classic for SO many of us, including the younger generation. She calls this recent project “historic” and “groundbreaking.”
“It’s unreal,” she says, when asked how she felt about being chosen to write “The Little Mermaid: Against the Tide.” She also adds, “I think I probably GASPED.”
With the new movie coming out soon, there’s been lots of buzz going around, after Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel.
Before writing, she prepared by watching The Little Mermaid many times, and she was also able to see the script, so she could get an idea of what the movie would be like.
Unlike part of the original storyline with Ariel and Prince Eric, she excludes romance from her book. Instead, she focuses on Ariel’s relationship with her 7 sisters.
The book also follows 15-year-old Ariel as she prepares to celebrate a coming-of-age ceremony. There are themes of divided families, heartbreak, and mystery.
In this upcoming read, she’s giving people the opportunity to understand Ariel’s story and her family background. Readers will be able to dig into what happened to Ariel’s mom, and how that ties into her confidence to break the water in the Little Mermaid film.
Watch the video above to get a peek at what you can expect in her book!
J. Elle has an upcoming event J. Elle for The Little Mermaid book presented by Kindred Stories happening on April 11th at 7 pm.
For more information about the event, click here.
You can pre-order the book here.
You can connect with J. Elle on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.