The Stacks Podcast — Ep. 385: "A Human Champagne Bubble" with Addie E. Citchens

Host: Traci Thomas
Guest: Addie E. Citchens (author of "Dominion")
Date: August 20, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of The Stacks features an in-depth conversation between host Traci Thomas and debut novelist Addie E. Citchens, author of Dominion. The discussion centers around the creative journey behind the book, the nuances of Black Southern storytelling, and the ways literature confronts culture, masculinity, longing, and the lived experience of Mississippi. Throughout, Thomas and Citchens bring warmth and candor, peppered with humor, vulnerability, and spirited literary insight.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction & Background

• Introduction of Guest and Book
  • Traci effusively welcomes Addie and gushes about Dominion being among her favorite reads of the year.
  • Addie shares her excitement at finally publishing her debut novel after years of writing and dreaming.

“I've been waiting a long time for this. Like, a long time.”
— Addie E. Citchens (03:50)

Crafting Dominion: Origins and Writing Process

• Book Summary (No Spoilers)
  • Dominion is set in Dominion, Mississippi and follows a small-town pastor, his wife Priscilla, and their golden-boy son, with narration from the perspectives of the mother and the son's girlfriend, Diamond.
  • Themes: love, longing, secrets, hypocrisy, and family drama.

"It tells you how hard we love and what we miss when we love so hard."
— Addie E. Citchens (04:20)

• The Importance of Surprise & Secrets
  • Both Traci and Addie agree that one of the book’s strengths is its ability to surprise the reader.
  • Addie stresses how much she values keeping certain plot elements hidden so readers can experience the book as intended.

"It's deceptively simple. And then you kind of realize, wow, this is what this is about..."
— Addie E. Citchens (05:23)

Themes: Longing, Secrets, and Masculinity

• Crafting Characters + Observational Honesty
  • Addie describes being a “nosy writer,” collecting voices and stories from real life, especially the churchgoing women she grew up around.
  • She focuses on what people express and what they hide, both in fiction and real relationships.

"When you listen in as much as I do, you notice what people are saying and what they're not saying."
— Addie E. Citchens (06:52)

• Longing as Central Emotional State

  • Both narrators (Priscilla and Diamond) are steeped in longing—not for “swoon and pine” romance, but for love, respect, or even basic acceptance.
  • Addie says this isn’t just storytelling: “That’s what I’ve seen. That’s what I know. I’ve always seen women long.”

• Masculinity and Power Dynamics

  • The novel interrogates the community’s gender roles, particularly the balance of power and responsibility given to boys versus girls.

"They hand girls responsibility while handing boys power … when you realize almost all you’ve been taught is some subtle form of misogyny..."
— Addie E. Citchens (16:58)

Mississippi as Muse and Setting

• On the Influence of Mississippi
  • Addie sees Mississippi as a complex, creative, and often resistant place for Black writers, full of both pain and beauty.
  • Mississippi’s storytelling tradition, especially its blues legacy, is a huge influence on her work.

"To be able to be funny, to be able to be glittery, to be able to express yourself in a state that tries to silence that out of you … Mississippi is the source of that creativity."
— Addie E. Citchens (19:20)

• Future Settings
  • While her next work is set in Memphis, Addie says Southern culture and music—New Orleans included—will always permeate her stories.

Form, Humor, and the Black Southern Voice

• On Structure and Perspective
  • The alternating narrators (Priscilla and Diamond) were always core to the novel, even though earlier drafts included more from the pastor and his son.
  • Addie cut those to keep the focus on the women and to avoid centering “the apex predators”—cis-hetero men—in the narrative.

“It's like asking the wolf to explain the hunt. He just wants to eat you.”
— Addie E. Citchens (28:41)

• Genre and Style
  • Addie resists genre constraints, emphasizing musicality and the specific cadences of Black Southern storytelling.

"There's a certain musicality of where I'm from that cannot be squeezed into technically perfect fiction."
— Addie E. Citchens (13:21)

• The Role of Humor
  • Despite dark themes, Dominion is laced with wit and joy—what Addie calls “the black folk thing”: finding humor even in hard times.

"I've been told I'm a human champagne bubble. It's just like that black folk thing... even in the midst of the worst circumstances, somebody's gonna crack a joke."
— Addie E. Citchens (29:57)

Writing Rituals, Process, and Book Design

• Writing Routine
  • Addie writes primarily at home, twice or three times a day, and uses music to set the tone and immerse herself in a scene.
  • Coffee and joints are writing companions; she’s meticulous about language, especially rhythm and cadence.

"I'm very nitpicky. I'm like period semicolon. Like, I'm that kind of writer... because of a very particular cadence I like to hear."
— Addie E. Citchens (39:49)

• Music for Dominion

  • Songs: “I’m Just a Nobody” by the Williams Brothers; “Who Wrote the Book of the Seven Seals?” by the Pattersonaires.
  • Music helps her drop into the emotional register she seeks for her work.

• Titles and Covers

  • The original title was In the Image of the Beast; it became Dominion after a collaborative process with her editor.
  • Addie was actively involved in the cover design and color selection, drawing inspiration from personal and symbolic sources.

The Path to Publication

• The Long Journey
  • The book took about 15 years from first drafts to publication; Addie started and paused the project many times, revisiting it when inspiration returned.
  • The ending underwent multiple revisions, only crystalizing after Addie’s editor asked, “Is this novel saying what you wanted to say?”

“I had to keep on living to be able to put it together in the way that it came together.”
— Addie E. Citchens (09:19)

Community, Recommendations, & Legacy

• Meaning of Success
  • For Addie, real success is sparking conversation and transformation—plus, she jokes, “selling a million copies.”

"Success for me looks like conversation … and what might change as a result of it.”
— Addie E. Citchens (45:22)

• Books in Conversation with Dominion

  • Sula by Toni Morrison
  • The Color Purple by Alice Walker
  • Heavy by Kiese Laymon (for Mississippi context)

• Dream Reader

  • Addie’s ultimate wish: that Toni Morrison could read her novel, followed by her own grandmother.

"Because if my grandmother—because my grandmother also was under educated ... but she was very sharp witted. ... I think she would be delighted at it.”
— Addie E. Citchens (51:32)

Memorable Quotes

• “Genre is useful when something is mediocre, but when something is really good, genre quickly becomes a barrier.”
  — Traci Thomas (13:37)

• "There's a certain musicality of where I'm from that cannot be squeezed into technically perfect fiction."
  — Addie E. Citchens (13:21)

• “I've been told I'm a human champagne bubble.”
  — Addie E. Citchens (29:57)

• "It's like asking the wolf to explain the hunt. He just wants to eat you."
  — Addie E. Citchens (28:41)

Notable Moments & Timestamps

• 04:20 — Addie gives her spoiler-free pitch of Dominion
• 05:23 — The importance of surprise and secrets for readers
• 13:21 — On Black southern musicality versus constraints of genre
• 16:58 — On masculinity, misogyny, and generational power
• 19:20 — The creative legacy and resistance of Mississippi writers
• 29:57 — Addie as “human champagne bubble” and on humor
• 28:41 — Cutting cis-het male perspectives from narration
• 39:49 — Addie’s writing rituals and obsession with cadence
• 45:22 — What success looks like for Addie
• 51:32 — Who Addie wishes could read her book

Conclusion

Traci closes the episode by urging listeners to read Dominion, not only because of its literary merit but to support Addie’s career and spur conversation. Dominion is positioned as an immersive, challenging, and often joyous novel—a rich addition to the canon of Southern Black literature.

For more details, book lists, and upcoming episodes, visit thestackspodcast.com

Episode edited for content—ads, intros, and outros omitted to focus on core discussion.