Author J.D. Myall Blends Time Travel and Black History in Heart’s Gambit

In Heart’s Gambit, two families escape slavery with the help of magic — but only by agreeing to a deadly generational game that forces their descendants to fight to keep their freedom.

It’s a premise that blends time travel, romance, and history — and it forms the foundation of J.D. Myall’s newly released novel, now available in signed copies at Barnes & Noble in Fayetteville following her weekend appearance there.

The fantasy novel, recommended for readers 14 and up — or, as some might say, 14 to 94 — released February 3 and explores what happens when love interrupts a curse designed to last for generations.

A Generational Duel

The novel opens 100 years before the main storyline begins.

“In the prologue of the book, it’s 100 years before the actual book starts, and it’s on the plantation, and their ancestors are trying to escape slavery,” Myall explained. “They’re caught by the Mistress of the plantation, who is also a witch, and she makes a deal with them to give them magic and the ability to time travel so they can escape slavery. But in order to do that, they have to play this game called the Tether, where they have to compete against each other once a generation to keep their power and their freedom.”

A century later, the descendants are still locked in that deadly cycle — until Emma and Malcolm, sworn enemies in the generational match, fall in love.

“It’s like Outlander meets The Night Circus and Caraval,” Myall said. “It has the time travel and romance element of Outlander, but then it has the magical, the magic in the setting, the detailed setting of like the Caraval series or The Night Circus.”

The novel moves across eras, placing Black characters inside moments that are both fictional and historically recognizable.

“They go to certain places, like they go to a segregated diner,” she said. “One of the four little girls in the church bombing happens to be a customer… You get to see Black people in 1920s New Orleans.”

In one scene, the characters pass Black Wall Street as it burns — but because they are time traveling, the destruction rewinds into prosperity.

“You can see it like in reverse, where it’s on fire and then it’s not, and you can see the area thriving.”

The novel is not a history textbook, she emphasized, but history pulses through its setting.

“Being that they’re people of color and they’re moving through time, the trips are different for them.”

A Love Letter to Culture

Myall describes the book as both an adventure and something more personal.

“I want them to have a good time. It’s an adventure and it’s a romance,” she said. “But also at this time, you know, in Black History Month, when people are trying so desperately to erase Black history, I want to preserve, in my own small way, pockets of our history and our culture.”

“To me, it’s like a love letter to my culture and my people,” she said. “And I want to preserve a little bit about that. Tell my story. Tell our story in our own words.”

Her connection to history is not only literary, but personal.

Her grandfather served with the U.S. Capitol Police after retiring from the Air Force and was present when Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday was officially established as a federal holiday. Archival photos show him on duty at the Capitol, including one image of him handing Coretta Scott King the final vote count confirming the legislation, and another with former First Lady Barbara Bush.

“At the heart of it, I really want people to just be entertained and have a good story.”

From Reader to Writer

Myall has been writing for as long as she can remember. An Army brat whose father retired from Fort Benning, she grew up traveling across the country before settling in Georgia.

Books became constant companions.

“I was obsessed with The Outsiders to the point where I memorized the whole first page as a kid,” she said.

But she noticed something missing.

“There wasn’t a character that looked like me in it,” she said. “I would rewrite the story with me as a character in my head.”

The turning point came when she discovered Octavia Butler’s Kindred.

“For me, Kindred was very impactful, because she showed me that time travel could happen from a perspective of a Black woman,” Myall said. “It was like a light bulb for me.”

“If kids can’t see things, they don’t know they can be things,” she said.

Years later, after continuing to write and study craft, she earned her MFA from Drexel University, where she was mentored by New York Times bestselling author Sadeqa Johnson, author of Yellow Wife, The House of Eve, and Keeper of Lost Children. Johnson’s work has been selected for Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club.

After graduating, Myall co-chaired the MFA Alumni Association at Drexel and now serves as an adjunct instructor in the program, mentoring emerging writers while continuing her work in the public library system.

A Long Road to Publication

Though Heart’s Gambit is her first traditionally published novel, the road to publication was years in the making.

“I’ve been writing for years, and I tell people, publishing is kind of like throwing spaghetti at a wall and waiting to see what sticks.”

She once self-published a book in 2015.

“It’s a really bad title. I hope no one finds it,” she said. “Looking back, I deserved those denials. It wasn’t time yet.”

Determined to break into the industry, Myall volunteered at literary awards and surrounded herself with authors and publishing professionals. Eventually, she interviewed Dhonielle Clayton and “shot her shot.”

“I basically said, ‘Hey, you know, I write too.’ And she said, ‘Send me a sample.’”

The response came quickly.

“She called me back 15 minutes later and was like, ‘Let’s work.’”

Heart’s Gambit sold on proposal to Wednesday Books, a division of Macmillan.

What followed was a season of unexpected setbacks.

After being hit by a car, Myall later suffered a pulmonary embolism.

“That could’ve took me out,” she said. “I was in the hospital for days and days and days.”

Then a storm dropped a tree onto the house she was renting, forcing her family into a hotel for two weeks while she searched for a new place to live.

“It was like life kept continuously life-ing,” she said.

She wrote parts of the novel from a hospital bed and ultimately met her deadline — “barely by the skin of my teeth.”

Family Ties to Fayetteville

Myall lives in Columbus, where she works for the Chattahoochee Valley Library System, but she has family ties to Fayetteville and visits regularly. Her uncle lives locally, and she was in town over the weekend for a signing at Barnes & Noble.

Since the book’s February 3 release, she has been traveling regionally for bookstore events while balancing her library job and raising four children, two of whom are on the autism spectrum. The library system itself hosted a launch celebration across its seven branches, marking the debut of her first traditionally published novel.

What Comes Next

The novel is the first in a planned two-book series, and Myall is already in revisions for the sequel.

“I’m in revisions for book two. The draft is done, and we’re going back and forth with editorial.”

And she’s thinking ahead.

“I also want to play around with vampires,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about doing vampires and time travel together.”

Myall also hosts the podcast Craft Chat Chronicles, featuring interviews with bestselling authors, literary agents, and publishing professionals. More information is available at www.jdmyall.com.Signed copies of Heart’s Gambit are currently available at Barnes & Noble in Fayetteville.