When Deesha Philyaw sat down to write her debut short story collection, The Secret Lives Of Church Ladies, she wanted to depict the hidden, imagined lives of the women she grew up observing. The finished product is nine interlocking stories exploring the lives of Black women, sex and the church. “[They’re] the kinds of things that Black women whisper amongst ourselves,” she has explained. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you’re in luck, an HBO Max TV series of the collection is also in the works, optioned by actor and producer Tessa Thompson. Read an exclusive extract from the story Eula below.