July 2008

June was hopping! Talk about starting summer off with a bang. My newest book, Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope, coming out in September, received favorable mentions in an Associated Press article, a Publishers Weekly cover story, and a short feature in Newsweek. There's lots of great early buzz about this book, and that definitely put a smile on my face.

This year's American Library Association Conference was held in Anaheim, CA, not far from my home. As a result, I got to play host to a few good friends in the business: librarians, authors and literacy specialists. Their good vibes still permeate the air in my humble home.

Guess what? I got together with a good friend—my main computer guru, Craig Northcutt—and recorded poems from several of my books to add to the website. Look for audio clips to start showing up on my site any day now.

As promotional plans heat up for my Obama book, folks keep asking, "What're you working on now? Well, that's easy: two young adult novels, a picture book of historical fiction, a new chapter book series, and keeping my sanity! I seem to be allergic to working on one book at a time!

Meanwhile, I've always got other irons in the fire, like the two writing workshops I taught at Harding University in Arkansas. One workshop was on poetry, and the second focused on storytelling through poetry (picture-books, novels-in-verse, etc.). Both were well received, plus I got to hang out with my pal, Alexandria LaFaye, an awesome award-winning author of historical fiction. Check out her novel Worth when you get a chance!

All for now! Have a great, and a safe, Fourth of July.

Nikki

This month, instead of sharing a poem with you, I've decided on a rant.

The other day, someone said to me "You're lucky to be able to make a living at your art." I nearly jumped out of my skin. Not because I hadn't heard this a thousand times before, but because luck has nothing to do with my success! I will gladly admit that I have been blessed, that I operate under God's grace. No question! But my career is not based on luck. It is based on risky decisions (resigning from my cushy, corporate job to pursue my dream); a willingness to suffer insecurity (years without health insurance, months when I was unable to pay the rent, weeks when I received one of those lovely red-letter warnings from the gas company, or the electric company, or the phone company letting me know my service was about to be "interrupted"); tenacity (submitting manuscripts time, and time, and time again in the face of constant rejection; spending two and a half years reviewing children's books just so I could get a feel for the market before I ever even submitted a single manuscript for consideration; sacrifice (When friends were on vacation, I was home writing. When they were enjoying a holiday, I was writing. When they were picnicking on a Saturday afternoon, I was writing); and an unshakable faith in my talent, bolstered by friends like Nikki Giovanni, Julius Lester, Toni Cade Bambara, and mentors like James Baldwin. It has taken me 31 years of publishing books for children, plus at least ten years of hard work before that, to bring me to the place I am today. So please, the next time you encounter an author or illustrator, and you are tempted to tell them how lucky they are to make a living at their art, remember this rant, and bite your tongue.

Nikki

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