Chasing Freedom: the Story Behind the Story
It all started in China. Yes, you read that right. The origins of my book about Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony has everything to do with China. Let me explain. In 1988, I was asked to write a few monologues for theater pieces on American History that would be performed in a series of theaters […]
To Blurb or Not to Blurb
I love a good read. As for a free book, that gets me salivating as quickly as the offer of dark chocolate. Well, almost! So when a publisher sends me a book to blurb, my initial response is elation. After all, a new book promises the potential of a new literary adventure. Or it may […]
The Writing Process Blog Tour
Have you ever been on a blog tour? This is my first time being part of one. Blame Children’s Poet Laureate, Kenn Nesbitt. He’s the one who roped me into this! Seriously, though, I’m happy to join the My Writing Process Blog Tour. I hope you can take something meaningful from my responses to the […]
Halfway to Perfect
The notion of physical perfection is nothing new, despite the fact that no such thing exists. Most of us girls grew up on teen magazines that spoon-fed us the idea of striving for body types they told us were beautiful, desirable, “perfect.” What has this led to? In case you haven’t noticed, the obese among […]
Welcome Precious
Where do ideas come from? It’s not always easy to say. Take Welcome Precious. One day, someone—I don’t remember who—said “You should write a baby book.” I snickered. I had exactly zero interest in writing another baby book. Years earlier, I’d done one for Essence Magazine. That one was a work-for-hire, but still. Surely one […]
Barack Obama
You know how I’m always saying I’m up for a challenge? Well, with this book, God called me on it. Everything about this book was impossible. In 2008, I was going along, minding my own business, writing my books and sweating the latest deadline. I’d instructed my agent to restrain herself from offering me any new […]
It’s Raining Laughter
If there’s such a thing as a backwards approach to creating a picture book, I’m something of an expert. On three separate occasions, I’ve crafted books in precisely that way. First, there was Something On My Mind, with art by Tom Feelings. Next came From a Child’s Heart, with art by Brenda Joysmith. And last […]
Talkin’ about Bessie, Part II
Talkin’ About Bessie, my biography of aviator, Elizabeth Coleman, was an exercise in extreme patience and perseverance. If you’ve read Part I of this blog post, you already know how taxing this project was from the start! The entire saga was a bit too long for one blog post, though, so I decided to break […]
Talkin’ about Bessie, Part I
The Book that Almost Wasn’t: That could be the title of this book. The journey from concept to bookshelves is a bit of a saga. Some books are harder to birth than others, and Bessie was a book-baby in breach! I’ll explain. It seems like forever ago that then Orchard editor Melanie Kroupa asked me […]
When Gorilla Goes Walking
Godzilla. That was the original name of my feline character. I chose the name because it expressed the size and ferocity of her personality. It was also a bit of a joke, of course, because she was very small and, well, kittenish. But don’t tell her that! As perfect as her chosen name was, I had […]