The genesis for my new blog focus is somewhat sprawling. It’s taken me a long time to figure out what I want to say about the real world (fiction comes easy). But I like to think that when a course of action is the right fit, there will be multiple paths leading you to it…. Read more »
interviews
On Violence and Racism, Then and Now
I’ve just been reminded of this video interview that I did for Zetta Elliott more than a year ago, after a panel at the New York Public Library. This is one of my favorite videos to date of me talking about the motivations behind writing The Rock and the River. Plus, after my part, Zetta… Read more »
Cynsational Me
My guest post was featured yesterday on Cynsations, author Cynthia Leitich Smith‘s awesome all-things-kidlit blog. I blogged about my inspirations for writing Camo Girl, my novel about friendship and fitting in in middle school. Camo Girl deals with some hot-button issues of the day, like bullying, but mainly it is about learning to recognize real… Read more »
Camo Girl on the Radio
I was recently invited to speak on NPR’s Michael Eric Dyson show, interviewed by (you guessed it) Michael Eric Dyson, bestselling author, educator and radio personality. It’s always fun and exciting to be interviewed, but it’s even more so to be interviewed by someone whose books have been in my collection probably since before I… Read more »
The Brown Bookshelf: 28 Days Later
I am featured on The Brown Bookshelf today as part of their 28 Days Later campaign, an annual tribute to African American authors and illustrators. Author Kelly Starling Lyons interviewed me on such compelling topics as The Rock and the River, civil rights, what people are saying about my book, why middle schoolers never fail… Read more »
SCBWI Soundbite
Blogger Lee Wind interviewed me as a first time SCBWI Conference attendee. I talked about my experience. Not too shabby, for a spontaneous “What did you learn this weekend?” on-camera moment. If I do say so myself…. For more videos and a whole recap of events, visit the Official SCBWI Conference Blog.
What A Girl Wants: Writing Multicultural Characters
Okay….so I just wrote a long post about why everyone should pop over to Chasing Ray and read the latest “What a Girl Wants” conversation….then Blogger ate it. Grrr. So, more on the why later, but anyone with an interest in multicutural characters in YA literature should pop over HERE for a peek.
What a Girl Wants: Detective Stories
The next installment of Colleen Mondor’s “What a Girl Wants” panel interview series is up at Chasing Ray. It’s an awesome discussion! Today we’re talking about the role of the girl detective in YA literature. So……..love Nancy Drew? Agatha Christie? Hermione Granger? Pop over to the forum and weigh in with your own thoughts. Missed… Read more »
What A Girl Wants, What A Girl Reads
The “What a Girl Wants” interview series has launched over at Chasing Ray. Today we’re talking about what we read as tweens/teens that most impacted us. Check it out! And then join the discussion in the comments section. This is really fun. I’m thrilled to be a part of this fabulous group of writer women!
What A Girl Wants
Colleen Mondor, of Chasing Ray , is hosting a brand new, exciting round table of women authors talking about “What a Girl Wants.” It launches later this week, and I’ll be participating! Here’s a sneak peek at Colleen’s introduction to the conversation: “I’ve been a bit bothered for awhile now about the kind of books… Read more »