The
story behind my writing career is truly a blessing. I have always
enjoyed reading African-American fiction, but as a high school
teacher, I rarely find the time to do so. At the end of the
school year in June 2004, my custodian was cleaning out student
lockers. I asked him to please give me any books that he might
find. Among his various findings of dictionaries and textbooks,
was a worn copy of Daaimah S. Poole’s urban contemporary romance,
Got a Man. Although I was a self-proclaimed slow reader,
I devoured her book in two days. Wanting to know more about
this author, I paid a visit to her web page, read her bio, and
sent her an e-mail. She reminded me a lot of myself. I read
about how she began writing stories in marble composition books.
That in itself stirred a challenge. Immediately, I began writing
a story. Every day, I thought about the story and the characters.
This made me realize that writing was something I was supposed
to do. I was always good with words and have been able to write
papers for school in a concise manner. Writing creatively was
a new endeavor, but after sharing my prologue with several people
who enjoyed it, I felt certain that I was on the right path.
In August 2004, I met Mark Anthony, founder of Q-Boro Books
at Unity Day in Philadelphia. I spoke with him briefly and he
shared his thoughts about writing what I call “crossover” fiction
– stories with an urban backdrop and a spiritual undertone.
After a few months of e-mailing inquiries and doing lots of
research on the craft of writing, I finished my manuscript on
February 13, 2005. I e-mailed it to Mark at Q-Boro and also
mailed it to several agents. I received five rejections within
a two-week period. I did not let this deter me, because I had
several people in my corner, including my students. One student,
Sade Thomas-Clarke, who had been my biggest supporter encouraged
me almost daily. On March 8, Sade’s 18th birthday, I received
an offer from Q-Boro. I accepted it and the rest, as they say,
is history.
The
story behind my writing career is truly a blessing. I have always
enjoyed reading African-American fiction, but as a high school
teacher, I rarely find the time to do so. At the end of the
school year in June 2004, my custodian was cleaning out student
lockers. I asked him to please give me any books that he might
find. Among his various findings of dictionaries and textbooks,
was a worn copy of Daaimah S. Poole’s urban contemporary romance,
Got a Man. Although I was a self-proclaimed slow reader,
I devoured her book in two days. Wanting to know more about
this author, I paid a visit to her web page, read her bio, and
sent her an e-mail. She reminded me a lot of myself. I read
about how she began writing stories in marble composition books.
That in itself stirred a challenge. Immediately, I began writing
a story. Every day, I thought about the story and the characters.
This made me realize that writing was something I was supposed
to do. I was always good with words and have been able to write
papers for school in a concise manner. Writing creatively was
a new endeavor, but after sharing my prologue with several people
who enjoyed it, I felt certain that I was on the right path.