Male Tuesday

2-4 April, Forever My Lady by Jeff Rivera is free to download on Amazon. Please take the time to download it. Please!! Take the time to download and have your friends download it, too! You don’t have to have a Kindle or plan to read the book. You do have to take the time to show your support for books by Latinos. Download free here.

A synopsis of the book from Amazon:

Dio Rodriguez grew up on the streets and knew all too well the hard, cool feeling of the barrel of a gun tucked down the back of his jeans. But his hard exterior softened when he met Jennifer. Jennifer understands Dio like no one else and makes him want to be a better man. Suddenly a drive-by shooting lands Dio in a prison boot camp and sends Jennifer to the hospital. When Dio learns that Jennifer is pregnant, he realizes that he must find a way to turn his life around and return to his lady. But can trainee Rodriguez get his act together among the hardcases in prison? And will Jennifer be waiting for him if and when he does?

Literature by authors of color is definitely worth supporting. Have you read any of Benjamin Alire Saenz’s books yet? His YA novels include Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood, Last Night I Sang to the Monster and Aristotle and Donte Discover the Secrets of the Universe. I loved Aristotle and Dante and was not surprised after it won so many awards at ALA Midwinter. I was able to speak with Saenz at ALAN last November and when our conversation was done, he actually offered me the copy of Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club which he had been carrying with him. I should have had him autograph it.

Benjamin Alire Sáenz has been awarded the prestigious 2013 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for his book Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club!The PEN/Faulkner Award is America’s largest peer-juried prize for fiction, and past winners have included Phillip Roth, Sherman Alexie, John Updike, Julie Otsuka, Ha Jin and others. As winner, Sáenz receives $15,000. Each of the four finalists—Amelia Gray for Threats (FSG); Laird Hunt for Kind One (Coffee House); T. Geronimo Johnson for Hold It ‘Til It Hurts (Coffee House); and, Thomas Mallon for Watergate (Pantheon)—receives $5,000. Sáenz is the first Mexican-American and the first Texan to win the award. It’s been 15 years since a small press published a PEN/Faulkner Award Winner. Cinco Puntos is wonderfully happy for Ben and extremely proud to have published his book.
Read more about the award in the El Paso Times.

(quoted from email from Cinco Puntos Press)

Yes, I should have had it autographed!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interview: B. A. Binns

Barbara Binns, the award winning author of Pull , (Westside, 2010) has a new book coming out this month. It is one of only four young adult books written by an author of color that is released this month. (Yes, only four because Leitich-Smith’s and Bruchac’s books are both re-releases.) Here’s a chance to get to know Barbara before you go order her new book!

 

Hi Barbara! Let’s start with a few short questions. Where did you grow up?
I grew up on the south side of Chicago and still live in the Chicago suburbs. Even though I have traveled and resided as far away as Washington D. C., I’ve always ended up returning home.

Then winter arrives, and I wonder what in the world is wrong with me, when I could be in Florida or southern California.

Roxi/aka’ Dakarai’

Do you have any pets?
I acquired a dog over Christmas. I say acquired because she was neither a gift nor a purchase. She had been taken from a shelter by my adult niece as a present for her daughter who decided she didn’t really want a dog. After that she was shuffled to several relatives who all decided a dog was more trouble than they had bargained. I met her as they were deciding to return her to the shelter. To prevent, in my foolishness I agreed to take her for a one-week trial basis. She’s still with me. Honestly, she is well behaved, housebroken, doesn’t chew. She does bark a little too much, and pulls on the leash when we walk (she is strooong!) but, I’ve begun buying doggie toys and treats. We are attached and she has to stay.

What do you enjoy watching on television?
I am into the dramas. I loved the first episodes of The Following and I’m already addicted. I think I’m attracted to the show’s villain because there’s something in me that is fascinated by the idea of a super-psychopath against a wounded hero. 

My real guilty pleasure is the restaurant reality show, Kitchen Nightmares. It’s the only reality show I feel required to watch. I think it must be Chef Ramsey and the way he totally tells it like it is. As a side-effect, every time I eat out I worry about what is happening in the back of the restaurant.

Meat or vegetables?
Come on, meat. I need my protein.

Are there any books that stand out in your memory from your childhood?

I was a voracious reader, and I moved to the adult shelves at a pretty young age, so most of my favorites are adult books. I was seriously in love with books by Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert Heinlein while still in elementary school.

 What book(s) are you in the middle of reading right now?
I just finished Holly Black’s curse worker trilogy: White Cat, Red Glove, and Black Heart. Its YA, paranormal, noir—a hero who can curse you with a touch having to decide between working for a mob family, the normal life of a curse worker, and the government which in his world isn’t really much better than the mob.

I’ve just started Strong Deaf by Lynn McElfresh, a story about two sisters, one deaf and one hearing, told in both voices.

 What is Being God about?

I have come to realize that almost everything I write is about family relationships. Theme-wise, Being God is about the effects of multi-generational substance abuse. The protagonist is Malik Kaplan who readiers will recognize as Pull’s villain. Pull showed him as a bully, with no respect for other people, including his parents and his girlfriend. Being God shows how he got that way.

 

Malik Kaplan is a former victim of bullies who now “gives back” by pushing others around. The Kaplan men have always been the top dogs at Farrington High School, and Malik is determined to make himself the worst of the worst. He also drinks, encouraged by his grandfather and uncle. Malik’s mother became the ultimate stay at home mother after an accident left her disfigured and unwilling to face the world. His father is an ACOA (adult child of alcoholics), who doesn’t understand boundary issues or how to be an effective parent, so he retreats into his work. Secretly, Malik and his father want to be close, but neither of them knows how.

 As Malik’s senior year winds down he is faced with the price of holding down the family legacy. He goes from the basketball court to a legal court after shouldering the blame for someone else’s crime. (He really didn’t think there would be much of a consequence.) Suddenly he loses his car and his place on the basketball team, and is faced with court-ordered community service shepherding an angry ten-year-old who hates the world. Next comes an “offer he can’t refuse” from the boy’s gang leader brother and an opponent he doesn’t want to fight. Barney, the fourteen-year-old girl from Pull is also in this story. She watched her alcoholic father abuse and murder her mother and now, she wants nothing to do with any bad boy, especially not one who thinks drinking is the way to forget his sins. 

Malik, Barney, and Malik’s father all have to come to terms with the meaning of friendship and of family as Malik spirals closer and closer to a bottom that could cost someone their life.

How did you come up with the title?

Some people have speculated that it’s because Malik is half Catholic and half Jewish (Hebrew Israelite). The original title was Badass, after the kind of person he thinks he wants to be. For a few months, that morphed into BAMF(I think I thought adults wouldn’t get the meaning). Then at some point I realized that part of my young alcoholic’s problem was a need to face his own reality, that he isn’t god, but he’s not the devil either. Both he and his father needed to accept the twelve steps of alcoholics anonymous (and of al-anon). Especially the first three steps:

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become

unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to

sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we

understood Him.

The Being God title came to me when I realized the story’s epiphany involved both Malik and his father realizing that their attempts to keep control over their lives—to be God, so to speak—were accelerating their problems and destroying their hopes of a family relationship. As I tell people, Malik has to learn that he’s not God, and not the devil either and, the title stuck.

Pull did so well for you, yet you’ve gone the route of self publishing. What happened?

After my first publisher, Westside books, went out of business, my agent was unable to find a home for the next book. I could not even find someone willing to take a chance on re-issuing Pull, a book that won numerous awards and sold out its first printing. At one point an editor even suggested I change what I write about and make my stories more “commercial,” then they might be more interested. I tried, but changing my style did not seem right.  I write to attract reluctant and at-risk readers. Most big publishers want stories designed to attract the widest possible audience. I decided to found my own company, allthecolorsoflove press, and became a tiny, boutique, independent publisher.

I won’t sacrifice quality any more than I would sacrifice story-line and concept.  I hire editors for my projects, and I have worked with three so far. Eventually I may pick one to have a permanent relationship. I need an editor to call me out when necessary, because self-editing takes me only so far.

It’s not an ideal situation. I have limited distribution and exposure. But I did manage to sign with Follett Library Services and books and eBooks are available from both Amazon and my publishing website, allthecolorsoflove.com.

At least this way my books will get out of my head and into print. Even if they only influence one reluctant reader, I feel I have done my job. But I know I have done more than that. I have donated copies of Pull to a number of schools and libraries. I have just sent copies to a juvenile detention facility and to a local therapeutic day school, because I want to make sure that kids who can really use a good book have access to mine. During February I will be donating copies to a number of Chicago Public Schools. Reluctant readers do not make publishers rich, but they do give me great satisfaction.

Can you give examples of some of the more commercial changes you were asked to make?

There were two areas. First, one group wanted the book from the female POV. They felt that would sell better. Another group asked me to remove references to race, especially from the main characters. Their reasoning was that that way anyone could see themselves in more generic characters.  I listened and understood their reasoning. If this is all a numbers game, those are paths that would probably lead to bigger numbers. But my gut said no.

Now, interestingly enough, and it purely my own decision that it is best for this particular story, my current WIP is being told from an alternating male and female point of view.  But my goal is still to reach out to more than just the eager reader, to appeal to kids – especially boys - who normally see no reason to pick up a book for enjoyment. If that makes me less commercial, I have learned to live with that.

Pull was your first book?! What was it that made you sit down and write this story?

Pull was my first published book, but not my first manuscript.  I wrote two others before Pull, both adult books, both meant to be romances. One of those books featured a grown-up Barney and her overbearing and over-protective older brother, David. A number of my reading partners were curious about what made him the kind of man he was. At the same time, I attended the 2009 AWP conference in Chicago, and sat in on a panel of teens discussing why a lot of teen boys avoid reading.  My brain grabbed the opportunity thinking I could write about the forces that shaped David. By letting him tell his own story in his own voice, he helped attract other young men to read about him.

It seems like now that you’ve started writing, you’ve found a passion. What is it about writing that makes it so necessary for you?

I think it’s the same thing that made it necessary for me to devour every book in sight during my childhood and early adult years.  Reading helped me develop empathy and learn to really care about others, and to understand people different from me. Even more, it took me to places I could not get to by myself, showed me that more was possible, and made me want to strive to achieve it.

Retirement gave me the time and energy to actually create as well as consume.  It rurns out I had a load of stories and characters inside me, sometimes they barely let me sleep with their desire to live out their lives. It was either let them rattle around inside my head, or put them on paper.

It really is a passion. I actually tried putting things away, to give myself a break from writing. One month off, I told myself. Everyone deserves a vacation. That “break” lasted two weeks. Two incredibly long weeks during which I nearly bit my fingers off to keep them from writing. I think now I need to write, whether or not anyone ever reads what I create.  But I am determined to let people read it. That’s where the passion comes from, I want to reach kids, let them see themselves in the pages of a book.

Is there a particularly genre that you haven’t written yet, that is somewhat of a stretch for you, but that you might like to try in the near future?

I admit a yen to try a paranormal. I have been researching African mythologies, and would love to make a break from contemporary realistic to do a non-traditional paranormal story involving that pantheon.

Thanks, Barbara! It was a pleasure! I wish you much success with you new book!

Male Monday: Craig Laurance Gidney

Craig Laurance Gidney is the author of Sea Swallow Me and Other Stories and the soon to be released Bereft (publication pushed back to February.)
This short bio from his Amazon page describes his talents.
Craig Laurance Gidney writes both contemporary, young adult and genre fiction. Recipient of the 1996 Susan C. Petrey Scholarship to the Clarion West writer’s workshop, Gidney has published works in the fantasy/science fiction, gay and young adult categories.

These works include “A Bird of Ice,” (from the anthology So Fey: Queer Fairy Fiction (Lethe Press)) which was on the short list for the 2008 Gaylactic Spectrum Award; “The Safety of Thorns,” which received special notice by editor Ellen Datlow in her 2006 Year’s Best Fantasy Horror summary; “Mauve’s Quilt” (from the anthology the young adult fantasy anthology Magic in the Mirrorstone (Wizards of the Coast)); and “Bereft,” included in the anthology From Where We Sit: Black Writers Write Black Youth (Tiny Satchel Press).

Gidney’s first collection, Sea, Swallow Me and Other Stories was nominated for the 2009 Lambda Literary Award in the Science. Fiction/Fantasy and Horror category.

And, here’s a chance to begin to know him personally!

 

Where did you grow up?

I am a native of Washington, DC.

Do you have any pets?

One tuxedo kitty, Cassie. She watched me write the book from her various perches.
What do you enjoy watching on television?

I do. I watch American Horror Story, some trash TV, and cartoons—particularly Simpsons, and Bob’s Burgers.

Meat or vegetables?

Both. I can’t quit meat!
Are there any books that stand out in your memory from your childhood?

The Secret Garden, A Wrinkle In Time, Bridge to Terabithia, the novels of Virginia Hamilton. Each of them opened my mind in a new way, and kindled my imagination.

What book(s) are you in the middle of reading right now?

The Devil In Silver, by Victor LaValle–a thriller about the mental health industry.

It seems that you are a short story/short fiction writer. What challenges you most in writing these?

The most challenging thing about being a short fiction writer is to make every word and image count. You have to create a world, an atmosphere and character in a limited amount of time. I love short fiction that has the density of a novel, but is brief. I often find that many of ‘failed’ short fiction is often the first chapter of a novel.

What drew you to write young adult fiction?

I’ve always read YA—they are kind of like my ‘popcorn’ books. I also think that YA books deal with pretty heavy and topical subjects. It’s an interesting audience to write for, as well.

Could you speak to the need for queer young adult literature written by authors of color?

I think that young adults—ages 13-18—need to see representations of themselves in fiction. I know that reading queer literature when I was young was a life altering event. And reading books by authors of color was the same. I was a very lonely teenager, with a deep dark secret. Reading Samuel Delany or James Baldwin helped me; they made me realize that I wasn’t alone.

In one of your interviews, you mentioned that your stories all begin with an image. What image inspired Bereft?

The image of a white mask over a black face inspired me. It’s the cover of a book by Franz Fanon—Black Skin, White Masks. My older brother had the book and I remember being spooked by it. When I sat down to write about Rafael Fannen, that image came to mind. A motif of masks runs throughout the book.

What is Bereft about?

 It’s the story of a boy who wins a scholarship to a prestigious religious school. He must deal with the culture shock—he’s from a different class and neighborhood than the other kids, He’s also learning about himself and his sexuality. In addition, his life at home is less than stable. The book is written in a third person limited style—you get to see and hear and feel everything Rafe feels.

Is there a teacher, coach or librarian you’d love to have read Bereft? Why?

I would love my writing teachers to read Bereft—it would show them how much I’ve learned from them. I had to use various techniques to write the book, and I have them to thank for showing me how to construct a sustained work.

When did you know you were meant to be a writer?

Frankly, I was good at nothing else. I was always creating characters and stories in my head, and writing them down just seemed like a natural extension of that.

Did you make a resolution for 2013?

To finish at least one of the novels that are brewing in my brain!

Craig, thanks so much for the interview and I wish you much success!

Interview: Alice Randall, Caroline Randall Williams, Shadra Strickland

Alice Randall is the only black woman in history to have written a number one country song. She’s a produced screenwriter and a successful author of contemporary adult fiction. Caroline Randall Williams, her daughter, is an award winning poet and the great-granddaughter of Arna Bontemps. Shadra Strickland  won the Ezra Jack Keats Award and the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent in 2009 for her work in her first picture book, Bird, written by Zetta Elliott. Strickland co-illustrated Our Children Can Soar, winner of a 2010 NAACP Image Award.

Yesterday, I posted a review of their soon to be released collaborative middle grade book, The Diary of B. B. Bright Possible Princess. Today, I’d like you to spend a little time getting to know these talented women!

Interview: The Diary of B.B. Bright Possible Princess

What a wonderful, precious book! How did you ladies decide on this collaboration?

Well, Caroline and I began this collaboration literally 25 years ago, August 24, 1987 when she was born. Before she saw daylight I was telling her stories. By the time she turned three, she was editing the stories, adding characters, suggesting events. Eventually we both fell in love with a black fairytale princess that we invented by telling stories back and forth to each other for years. When Caroline graduated from college we decided it was time to share our princess with the world. We eventually started looking for the perfect artist to give. B.B. physical life and found Shadra.

My awareness of the collaboration understandably begins a little later than my mothers, but I think she’s absolutely right; at about three, I distinctly recall beginning to chime in with my ideas about a princess that looked something like me. I had princess books, and historical books about brown children, but with very few exceptions, no fairy stories with girls of any color! That’s why it’s exciting for me that even though B.B. is brown, she meets queens from all over– China, Russia, Greece, Japan, Egypt– it’s time to see princesses from around the world, and I’m so pleased my mother and I are able to answer that call.

I didn’t realize that you’re a mother/daughter team! That makes the story even more special but, it makes me wonder if it was difficult to not to have more  of a presence of BB’s mother in the story?

Someone told me a long time ago, when you become a mother you step out of the picture and become a

Alice Randall & Carolyn Randall Williams

frame. I think that is something the Raven Queen understands. And B.B.’s story is the Raven Queen’s story–because it is every girl’s story. We are all called upon to one day start taking care of ourselves and encounter the world unsheltered by family but sustained by family love as well as our own courage, creativity, and curiosity.

This B.B.Bright is so very different from books we typically find for tweens. How difficult was it to get the book published?

A bit. People would love our princess but not quite know what to do with her. Caroline and I were steadfast. As women who had both been black girls searching the shelves for a book we didn’t find–one with an intrepid black princess– We knew what it was we wanted to create. Eventually we found a publisher who believed that we could have a book that worked on multiple levels—as an amazing book for every girl  but as a especially wonderful book for girls of color, as a tween chapter book and as a book Mamas and Aunties can read to the little girls they used to be even as they read to their children.

I really hope that people realize that this book about a beautiful brown-skinned girl is an empowering story for ALL girls! Are you planning a sequel? There are things I still need to know!

We are absolutely planning a sequel that will take B.B. to Raven World. And we’ve also have more possible princesses to introduce to the world. Each of them will have her own quilt and Godmommies but they will be different quilts and different Godmommies.

Shadra, how did you resist just turning this into a picture book and illustrating the entire

Shadra Strickland

story?!

Ha! My schedule, mainly. From what I understand, the story will be turned into a picture book soon.

When Christina, our editor approached me about illustrating the book, I originally turned her down. I was in the middle of my first year of teaching and two picture book manuscripts. But, when I read the story I was hooked. There was no way I could pass up the opportunity to contribute to such a unique story.

Illustrating a picture book is like running a marathon. Many, many months of work go into it before you begin to see any real results. Chapter books, middle grades, and YA novels allow slightly more instant gratification. It’s also a nice a nice way to add some variety to my picture book work.

The story was just too delicious to turn down. A young, spunky black princess coming into her own…it was right up my alley.

Are the images going to be in color in the hardback?

Just as the text of the novel is presented as diary entries B.B. has written, the interior drawings are presented as B.B.’s pen and ink or pencil and paper creations. Shadra has done such a terrific job of creating drawings that convey a sense of how B.B. thinks and creates as well as images that delight the eye. But Shadra’s work does delight the eye! I like to think of the cover painting as a portrait one of the Godmommies painted of B.B.

It was a pleasure meeting all of you, including B.B.! Thank you for the interview!