R.A. White's Blog, page 25

Cultural Interview #2

This week I have an interview with Aly and Naquan, who are an interracial teen couple. Naquan says he was worried about getting scalped at first, since Aly follows her Native American heritage, but so far things are going well :). Give it a read, you'll enjoy it!

RA: Aly, could you briefly explain your ethnicity and religion/religious background for our readers?

Aly: I am a mixture of different ethnicities, but I choose to follow my Native American heritage. I participate in ceremonial sweat lodges, pow wows, etc. A few years ago, my family and I were adopted into a Maryland tribe.



RA: Naquan, could you do the same?

Naquan: Well, I am of the African American descent. I have some Native American in me somewhere, but it's there. Lol. I have followed Catholicism my entire life and I still follow it even today. But, I am opening up to looking into my Native American ancestors.



RA: How long have you been dating?


Aly/Naquan: We have been dating for 9 months now.



RA: Aly, how has your immediate and extended family reacted to you dating Naquan?

Aly: My family loves Naquan for who he is as a person. My youngest brother (Age 14 with autism) loves to play games with Naquan. He always has a smile on his face when Naquan is around. They support our relationship and want to see us last a very long time.



RA: Naquan, what does your family think?

Naquan: This is how they feel...All the girls that I brought to the house, my family were like, "They need a sandwich in their lives." But, now they don't even say it because they know Aly can cook. They are so used to me bringing home some up-tight, preppy and sassy, skinny girls. Thinking they are all that and a bag of Doritos. They just got tired of them and I did too. So, I did myself a little experimenting and I love the outcome of it. My family accepts her for who she is and what she has and doesn't have.


RA: Aly, which would you say is more true, that Naquan has joined your family, or that you have joined his?


Aly: Naquan has joined our family...hands down...lol. He is always over to our house and hanging out with us as a family.


RA: Naquan, I understand that you go to tribal meetings with Aly. Do you feel welcome there, or is it uncomfortable?

Naquan: I feel very VERY welcomed there. No one has given me any dirty looks or bad vibes...yet. First time I went there with one thing on my mind, that I was gonna get chased out with tomahawks and bows and arrows. I didn't know how much they would get off of my hair, but I thought I was gonna get scalped by the Aunts and Uncles.




RA: I'd like both of you to answer this question: If you could say one thing to magically make people change their minds about your interracial relationship, whether it be close family, friends, or the world in general, what would it be?

Aly: We are all the same on the inside. If you cut the both of us, we will both bleed red. Naquan and I find happiness with each other, so what should it matter that we look different? If two people can fall in love then who is anyone to judge?
Naquan: I just wanna put it out there that people always say that age is just a number, right? Well, skin is just a color. If people say that white is not a color, than why did Crayola put it in the box? If everyone gets in a circle and cuts themselves, they'll see red blood. Accept everyone on who they are and not what the past portrayed them to be. That's the past, this is the present. Get over yourselves and stop thinking your above/below someone because of their color and background.

RA: Thanks, you two, for giving us a little insight into your relationship. I really appreciate your time and effort, and enjoyed learning a bit about you!

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Trooper Beatboxing

This has to be one of the best Trooper videos I've gotten in a long time. First, I should say that the socks and sunglasses were his idea. Second, I have no idea where he learned to beatbox, but apparently he thinks it's cool. I have to agree. This is 32 seconds you won't regret spending on a video!

Enter to Win a Twenty-Five Dollar Gift Card.

Having been inspired by a large giveaway promotion I did through Amazon, I've decided to do a drawing for a gift card here on the blog. If you're interested in winning a $25 gift card, continue reading. If not, check out the newest Trooper video. It might make you smile.

So, here are the contest rules. Please read them thoroughly before taking action.

1. You must read or have read at least one of my books.

2. You must write a review of the book (or books) on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Now this gets tricky, so pay attention--if you paste the review to both sites, you will be entered twice. If you review both books, you will be entered twice. So you could potentially be entered up to four times.

3. If you already reviewed, you're still in luck. You can enter previously posted reviews, no problem. While you're at it, you can write a review of book 2 for better odds J.

4. You must be a subscriber to my blog, at least for the duration of the contest. Subscribe here.

5. You must email me the links to your reviews on amazon or goodreads. I will then enter you for each review you post. Send them to R.A._White(at)hotmail.com.

6. Sadly, I can only send the gift card to entrants in the continental U.S. If you live outside it and have friends here, you could have the gift card sent to them.

7. Please don't write things like 'This is such an amazing book!!!' And 'Best Book Ever!!!' or 'I love this book so much, it should be a movie, R.A. White is a genius, and if you don't love this book you're crazy!!!' and nonsense like that. I mean, it makes me feel good, I'm not gonna lie, but Amazon tends to delete effusive reviews like this and potential readers don't give them much weight. What you should write: Your honest opinion with a few details about what you did AND didn't like about the book you're reviewing. It can be as short as a couple sentences.

8.Give the book as many stars as you think it deserves. Honesty won't change your chances of winning as long as the review makes it clear that you actually read the book you reviewed. Reviews that are too vague, whether positive or negative, are suspect.

9. If you want to enter but are unwilling to risk your .99 to buy Kergulen, email me and I'll gladly send you the kindle file. I just gave away 1,249 copies. I don't mind giving away a few more.

10.People who review both Kergulen and Kings of the Red Shell may be eligible to receive Advance Review Copies (ebook) of  the upcoming sequel, Alonca's Quest.

11. The contest will be open until August 31, 2014, and results will be posted September 2, 2014.

If you have questions, please post them in the comments or email me and I'll be happy to clarify as needed. Good luck!

Video-You Cry?

This video is from one month ago, and I'm amazed as I look back on it because Trooper's speech has improved so much since then. I was trying to get a video of him getting on the swing by himself, but instead it ended up being a strange conversation about hair and falling. He wanted to know why I would cry if he fell on his head. The clip is short, so go ahead, check it out.

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Chocolate Hair/Vanilla Care

My aunt just shared this FB page with me, and it's really cool. They're trying to get pictures of 'vanilla' dads doing the hair of their 'chocolate' kids for Father's Day, so if this is you, please participate. If we were going to do it, we'd have to stage the picture because I always do the hair. Ah, well. They also have REALLY cool hair styles with tutorials if you're interested in doing something unusual with your children's hair, no matter what texture of hair they have. The page is called Chocolate Hair/Vanilla Care. Click it to check it out.

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Brightening the Darkness

I'm so excited, an article I wrote for Today's Mama was published this afternoon! It's called Brightening the Darkness: Growing Up With Foster Siblings. About a year ago, a reader wrote to me, wondering if 'Kergulen' was shaped by foster care experience. At the time I hadn't really thought about it in those terms, but now I realize he was right. I guess we're all shaped by our experiences, and that shaping shows itself in the things we do and create.

Here it is, if you're interested:

 My parents were foster parents before I was born, so you could almost say I’m not their first child. My earliest memories include a ten-year-old girl named Andy who used to roll up in the covers like a fruit roll-up so I didn’t have any...read more.

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Trooper and the Sprinkler

A very short video of Trooper wearing his shower cap in the sprinkler.

That's a Toy of a Different Color

The following is a letter that was sent to me a while back. When I told my friend about it, she said, "What? That's so Sixties!" Since it wasn't posted publicly, I'll refrain from mentioning the name of the sender. I also took the liberty of correcting some Nook-induced typos.

From reader:

So enjoy your blog I especially liked the books that have different races for children to read. When my youngest was little she fell in love with a black baby doll. The doll was a beautiful baby. She carried it every where and people would ask why I let her have this doll. I said she loves it and it's beautiful and makes her happy. Oh to have eyes like children we might please the Lord. Again I love reading your books, first time I ever read fantasies your writting just pulls me into the story that I feel part in it. Have a wonderful week.
Sent from my NOOK

My response:

Thank you so much for sharing! It's awesome that you let your daughter have a black baby. I don't know if I ever would have thought about doing that if I hadn't gotten into all this intercultural study stuff for Trooper, but it's a really great idea for kids to have toys and friends of all types.
It kind of irritates me that people would ask you why you let her have it, but good for you for sticking up for your choices. Trooper also has a black baby doll, and at least one person has asked why he has a baby (not about it being black). I said I think it's good for boys to feel comfortable with babies, too, and he's going to need the same parenting skills a girl will. It WAS a little strange when he brought it to church and then put it in the toy bag. People kept seeing it looking out and thinking I had a real kid in there :). It's a fairly life-like doll.
 
Thanks so much for commenting and sharing your story. It's encouraging on so many levels

 What do you think? Why should or shouldn't kids play with dolls and toys featuring people of different races?

While on this topic, I'll mention that I've added some books to the kids' book list:

'The Snowy Day' and 'Pete's Chair' by Ezra Jack Keats. The first is about Pete, a dark skinned boy, playing out in the snow, doing all the things kids would do if left to their own prerogative. The second is Pete coping with a little sister taking his place as the baby.

'Crouching Tiger' by Ying Chang Compestine features a Chinese American boy whose grandfather comes to the U.S. from China and shares some of his culture. It was a little too old for Trooper, probably better for six years and up.

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Are Cameras Ruining Our Memory?

There was a story on the radio today about how people are missing out on life because they're so busy filming and taking pictures of it. Some studies are being done that show we don't remember as much about events or things if we take pictures of them, unless we are closely studying the thing and taking pictures of specific parts of it.

I thought it interesting because I had just been thinking about that very possibility. Sometimes I wonder if I'm missing things because I'm always taking a video. Like at the pow wow last week, when I could barely see the dancing because I was watching it on the camera screen, or when I couldn't tell if the coconut was rotten because it didn't show up on that little rectangle. My special events have become two by two and a half inches.

I'm not really sure what to do about it, because I love having videos to share and look back at, and I want Trooper to be able to look back on them later in life and see in concrete form that he was loved and had many adventures, even if he can't remember the specifics.

But I believe that living in the present is more important than documenting the past, so I'm going to have to at least be more mindful of what's happening when I'm filming.

What do you think? As always, I'm interested in your thoughts and experiences. Please share here or email me r.a._white@hotmail.com .

Alonca's Quest Update

I just wanted to let those who are waiting know that I AM making a little progress on book three, Alonca's Quest. My hope is to reach 80,000 words tonight or tomorrow. So, I guess I'm close to half way there with the first draft. Then there's the hard work of rewriting, editing, formatting, and all of that, so don't be thinking next month or anything, but at least I'm getting somewhere.

Thanks for being a fan!