summer slide

It’s August! Summer is winding down and I’m wrapping up some projects in order to start others. Last week I finished Dragons in a Bag; at 24K words, it’s lower middle grade with illustrations—or will be whether I publish it myself or if my agent finds it a home. The next day I started working on a story for my write-for-hire gig; you’re basically writing on spec, which hasn’t worked out for me in the past, but my boss seems pleased with this story so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. An extra check this summer would make it possible for me to self-publish some books this fall, and right now I’m focusing on The Return and Milo’s Museum. Purple Wong is working on the illustrations for the picture book, and I just got the first sketch from Sara Golish for the cover of the YA novel. So much talent! I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to work with these amazing artists.

Last Wednesday my BookUp reading club came to an end out in Hollis, Queens. I’ve worked with kids since I was 16, but this job is really the only chance I’ve had to just READ with kids—that’s the focus of the club, and the kids absolutely LOVE to read aloud. We wrapped up with Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and had a really great conversation as we read about whether it’s okay to tease others just because you have been or are being bullied. On Sunday I was in Queens once more for the inaugural book festival. Our panel on the evolution of YA lit was fantastic—I got to meet Sarah Beth Durst, Marina Budhos, Denise Patrick, and Stacy Whitman shared her birthday Butterfinger with me as well as Tu Books’ latest release Perfect Liars by Kimberly Reid. I connected with some aspiring writers, book bloggers, and filmmakers before heading back to Brooklyn. At one point we discussed When We Was Fierce, an offensive YA novel that Candlewick has wisely decided NOT to release this month after online agitation by Black women and their allies. If the book had been released and our concerns had been ignored (as they often are), what are the chances that WWWF would have gone on to win the Newbery Medal? I keep thinking about the saying, “Never cast pearls before swine,” which isn’t about calling anyone a pig. To me it means, “Don’t give something of value to someone who can’t appreciate its worth.” There’s a part of me that resents the fact that my novels don’t often get reviewed, which is why I pressured Booklist to create an inclusive indie review column (mission accomplished). But what’s the point if white reviewers can’t discriminate between racist stereotypes deployed by an outsider and hard truths presented by an insider? At the end of the day, I have no control over that so I’m going to focus on what I can control—my own writing. The goal this month is to finish The Return. It’s been 2 years since I went to Senegal but I picked up some Senegalese food for lunch yesterday and hope that will help put me in the right frame of mind….

Much of this is summed up in my latest newsletter, which you can read here. Time to get back to writing…