How did I become the wicked witch of the west?

As the wicked witch of the west once cried:

"Aaaah, you cursed brat! Look what you have done! I'm melting...melting...melting...!"

I am a member of a growing band of African-American writers of literary fiction who are slowly disappearing. And not because we are lacking in talent and credentials; in fact we have already published a number of books with major publishing houses and have been reviewed by national newspapers and well-respected literary journals, and have received critical acclaim and