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Giveaway to Educators a Success Times Ten!

11/16/2024

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I'm delighted to say that I gave away 10 copies of MAMA'S CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS to 10 wonderful Charlottesville City and Albemarle County schoolteachers and librarians during my educator giveaway, which I held from October 15, 2024, through November 15, 2024. I hand delivered signed copies to seven different local schools during my campaign! That was great fun!

But now I'm wondering: will the kiddos enjoy being transported back to 1935 Vinegar Hill as Allie sets out on her West Main Street adventure? I certainly hope so, especially since these particular readers attend schools located just minutes away from where the story takes place.

During my campaign, I also gave away a free classroom visit and am delighted to say I will be attending Trailblazer Elementary School on February 5, 2025--World Read Aloud Day! 

THANKS OODLES to all the educators that participated!  
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Happy Pub Day for BIRD NERD!

10/22/2024

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Congrats, Jennifer Ann Richter!

​Salutations, Jennifer! I'm delighted to have a small share in celebrating the release of your debut MG, BIRD NERD! I remember when your book was just a twinkle in your eye.

Thanks, Dionna! I remember reading some of your first chapters of MAMA'S CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS, too. We've stayed the course, haven't we?
 
We have! It was a double pleasure for me when I learned that not only would our debuts be coming out in the same year, but that we'd also have the same publisher, Holiday House Books for Young Readers. How cool is that?

Very cool. And thank you for creating our debut group, The 24/7s! You've been doing yeoman's work for our group and have been an enthusiastic supporter of our books.

It seemed like the appropriate thing to do. Okay, so down to business. Please share how your kidlit journey began.

I’d have to go way, way back for that one! Of course, like a lot of authors, I enjoyed writing as a child. Mainly poetry and the occasional short story attempt. But writing was just one of my gazillion interests, and one that I never thought I’d do as a profession. Then a little over twenty years ago, between unsatisfactory career choices, I found myself dabbling in writing again. Then I got to thinking maybe I could write for a living. So I started coming up with article ideas and fiction pieces and flooded the market with them. In 2004, I thought I’d gotten my big break when I published two stories—one suspense, one with more of a literary bent.  But the streak ended quickly, and that made me stop and focus on what it was I really wanted to write.

I thought back to my most positive reading experiences and realized they were all books I read during my tween/teen years. Then I figured, if I enjoyed reading those books so much, maybe I would enjoy writing them. That was also a time when world events were such that I wanted to write novels that gave young people hope.

From that point on I took fiction courses and workshops, joined SCBWI, wrote a bad novel, then a better one. Then a third. And my fourth is what ultimately got picked up. I’ve also published children’s short fiction and poetry along the way.

Very interesting journey! So what inspired you to write BIRD NERD? Was birding your jam as a kid?

Surprisingly, birding was not one of my gazillion interests growing up. Once I discovered it as an adult, though, I became quite an obsessed birdwatcher. Birds then began to naturally show up in my writing. In fact, I think something bird-related has appeared in every one of my novel manuscripts and in quite a bit of my poetry.

I suspect birds were off my radar as a kid because I grew up in a big city and never knew anyone who was interested in birds. This inspired me to write a novel about city kids discovering the world of birding. The novel took on many forms and initially was set in middle school and didn’t involve a competition. During my latest re-start, more than one writer friend brought up the idea of a competition. I decided to go with that and make it between city and suburban kids as a vehicle to demonstrate our commonality and to bridge differences in race, socio-economics, etc.

Sounds like a perfect combination to a winning book for middle-grade readers!
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​What was the revision process like as you worked with your editor Della Farrell?

My first round was big picture stuff. The next time around, I received a more detailed chapter-by-chapter feedback. A good deal of it had to do with timeline issues, which were mainly due to some changes I’d made on my own during the first round. (Note to self: Don’t change what’s not broken!) I must admit, when I first opened Della's second editorial letter, my jaw dropped. All I could see was the work that lay ahead of me. To reach my deadline, I immediately went into advance-planning/full-planner mode.

Advance-planning/full-planner mode? Explain, please. 

At an SCBWI Mid-Atlantic Conference, author Pamela N. Harris had encouraged writers to create an electronic chart or binder to keep track of any editorial notes and suggestions you might get to improve your manuscript. Alongside each comment, she suggested you list ways you would address the suggestion. Long before I received my first editorial letter from Della, I had that virtual chart up and ready to use. I had even included things that I myself wanted to change in order to enrich the story. While waiting for my second editorial letter, I created a new binder to include things I learned from my first editorial letter. This helped me stay grounded and keep track of things.

Hooray for authors helping authors! Well, thanks so much for catching us up on your Bird Nerd journey, and allowing us to be part of your big pub day. It was fun! 

Thank you for celebrating with me!

The Author:

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​Jennifer Ann Richter is a former diplomat, teacher, investment representative, editorial assistant, voice captioner, and audio description writer for TV (with a few odd jobs in between). Somehow, she managed to focus long enough to get serious about her writing—a love that had always been simmering in the background. Her big break came after novel attempt number four. Jennifer’s interests are as varied as her employment history, and they often find their way into her poetry, short stories, and novels. Her debut novel, BIRD NERD, was inspired by the birding hobby she picked up as an adult. Astronomy, space travel, and her experiences living and working in Germany have also featured prominently in her writing.
Check out jenniferannrichter.com for more, including Jennifer's Bird of the Month.

The Book:

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Bird Nerd is about ​thoughtful, nerdy fifth-grader Nyla sets out to win her school’s bird watching competition, while balancing old friends with new in this heartfelt debut.

Nyla Braun has always been called a nerd at her Philadelphia school. But that hasn’t stopped her from pursuing her nerdy hobbies, especially when she has best friend Tasha by her side. When a birding tournament between Nyla’s class and a class from a suburban school is announced, Nyla sees her chance to get the respect she deserves. If they win, that is. The Burb Birders will be tough competition.

With the contest underway, Nyla soon catches the attention of the most popular girl in class, who also wants to win, setting off a chain of small disasters as Nyla tries to balance old friends and new and the pressure to be cool when you really just want to be yourself.

Told with warmth and gentle humor, debut author Jennifer Ann Richter’s Bird Nerd combines a deep love of nature and birding with the story of a young girl learning to discover her own confidence and values.
Purchase your copy today!
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1941 Chicago's South Side

9/2/2024

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​Being a rewriter more than anything else, I’d become used to applying the advice “Kill your darlings.” In fact, while writing Mama’s Chicken and Dumplings, my debut novel for young readers, Delete, Cut, and Trash had been my chairside friends for ten (count them TEN) years.

My attempts to get this story right, one revised page atop another, could likely reach the Space Station! So you can imagine, I was in no mood to murder any more darlings once Margaret Ferguson Books offered to acquire it. And yet, there I was, a contract before me with the caveat: You're willing to revise, yes? 

And so there I sat with the Revision Guillotine above my words yet again. And the first beloved darling on the chopping block was the story’s setting of 1941 on the South Side of Chicago (after my main character’s move from Harlem). 
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​My setting was precious because I was born on the South Side, and it's where my parents grew up. My opening scene is even based on a South Side recollection of my mother's, and I had scattered other scenes based on stories my parents had shared with me about growing up on the South Side throughout my yarn. The setting also gave me an excuse to research Chicago's African American history, which I really enjoyed. It brought me great satisfaction resurrecting the glitz and glamour that once was 47th Street—the business heartbeat of the South Side.
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S niff-sniff… rest in peace 1941 Chicago—see you in another manuscript.

Though murdering my setting caused me a great deal of mourning, I was able to keep its essence by replacing it with another thriving African American community, albeit a smaller, Southern one located within Charlottesville, Virginia, called Vinegar Hill. The year 1941 became 1935, but only because I wanted to keep a scene involving a kid “flipping” a streetcar (AKA—riding on the back by hanging onto the outside rails), and Charlottesville’s streetcar service stopped in 1935. 

And you know what? Despite the labor pain of having to research a new cityscape of the past, I came to love my new setting even more than my old one! I loved the small-town Southern city feel. I loved learning about the real people who persevered for the sake of the children. I loved that I could walk down some of the same streets my character would have walked. Vinegar Hill absolutely served the storyline of a ten-year-old on a quest to find her mama a husband with a Man-for-Mama plan in one hand and a jar of chicken and dumplings in the other. And by not having my main character move from one city to another, her conflict with her NOT-friend Gwen could be moved up in the plotline.

True, there was a domino-plot-effect with my setting change. It required the reconstruction of nearly the entire novel! Truth told, the work it took to get it done left me pulling at my afro, and yelling at my computer. But now that my rewrite of my rewrite of my rewrite times more rewrites has finally been written, I am glad I listened to the sage advice to kill my darlings. Because what remains, I hope, is a story rich with emotional depth, a plot that is logical, and a main character that kids will love. Isn’t that’s what being a writer, er, rewriter is all about?

We murder our darlings for the sake of the story.   
All photos are from 1941 Chicago found in the American Memory digital archive curated by he Library of Congress. The photographer was Edwin Rosskam who worked for the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information . 
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Happy Pub Day, MAMA'S CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS!

8/6/2024

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What began as an 100-word personal challenge to write something for a first pages reading event held during the 2011 Virginia Festival of the Book, MAMA'S CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS is at last a real live book, ready to be enjoyed by young and old readers alike. At least, I hope!
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Book Launch Celebration Success!

8/5/2024

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Delighted to share that the book launch celebration for my debut novel for young and old readers alike, MAMA'S CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS, a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection, was a complete success. The turnout at the central branch of the Jefferson Regional Library in CVIlle on August 3, was more than expected, the two young flautists played their duet beatifully, and everyone said they LOVED my chicken and dumplings!
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Book Launch Day for MAMA'S CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS Coming Next Week!

7/27/2024

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Book Launch Celebration Day!

If you're in my neck of the woods, please come by and celebrate with me!

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(C) Vanessa Brantley Newton, vanessabrantleynewton.com

Saturday, August 3, 2024, 2-4 pm
Jefferson Madison Regional Library, Central Branch
201 E. Market St.
Charlottesville, VA, 22902

I​n honor of historical fiction, wear vintage from any decade before the 1990s for an extra chance to win a gift basket of goodies worth $200!

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Free swag & stuff
Snacks
Fun activities
Munch on chicken & dumplings 
Learn more about the setting, Vinegar Hill
Listen to local youths play a flute duet
And more!

​Young ones, enter my coloring contest by bringing a drawing of yourself cooking together with a family member.
The winner will be chosen by kidlit professionals.

Order your copy from your favorite indie or from mine, Buebird & Co. HERE.
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Mama's Chicken & Dumplings Preorder Campaign Begins!

6/3/2024

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I'm super excited to be hosting my very first ever preorder campaign! It's for MAMA'S CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS (Margaret Ferguson Books), from June 3 through August 3, 2024! After preordering from Blue Bird & Co., my official local indie, or from any retailer you choose, simply fill out the Google Form HERE, and you will receive a bookmark, recipe card, a signed bookplate, and a chance to win a $50 gift card from Bookshop.org along with a print entitled "Jump for Joy" by Vanessa Brantley Newton, the creator of the art for my cover! No proof of purchase will be required except for the grandprize winner, who will be notified August 6, 2024, my MAMA'S CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS pub day!

Google Form
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Happy Book Launch Day for Ritu Hemnani!

5/7/2024

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Congrats, Ritu, and Welcome!

So delighted to have you here today, your book launch day for LION OF THE SKY!

Happy to be here, Dionna. Thanks for inviting me!

Inquiring minds want to know. How did you find your way to becoming a kidlit author?

I have always loved to write, just for the joy of creating with words. As a child, I kept a secret diary and wrote letters to pen-pals, but what I loved most was writing poems whenever I took public transport. One day, I won a poetry competition in high school with a poem that I’d scribbled from the top deck of a moving double-decker bus and won a cash prize! I entered every writing competition I could after that and, to date, my poems have won me money, tickets to Paris, tickets to the cinema, furniture vouchers, and even a Kindle! Though I always seemed to find myself in bookstores and even asked for a typewriter for my twelfth birthday, it didn’t occur to me that writing was written in my future. Then one day, many years after I had become a high school English and Drama teacher…my 8-year-old daughter asked me a homework question...

You’ve piqued my interest! What did she ask you, and how did her question lead to you writing LION OF THE SKY, your debut MG novel-in-verse?

It was a homework question she needed help answering. Why do people migrate? I decided it was time to share with her our family's history. No matter how tragic, I believed she needed to know it.  

Share the history, please!

Sure! It began in 1947 as India became independent from British rule, the subcontinent was divided into two countries—a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan. The divide left millions of Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims living in the "wrong" country. Hostilities grew. Mass killings ensued. Millions had to flee to safety, including my grandparents and parents, who survived the largest mass migration in world history.

To help my daughter understand that dark, chaotic, and tumultuous time, I took her to the library. Though we found books about the Holocaust and the World Wars, we couldn’t find one children’s book about the Partition of India. My daughter accused me of making the whole thing up. It broke my heart. For days after our library visit, I thought about the fourteen million people who lost their homes and the one million who died. I decided to write the children’s book I couldn’t find for my daughter. I joined the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and in 2017 self-published a picture book about our family’s history, GOPE AND MEERA–A MIGRATION STORY. 

That's an incredible story, a sad slice of history, one many living in the United States may know little about. It's understandable you wanted your daughter to know about it. What does she think of her family history now?

Now all three of my children feel like they’re experts on the Partition! They are very proud of their elders for the determination and resilience they showed in adapting to new cultures and languages, whilst making sacrifices so their children could thrive. My kids also feel empowered with a new understanding that adversity of all kinds can be overcome with courage and the right mindset.

True this!
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(C) Tara Anand, taraanandart.com

"D​rawing from family history, Hemnani delivers a wrenching historical verse debut...Compelling stakes ratchet up the tension in this illuminating and harrowing story about displacement, grief, and hope." 
​Publisher's Weekly Starred Review for LION OF THE SKY

​Though the setting of LION OF THE SKY is based on your family’s history, did you still have to do a lot of research?

Yes it did! It was years of research focusing particularly on what happened in Sindh. Unlike the provinces of Punjab and Bengal which were split in two, Sindh was given intact to the newly created nation of Pakistan, where both my maternal and paternal grandparents lived. Like my grandparents, many Sindhis were forced to leave their homeland and rebuild their lives in Hong Kong as immigrants. I dug deep into the research and unearthed many treasures. It was important for my family’s narrative to be historically accurate because it’s an inheritance worth sharing. 

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing. Why did you decide to use the novel-in-verse format for LION OF THE SKY?

I fell in love with novels-in-verse after reading INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN by Thanhha Lai. I marvel at how each poem captures a concept, scene, or feeling in a few crafted words using language that’s distilled and powerful. I also appreciate how the format uses blank space to give room for the reader’s discovery of meaning and interpretation. I knew that a novel-in-verse would be the perfect vehicle for telling the story of Raj, my main character, and as I explored this format, the seed of lION OF THE SKY was born.

It sounds like a tug-at-heart read. Despite its setting, does LION OF THE SKY include rays of hope?

Hope is at the heart of this book. It is my hope that this will be what my readers are left with.

Changing the subject a little bit, what did you enjoy about working with your Balzer + Bray editor Alessandra Balzer?

Alessandra was so enthusiastic about working with me that I couldn’t quite believe it! I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the editorial process! Alessandra is extremely organized and systematic, and each round of edits was specific, so whether I was working on big-picture edits or focusing on character, setting, or various themes, I never felt too overwhelmed. Alessandra skillfully asked exactly the right questions that helped me distill what I was trying to say. She was quick to respond with insightful comments and enthusiasm, motivating me to dig deeper and infuse nuance into my writing. Her understanding of the heart of my novel helped me enhance its emotional impact, and her ability to see the potential in every scene, pushed me to explore new creative avenues and take risks with my storytelling. Our collaborative effort has resulted in a middle-grade novel that has exceeded my wildest expectations! I learned so much from the process and am grateful for the invaluable lessons and growth it has brought to my writing journey. I am so incredibly grateful to have worked with such a brilliant and insightful editor and am truly honored to join the fantastic list of authors and titles at Harper Collins/Balzer & Bray!


To be sure! Well, thanks for sharing the story behind your story. It will no doubt inspire many young readers and shine the spotlight on a slice of history that should be learned from and not forgotten. Thanks so much for stopping in, and do keep in touch when your next novel for young readers is ready to roll off the press.


The pleasure has been all mine.

Purchase your copy of LION OF THE SKY today

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Ritu Hemnani is a journalist, teacher, voice actor, motivational speaker, and a storyteller who hopes every child will discover books where they can see themselves on the pages within, and will know that their stories matter. Ritu recognizes herself as ethnically Indian, and is a British national who calls Hong Kong her home, where she lives with her husband and three children. Ritu is passionate about promoting diversity and nurturing inclusivity and empathy through writing stories that center marginalized communities and encompass universal truths. She is also passionate about spotlighting human interest articles with heart, and collaborating with local literary and charity organizations to promote literacy. Ritu is the author of the picture book, Gope and Meera--a Migration Story. Her debut historical middle-grade novel-in-verse, Lion of the Sky, is set for publication in the Spring of 2024. When not writing or teaching, Ritu delights in family game nights, strumming the strings of her guitar, and paddling through Hong Kong waters on her carrot-colored kayak. Ritu is represented by Rubin Pfeffer of Rubin Pfeffer Content, LLC. To learn more about Ritu, tune in to "An Inheritance Worth Sharing" on TEDx Talk, where she shares the seeds of her writing journey and what inspired her deep dive into her family’s history. FInd her online rituhemnani.com.
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My Aunt Johari

4/7/2024

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(C) Lauren Mann
Since April is National Poetry Month, I thought I'd share two poems--one written by my daughter, and one written by my aunt Johari who passed away at 88, a few months back. Though Aunt Johari was a co-founder of Third World Press and a gifted poet during the Black Arts Movement in Chicago during the 60s, I only knew her as my dad's sister whose given name was Jewel, and that she was a retired chiropractor who moved back to Chicago to be closer to her son (a gifted cadiologist) after I had moved away.

So sadly, I did not grow up knowing my aunt, and as an adult only met her a few times, though I did my best to get to know her by calling her on the phone. Whenever I did, I'd have to remind her who I was--'I'm Dionna, your brother Don's oldest'--and she'd acknowledge me. I'd try to find a common ground by talking about her poetry. Unfortunately, that was not a topic of interest to her whenever I tried. I guess her days as a poet were something she wanted to stay in her past.

Anyway, not long after my aunt's passing, I was reading one of my daughter's poems. It reminded me of one of my aunt's! Can a voice be inherited? I don't think so; and yet, there the two poems were, quite similar, at least to me. So that's why I've shared them here.

What do you think of them? In your opinion, do they have a similar voice?

Complement
by my aunt Johari M. Amini

​here i am in the sweet evening
and bamboo reeds wave into
rhythms of the seventh pulse
honey stars shine
wide in a warm sky
dark sounds humhum patterns of the long grass
and heap me into beads of waiting
the big leaf moves
and the tree is heavy with it
come bring me my seeds 

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Courage
by my daughter Lauren 

​​the firework
knew its nature
yet set itself 
ablaze
for the joy 
of shining
the worm knew 
the agony 
of metamorphosis
yet still grew wings
the leaf 
broke its neck 
from the tree
to drift 
down 
in circles 
and so we too 
can live
giving thanks 
to the darkness
with its womb full 
of light

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THINGS THAT SHIMMER Book Launch Party!

4/2/2024

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Happy Book Launch Day, Deborah Lakritz!

I'm excited to have you here to talk about your journey toward publication with your debut middle-grade, THINGS THAT SHIMMER!

Delighted to be here! It's truly satisfying to think back on the journey!

Awesome! To get started, tell us how you found your way to becoming a kidlit author.

Way back when I was a preschooler, my mother took me religiously to our public library to check out books and attend story time programs. She instilled in me a love of reading that has accompanied me throughout my life. As a social worker, I used books extensively with children to help them navigate divorces and deaths in their families, as well as fears and friendships.

Once I became a parent, one of my greatest joys was buying books for my own five children and introducing them to wonderful literature. Writing kidlit was just a natural extension of all of those experiences. For me personally, I had to wait until the timing was right and my youngest child was in school full-time before I could seriously try to get published. In the meantime, I took writing classes, read great award winning titles, and started to do the hard work of learning the craft.

Wow! A mom of five, and now a published author. That's an amazing accomplishment! Was THINGS THAT SHIMMER the first manuscript you had acquired by a traditional publisher?

Actually, no. I was offered my first book contract shortly after my youngest daughter started school. With raising a large family, however, there were times when I had to step away from writing for months at a time. But now my children are all grown and out in the world, I’m agented, and I just released my third picture book, and now have this exciting debut middle grade novel set to enter the world!

That's amazing. I'm sure your kids are proud! So What inspired you to write for middle-grade readers?

The summer I turned nine years old, my family was in a horrific car accident that sent reverberations throughout our family for the rest of my childhood. Back then, the understanding of trauma and its impact on individuals was still in its infancy as PTSD hadn’t even been given its name or been identified as an actual condition. As soldiers began to return from Viet Nam, there was this understanding, a recognition, that they were suffering psychological trauma due to their wartime experiences. Soon mental health professionals began to see the commonalities between war veterans and others who’d been through life threatening experiences. That was the starting point for THINGS THAT SHIMMER; two friends united by their deep understanding of what it’s like to grow up in a family dealing with trauma. But something has to pull them apart—right? That’s what makes a plot interesting!
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”A tale of friendship dynamics that doesn’t reach for easy resolutions or immediate forgiveness.”
                                                    —The Horn Book Magazine

I'm sorry to hear your family had to go through that. It must have been a real challenge for you as a child. Your characters' emotions will no doubt ring true, and your story sure to be a real heart tugger because of it.

THINGS THAT SHIMMER is the story of my heart, the idea I had on the very first night I walked into my very first class on writing for children. While it is definitely a work of fiction, emotionally it feels very true, and I hope it resonates for readers wading through the murky waters of friendships, popularity, family relationships, and identity.

Important themes to be sure.  Did you have to revise much after THINGS THAT SHIMMER was acquired by Kar-Ben Publishing? 

Actually, most of my revising work came before my manuscript was acquired. While querying agents, I got a full request from Susan Cohen, who at the time was an agent at Writers House. Susan liked what she read, but  offered me an opportunity to revise and resubmit my manuscript. Both she and her assistant provided me with very specific feedback on how to improve the project, and I spent six months doing two rounds of revisions for them. Afterward, Susan offered me representation and started submitting it to editors!  So by the time my editor, Amy Fitzgerald, read it, she didn’t have a lot of requests for big changes. Mostly we cleaned up sentences--an occasional word being replaced or eliminated.

That says a lot about having an editorial agent. I'm sure you're thrilled you got a chance to work with Susan before she retired. So now that your publication date is here, are you nervous about how kids will receive your book?

I am nervous, but I hope they will enjoy the ride as Melanie Adler navigates the world of the 1970s, while desperately wanting to be accepted by the Shimmers, the popular kids in her class.

I'm sure they will! Well, thanks for stopping by and for allowing us to share in your book launch day! 

Thanks for the invite, Dionna!
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Deborah Lakritz is the author of A PLACE TO BELONG, a picture book biography of beloved Jewish singer/songwriter, Debbie Friedman. Her debut middle grade novel, THINGS THAT SHIMMER (Kar-Ben 2024), is set in 1973-74, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of tennis legend Billie Jean King’s victory over Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes, the Watergate scandal, and President Nixon’s resignation. Her first book, SAY HELLO, LILY, was a Sydney Taylor Notable Book for Young Readers, and PJ Library selection. A former school social worker, Deborah lives in Wisconsin where she and her husband raised five children. Find Deborah online at deborahlakritzbooks.com.
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Happy Book Launch Day, Monica Mancillas!

4/2/2024

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Happy Pub Day, Monica Mancillas!

I'm super excited to be interviewing you today as your debut MG, SING IT LIKE CELIA is released from Penguin Workshop!

My pleasure! Happy to be here.

Do tell! How did you find your way to becoming a kidlit author? 

I have always known I wanted to be an author, but my love of kidlit really blossomed after my daughter was born. We spent countless hours reading and exploring our local libraries. I found myself suddenly bubbling over with picture book ideas of my own. I joined the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) in 2017 and began attending conferences and critique groups in order to learn more about both craft and the business of publishing. In 2018, I won the Andrea J. Loney Mentorship that was hosted by my region of SCBWI. That same year, I connected with my agent through #DVpit, an annual pitching event for un-agented, self-identifying historically marginalized authors and illustrators. In early 2019, after a few short rounds of revision, my agent sent my debut picture book MARIANA AND HER FAMILIA out on submission. The book quickly sold at auction, and I officially became a kidlit author!

Your first book sold at auction?! That is amazing!!! MARIANA AND HER FAMILIA went on to win some honors, yes?

It did! School Library Journal named it a Best Picture Book of 2022. Booklist gave it a starred review, and it received a Junior Library Guild Gold Star! 

Wowsie!
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​So, what inspired you to write your debut middle-grade novel, SING IT LIKE CELIA? 

SING IT LIKE CELIA was inspired by both my younger sister’s experiences navigating the unexpected disappearance of her mother from her life and my own experiences growing up with parents who were divorced. In writing the book, I strived to empower children confronting similar challenges to speak up for themselves and set healthy boundaries with the people in their lives. It was also a delight to incorporate my own love of music (and, specifically, legendary salsa singer Celia Cruz) into the book. I grew up singing in choirs and playing the piano, and for a long time was an avid salsa dancer. Music was a way through for so much of my life that I felt it important to give young readers the inspiration to use their own gifts as a means of self-expression and inner strength.

Sounds like a project of the heart, to be sure! So, who acquired SING IT LIKE CELIA, and how did it get acquired? 

I had just sold another picture book, HOW TO SPEAK SPANGLISH, to Elizabeth Lee at Penguin Workshop, when my agent mentioned to her my interest in writing IP (essentially, work for hire). Elizabeth was new to the imprint and, in building her list, was extremely excited to work on contemporary MG fiction featuring marginalized voices. However, she felt it important that her authors retain copyright and receive a standard advance and royalties, so rather than IP, she offered to work with me on what she called “proactive publishing” terms. We set up a call to discuss ideas and I submitted sample pages and a detailed outline. Elizabeth and her team were so enthusiastic about the book that they offered me a two-book deal! 

A two-book deal?! This just keeps getting better and better! What was it like working with Elizabeth?

Working with Elizabeth has been absolute perfection. I could not be happier that this book was written under her direction and have thoroughly enjoyed working with her on book two!

Your experience makes publishing sound like fun! Well, thanks again for stopping by on your Book Launch Day, and for sharing your kidlit journey up to this point. We're looking forward to learning more about book 2 soon!

Happy to be here, and will do!
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Mónica Mancillas, born in the small coastal town of Ensenada in Baja California, México, moved with her parents to the United States when she was two-years-old. As a child, she loved nothing more than to study and explore self-expression through writing and music. After graduating Valedictorian from the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, she earned a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley, after which she moved to Los Angeles where she worked for ten years in the recording industry. Today, Mónica runs her own business teaching children how to play the piano. She spends her days writing, reading, and tending to her much-adored daughter, husband, and dog, Annie. Mónica's work includes picture books: Mariana and Her Familia, The Worry Balloon, and How to Speak Spanglish. Her debut middle grade, Sing It Like Celia, will be released in 2024, with a nonfiction middle-grade, Leyendas/Legends! to follow in 2025. All of Mónica's books center on themes of identity, culture, and mental health, and challenges outdated tropes that have historically left Latine voices in the margins. Monica is represented by Melissa Edwards at Stonesong Literary. Find Mónica online at
monicamancillas.com.
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Happy Book Launch Day, Anna Lapera!

3/5/2024

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Happy Book Launch Day, Anna!

Welcome, Anna, and congrats on the release of your debut MG, MANI SEMILLA FINDS HER QUETZAL VOICE!

​Thanks, Dionna! Happy to be here! 

Such an exciting day! May 5, 2024, the day your debut novel for kids ages 10-14 publishes with Levine Querido! Please share what your book is about.

Absolutely! It's about a young girl who wants two things: to get her period, and to thwart her mom's plan to take her to Guatemala, a place that has always been more of a mystery than an answer. One day, she discovers secret letters between her mom and a disappeared feminist-journalist aunt, giving Mani both a lesson in Guatemalan history, but also in how to stand up to some of the injustices going on around her. While at school, Mani and her best friends, Las Nerdas, take action and speak up, demanding the right to feel safe while the administration turns a blind eye to the way they are constantly being harassed, assaulted, groped, bullied, recorded, abused, and humiliated by other students. As the story unfolds, Mani finds her voice.

Wow. Some might say that's a tough topic for young readers. What do you say?

It's true, that the topic may me "tough," but girls as young as 12 are up against tough circumstances, and they, like Mani, may be shy and need to find the courage to speak up.

True this. What inspired you to write your book MANI SEMILLA FINDS HER QUETZAL VOICE?

So many things! It all started with a question. Someone asked me if I remember the first time I got my period. All of a sudden, it came back to me. I was eleven and visiting my mother's side of the family in Guatemala City. I was standing on top of a slide in Burger King. My second cousins were taunting me for my (at the time) thick accent in Spanish. The question and memory inspired me so much that when I got home I wrote a story about a Guatemalan-American girl obsessed with getting her period and eager to enter womanhood. Over a year, it morphed from a story about periods into a story about discovering secret letters from disappeared journalist aunts, mother-daughter relationships, coming into activism, and exploring the question about what it means to be a feminist at any age. As someone who has Guatemalan, Hawaiian, German and Filipino heritage, I was also inspired to write a character whose interest in her history and heritage is more of a journey with plenty of ups and downs.

It's been said that to make a book that's full of heart and authenticity, we should write what we know, and more importantly what we feel. You certainly did that! No wonder your book has gotten so many stellar reviews!
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“Anna Lapera expertly voices a young girl’s middle school trials, but with a voice so unique and heartfelt you will be cringing one moment and cheering the next. She weaves a distinctive story filled with humor, family heartache, and secrets while a young girl releases the fear of her voice and grasps its power.” --Newbery Medalist Donna Barba Higuera

What did you enjoy about working with your editor as you revised MANI SEMILLA FINDS HER QUETZAL VOICE?

I have been so lucky that the people who have helped bring MANI to life REALLY loved and understood her voice. My editor, Irene Vázquez at Levine Querido, helped MANI's voice to really shine. It was so clear to me that they understood Mani as a character. I NEVER had to clarify or explain something about why Mani would say this or that. They just got it. In fact, they showed me ways we could push Mani's voice and Mani-isms even further. Each round of edits got closer to the heart of the story and to Mani's voice. I had so much fun with the editing process!

No doubt the fun spilled out from the process and onto the page! As an ESL middle-school teacher, a mother of a 6-year-old and 1-year-old, and a wife, how do you juggle your responsibilities and still find time to write?

The answer to this question always changes! I am constantly trying to find how and when to write. It's day by day. Thankfully, my husband does most of the cooking, which gives me some writing time. That helps! I wrote the first draft of MANI SEMILLA FINDS HER QUETZAL VOICE from 4 to 6 a.m. every single day over the course of one year. Some people are impressed when I tell them how early I wake up to write, but I am impressed with people who are able to stay up late writing! I have not been able to be a night-writer. As a teacher and mom, that was literally the only time I had available to me. Now that I have another little one, there are days when I simply just don't get to write more than one sentence. 

What are you working on now, besides taking care of your little one, and promoting your new release?

I am working on book number two, so I am slowly getting back to my morning writing sessions, because that is my time when no one else is awake. That doesn't mean that I feel super inspired every morning. I keep telling myself that what I am working on is just a first draft and that it doesn't have to be amazing right away. I am really into running and I've heard people in the sports and running world talk about how discipline is more important than motivation. I remind myself that sometimes when the writing doesn't sound pretty!

Perspiration and pushing through accomplishes much! Well, Anna, congrats once again on your release, and for allowing me to have a small share in celebrating it's release today, and please do check back in when I can celebrate Book 2!

Thank you, Dionna! And will do!
Purchase your copy of MANI SEMILLA FINDS HER QUETZAL VOICE today!
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Anna Lapera is a writer, educator and sometimes runner based in the DC area. She comes from a Guatemalan mother and Hawaiian-Filipino-German father, and was raised all over the world. She teaches by day and writes stories about girls stepping into their power in the early hours of the morning before the teaching day begins. She is a member of Las Musas, a 2022 Macondista and Kweli Journal mentee, and has received financial support from Tin House, Kweli Journal and SCBWI. When she’s not writing or teaching, you can find her visiting trails and coffee shops in DC and Maryland, where she lives with her family. MANI SEMILLA FINDS HER QUETZAL VOICE is her debut novel, Find Anna online HERE.
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THE UNBEATABLE LILY HONG Book Launch Party!

1/2/2024

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Let the Party Begin for Diana's Debut!

So nice to have you stop by on your book launch day!

Happy to be here!

Do tell. What inspired you to write The Unbeatable Lily Hong?

It would have meant the world to me to read a book like The Unbeatable Lily Hong when I was a kid! Like my main character Lily, I was a Chinese-American kid who was good at school and into nerdy fandom stuff. Another similarity that I share with Lily is that I also went to Chinese school and did competitive Chinese dance. But those things made me an outsider when I was a kid, so I wanted to write a story about a Chinese-American girl whose differences and interests make her nuanced, irresistibly fun, and unbeatable.

Sounds like a story all kids could relate to, and that you had fun writing this book!

The Unbeatable Lily Hong was so much fun to write! Drawing on my own interests while creating Lily, her friends, and her family, I got to immerse myself in Chinese mythology, school competition, debates about the best dumplings (Lily’s mom makes the best dumplings, duh). Plus, there's a tween frenemy/maybe-more-than-friends dynamic, ​which I would have loved to have read as a kid.

"A delightfully adventerous romp with a lovably scrappy protagonist." Kirkus Reviews

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Thirteen-year-old Diana in her competitive Chinese dance dress.
How did the revision process for The Unbeatable Lily Hong go? What was it like working with your editor?
​
My revision process was surprisingly smooth! I say “surprisingly” because I usually agonize over revisions, but The Unbeatable Lily Hong was just so much fun to write that it didn’t feel like it took a lot of time or energy to revise. However, when I look at my drafts, I can see a lot actually did change. 

I was fortunate enough to work with two great editors! Angela Song was my first editor for the bulk of my editing process. Then Alessandra Preziosi took over when Angela left Clarion. I found Angela’s insights to be completely spot-on, and I was happy to say that it was the same with Alex. I also had so much fun bonding with Angela over similar childhood experiences as she edited my book!

Having an amazing editor step in when an amazing editor steps out sounds like a blessing to be sure! What skill sets did they have that impressed you?

I was most impressed by how they gave feedback that made the story much stronger while still trusting me with the direction of the story. It’s not always easy to balance the author’s vision with needed developmental edits, but they both did it beautifully! I am so grateful to have worked with such brilliant and genuinely lovely editors.

We bet they were mutually pleased when working with you! I really love your cover, by the way. Were you pleased when you first saw it?

Ooh! I cannot gush enough about this amazing cover by Rebecca W. Chan. It’s so fun and vibrant. I cannot wait to see it on the shelf of my local indie, and more importantly, in the hands of young readers.

That will be the icing on the cake! Well thank you for stopping by and for sharing a little behind-the-scenes talk about The Unbeatable Lily Hong. 

​My pleasure!
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Diana Ma is a Chinese American author of young adult and middle grade books who teaches at North Seattle College. Her debut young-adult novel Heiress Apparently was a 2021 Washington State Book Award finalist in the young adult literature category. Diana was also a 2019 We Need Diverse Books mentee and is a Highlights Foundation Muslim Storytellers Fellow. With a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Washington and an MA with a Creative Writing focus from the University of Illinois, Chicago, Diana is represented by Christa Heschke and Daniele Hunter of McIntosh and Otis. The Unbeatable Lily Hong is Diana's middle-grade debut. Find her online at dianamaauthor.com, and ​on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DianaJunYiMa.

Order your copy of The Unbeatable Lily Hong today!

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COVER REVEAL for Mama's Chicken and Dumplings!

12/10/2023

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I am super excited to share the cover for my upcoming novel for children, ages 8-12, entitled, MAMA'S CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS, which releases from Margaret Ferguson Books, an imprint of Holiday House Books for Young Readers, August 6, 2024!

I was thrilled when I found out the cover art would be done by the amazing kidlit creator, Vanessa Brantley Newton, who is the author and illustrator of one of my favorite picture books, GRANDMA'S PURSE. And she did not disappoint!
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Look how Vanessa captures my main character's mischievousness--those eyes, that smirk! Can't you tell that there's a lot going on beneath those gorgeous braids? I also love the design done by Holiday House art director, Kerry Martin. There's such a vintage vibe going on. It perfectly captures my historical setting.

Thanks, Vanessa and Kerry, for giving my story such a gorgeous cover!
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2024 KidLit Events: VA, MD, DC, and Beyond

12/9/2023

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(c) Lauren Mann

2024 Kidlit Events
 Virginia, Maryland, DC & Beyond

January

ALA LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience, Baltimore, MD
Roanoke Regional Writers Conference at Hollins University

February

​SCBWI Winter Conference
Williamsburg Book Festival

March

CityLit Festival, Baltimore, MD
Virginia Festival of the Book, Charlottesville, VA
Virginia State Literacy Association Conference, Norfolk, VA
Washington DC Awesome Con, DC
Women’s Storytelling Festival, VA  

April

Annapolis Book Festival at Key School, MD
​Annapolis Comic-Con, MD
Color of Children’s Literature Conference
Black Child Book Fair, Charlotte, NC
​Frostburg University Spring Children’s Literature Festival, MD
State of Maryland Literacy Association Conference
Royal Book Bash in the DMV, Woodbridge, VA
​Sound of the Mountain Storytelling Festival, Fincastle, VA 
YAVA Awards & Celebration, Richmond, VA​

May

Baltimore Book Festival, MD
Gaithersburg Book Festival, Gaithersburg, MD
Maryland Librarian Association Conference
​Tidewater Comicon

June

ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition, San Diego
Children's Book & Learning Festival, Washington DC 
Chesapeake Children’s Book Festival
Fredericksburg Independent Book Festival
Hollins University Kidlit Summer Symposium
Shenandoah University Children’s Literature Conference
Turning the Page Children's Book & Learning Festival

July

Kweli International Literary Festival

August

National Book Festival at the Library of Congress, DC
Back to School Book Festival in the Parks at Walter Reed 

September

Baltimore Comic Con, MD
Carolina Mountains Literary Festival, Burnsville, NC
Latinx Virtual Kidlit Book Festival 
Literary Hill Book Fest, DC

October

​Black Authors and Readers Rock Conference (BARR), MD
Children’s Africana Book Awards & Festival, DC
Fall for the Book, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
​Herndon Children's Book Festival, Herndon, VA
James River Writer's Conference, Richmond, VA
Old Dominion University Literary Festival, Norfolk, VA
Virginia Children’s Book Festival, Longwood University, Farmville VA
Virginia Literary Festival, Richmond VA
West Virginia Book Festival, Charleston, WV

November

Hampton Roads Writer’s Conference
NCTE Annual Convention, Boston, MA
Texas Book Festival
Virginia Association of School Librarians (VAASL) Annual Conference
YALLFest Charleston, SC
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Find a comprehensive list of Book Festivals compiled by Publishers Archive HERE.
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Welcoming Kidlit Creator Lisa Mezoff

9/20/2023

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(C) Lisa Bronson Mezoff, lisamezoff.com
Absolutely delighted to have you stop by, Lisa! Your work fills me with the happiness of sunshine after a gloomy day!

I’m so glad my work makes you smile! 

It really does! Do tell. How did you find your way into becoming a kidlit illustrator?

It was a long journey! When I graduated college, I decided that as much as I loved illustration, the freelance life was not really for me. So, I chose to pursue a career as a designer and creative director. I did lots of illustrations in the context of my corporate design work, but it wasn’t until my kids left for college that I decided to finally focus on illustrating for children. I used evenings and weekends to take online courses to help build my portfolio and started going to SCBWI conferences and engaging with the kidlit community. It’s been a huge effort to pursue a second career, but it’s so rewarding! 
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(C) Lisa Bronson Mezoff, lisamezoff.com
SCBWI is a nurturing place for kidlit creatives! Now that you've arrived to the kidlit path, what do you love about illustrating children's books?

It’s actually a joy on multiple levels! First, I just really love to draw and paint—to imagine people and places and make them come to life. I’m also a truly passionate reader, so it’s a thrill to contribute to the world of books and use art to tell stories that are meaningful to kids. I have to say though, the biggest surprise has been how much I have enjoyed sharing my work on school visits. When Only My Dog Knows I Pick My Nose my debut picture book written by Lauren Tarshis came out, I did dozens of school visits with the author. We had conversations with kids not only about the story itself—its inspiration and meaning—but also about the creative process and our collaboration. The kids were so excited! They went on to draw their own pictures and tell their own stories. Often, teachers sent me the kids’ drawings and thank you notes later—that was amazing!

I can imagine it would be! So nice you were able to join with the author, too!
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(C) Lisa Bronson Mezoff, lisamezoff.com
Why did you especially enjoy illustrating Only My Dog Knows I Pick My Nose that features a boy whose dog has nothing but unconditional love for his not-so-perfect human? 

Most of the time, in the children’s book industry, a publisher buys a manuscript and then chooses an illustrator—the author and illustrator rarely even meet. This book was a little different. The author and I are good friends and we collaborated on the project from the beginning. Lauren came to me with just the title (which I love!) and we worked together as the story took shape. We often went back and forth, deciding which elements of the story really needed words, and which ideas could instead be conveyed visually. I feel so lucky to have had that experience—it was so much fun to work together, and I think our partnership made the book much better than it would have been if we had we worked separately.  

You're right. An author and illustrator creating the book before it's acquired is not how it usually happens, but so cool that Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic did acquire it as a complete project! I just love the hilarity of the text and illustrations--a perfect picture-book blend!

Glad you enjoyed it! You can learn more about how I made the illustrations HERE in the blog post I wrote for Scholastic.
 
I'll check it out! Well, thanks oodles, Lisa, for stopping by and for sharing a little about yourself and your process. May Only My Dog Knows I Pick My Nose become a classic in the years to come!

Thanks, Dionna!
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Lisa Bronson Mezoff loves to paint people and scenes that are filled with energy and joy. When she is not drawing and painting, Lisa is busy creating award-winning design projects as the creative director at Pappas MacDonnell, a marketing and communications agency. Besides painting, Lisa also loves to read and eat desserts. Only My Dog Knows I Pick My Nose, written by Lauren Tarshis a New York Times best-selling author, and published by Orchard Books, is Lisa's first illustrated children's book. Follow Lisa on Instagram @lisamezoff to see her latest work, and learn more about her HERE. 
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Purchase your copy today!

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Mama's Chicken & Dumplings #NFPost No. 6

9/12/2023

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Mary Jane ®

A Peanut Buttery Molasses Taffy Penny-Candy

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(C) Atkinson Candy Company. Courtesy The Museum of Fictional Literary Artifacts
It was in 1914 when Charles N. Miller, a Boston, Massachusetts, European American candymaker, who cooked up the first batch of Mary Jane® penny candies. And it was his family's candy factory, the Charles N. Miller Candy Company that made the bite sized rectangular chewy bits of yum with its molasses taffy outside and peanut buttery inside a popular delight. The Mary Jane® penny candy is a favorite of Allie, my main character in Mama's Chicken & Dumplings, and whenever there's a penny in her dress pocket she runs down to Mr. Inge's store to buy a few.
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(C) Atkinson Candy Company. Courtesy The Museum of Fictional Literary Artifacts
In 1989, Mr. Miller's company closed. But not so the production of the Mary Jane® candy. The recipe and rights for creating it moved into the hands of the Stark Candy Company, then the New England Confectionery Company (NECCO), and now the Atkinson Candy Company out of Texas. 
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"The new recipe," states Eric Atkinson on the company's website, "captures the flavor of Mary Janes, for it's the same components as it always was." 

Atkinson Candy Company still packages the candy with that familiar yellow and red wrapper adorned with an adorable little girl dressed in a bonnet, the same kind of wrapper Allie would have seen in 1935, though the candy is cylindrical in shape now, much smaller, and doesn't have the peanut butter center. (It's still a bite of chewy yum IMO!)​
Bibliography
Atkinson, Sarah. "Atkinson Brings Back Mary Jane Candy!" Atkins.com, April 22, 2021.

Birrell, Alistair. "Dear America, We Invented All Your Candy. Love, Boston." Boston.com, October 22, 2014, accessed August 31, 2023.

Daily Progress. "Progress Past." June 13, 2018, accessed August 13, 2023.

Garner, Nicole. "The Revolutionary Story Behind Mary Jane Candies." Mental Floss, October 29, 2015.

Kurland, Ann Trieger. "Mary Jane Makes a Sweet Comeback." Boston Globe, October 13, 2020, accessed August 31, 2023.

Library of Congress. "Inge's Store, 331-333 West Main Street Charlottesville, VA." Historic American Buildings Survey, HABS No. VA-1015, accessed August 31, 2023.

Library of Congress. "New England Confectionery Company (NECCO)." Local Legacies: Celebrating Community Roots--Massachusetts, accessed August 31, 2023.

Noennig, Jordyn. "NECCO Wafers May No Longer Exist, Echoing the History of Pewaukee's Stark Candy Co." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 19, 2018, accessed August 31, 2023.

The Cambridge Historical Society. "NECCO: 254 Massachusetts Avenue (1847-present)." The History of Candymaking, accessed August 31, 2023.

The Museum of Fictional Literary Artifacts. "Mary Jane (Candy)." Accessed August 31, 2023.

Tucker, Aimee. "Mary Jane Candy--Favorite Old-Fashioned Candy." NewEngland.com, June 29, 2022, accessed August 31, 2023.
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Mama's Chicken & Dumplings #NFPost No. 5

9/11/2023

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Successful Business Owners

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George Minor Carr
The photograph of the above storefront was taken on November 16, 1914. Peek inside and you will see George Minor Carr (1882-1933), shop owner and operator of George M. Carr & Company, just one of many businesses located in Vinegar Hill, a thriving African American residential and business district of Charlottesville, Virginia, that was razed in the 1960s.

True, Mr. Carr's establishment at 269 West Main Street was a second-hand clothing store. But as you can tell from the fine feathered hats for women in the storefront window, and the men's suits hanging inside that it was no rinky-dink establishment. It was someplace African American men and women of the era could purchase clothing to look their finest when walking about town. And how distinguished they looked when posing for a photograph at the Holsinger Portrait Studio!

We know from the J.F. Bell Funereal Home records that George Carr's father, David Carr, had been born in Africa, and that his mother Elnora Garland Carr was born in Virginia. We also discover that George's wife's name was Virginia May Carr. Mr. Carr passed away In 1933. Virginia Carr obviously kept the doors of her husband's business open after his death, for she was listed in the 1934 city director as operating a second-hand clothing store at 265 West Main Street.
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Anthony and Eileen Buckner
On August 12, 1918, Anthony T. Buckner (1846-1923) commissioned the above portrait to be taken with his nine-year-old granddaughter Eileen Wood Buckner (1909-1985). When I learned Eileen's mother, Geneva Tonsler Buckner (1886-1919), would die from tuberculosis a year later on August 29, 1919, while being admitted to the Piedmont Sanitorium in Burkeville, Virginia, it made me wonder: Was Eileen's mother ill when this photo was taken? Was that the reason Mr. Buckner had the photograph made? Surely, an ailing mother would greatly appreciate having a copy of this lovely image.

​Another thing I wondered was how, as a young man, Mr. Buckner endured physically, emotionally, and mentally while serving as an enslaved body servant to Mr. Fife, a Confederate soldier, during the Civil War. What I do know is he survived, and once Freedom came, after working just a few years at the University of Virginia, he had saved enough money to open up a successful general store and grocery at 904 West Main Street in Charlottesville--a fine establishment that remained open until his death in 1923.

How inspiring to see him standing there so tall, refined, and dignified, despite being a survivor of such enduring times!

"Buckner had made a host of friends for himself during his long sojourn in the community and was especially liked by the residents in the University section. Many had formed the custom of stopping in to converse with him as a token of their esteem and the high place he had won for himself." *

Mr. Buckner had five children with his wife, Louisa E. (1860-1909)--three girls and two boys. Unfortunately, all but two of them died when they were very young children. Only his son George Walker Buckner (1886-1928) lived well into adulthood.

George, Eileen's father, grew up in Charlottesville. He attended college, and obtained degrees from Hampton Institute and the Virginia Union University. He worked as a teacher, and economics and sociology instructor at the Tuskegee Institute. Later, he remarried and worked for the National League on Urban Conditions, and then served as the vice president and manager of the People's Finance Corporation in St. Louis, Missouri.

George caused quite a local stir when he wrote an opinion piece entitled "The New Negro" in the February 12, 1921 edition of The Charlottesville Messenger, an African American newspaper. In it he demanded better pay for African-American teachers and the desegregation of streetcars in Charlottesville, among other things. He wrote: "We are tax payers and law abiding citizens. We know our strength and will accept nothing short of justice."
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Inge's Grocery
PictureGeorge P. Inge
In 1890, George Pinkney Inge (1859-1948) purchased the building and lot located at 331-333 West Main Street for $3,000, and in 1891 he opened his grocery store when West Main Street was nothing but a dirt road.

Despite being born into the institution of slavery, Mr. Inge graduated from Hampton Institute in 1879. For a few years, he taught at Jefferson School in Charlottesville. 

Mr. Inge's grocery store was known throughout Charlottesville as a fine establishment. His patrons included the hospital of the University of Virginia, professors of the University, the Gleason Hotel, boarding houses, and fraternities. His store was the only supplier of fresh fish and oysters in the city, which were delivered by way of the C & O Railroad. Small game caught by local hunters; vegetables from the Inge's gardens, and eggs and poultry from their chickens were also sold there. Before the Model T came along, the Inges delivered their produce using a horse-and-buggy.

Children loved to purchase penny candy and five-cent ginger snaps from the glass jars sitting on the store's shelves. My main character's favorite thing to purchase at Mr. Inge's store is Mary Jane candies.
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Inge's Grocery
Mr. Inge and his wife Kate Virginia (Ferguson) Inge (1864-1941) had nine children. They raised them in living quarters attached to the store and required them to pitch in and help run the business. Often, African American visitors to Charlottesville found lodging at the Inges' home. The children often spoke about their father's friend and former Hampton classmate, Booker T. Washington, who stayed with the family whenever the educator and speaker came through Charlottesville. He was one of the Inges' most famous guests.

The Inge children all had successful careers. Three of his daughters were teachers. His sons' occupations included: an educator and high school principal in Texas, a biology department head at Hampton Institute, a New Jersey State Senator, a realtor, and two physicians. Thomas Ferguson Inge, Sr. (1903-1993) ran the store until 1979 along with his son, Thomas Ferguson Inge, Jr.  ​
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Nannie Cox Jackson
PictureViola Green Porter
For decades, Nannie Cox Jackson (1865-1953) was an inspiring domestic science (home economics) teacher at Jefferson School. She taught her students--boys and girls--how to cook, sew, crochet, and knit so they could live respectably and independently.
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How proud Mrs. Jackson's students must have been to be able to design and sew their own dresses like the eighth-grade graduation dress Viola Green Porter (1898-1985) is seen wearing in the photograph to the right.

Mrs. Jackson had a big and generous heart. She ensured that every child at Jefferson School had a hot meal for lunch. She even helped establish the first hot lunch program within the city's public schools. During segregation, Mrs. Jackson was a huge supporter of Jefferson School's football team. She helped them acquire uniforms and provided them with transportation to and from practice and away games using a truck owned by her family's business. After home games, she fed both teams, their coaches and doctors a hearty meal that began with soup. A favorite menu item on the dinner plate was Mrs. Jackson's homemade meatballs. 
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William E. "Billpost" Jackson, Jr.
​​Besides being known as an educator, Mrs. Jackson was known throughout Charlottesville as a landlord who took care of her property, and who rented at rates African American families just starting out could afford. According to some, at her death, her estate was worth a million dollars! Of course, that was mainly due to the value of her properties.  

Mrs. Jackson's son William E.  Jackson, Jr. (1888-1972), otherwise known as "Billpost" Jackson, along with his son Edward R. Jackson ran a family business--Jackson Poster Advertising. It was a home-based operation installing billboards all over the area, and it provided the family with a decent living. It was skillful work, placing paste on the back of huge lithograph printouts then putting them together like a puzzle on a board. But they did it, and well, too!
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Photo Credits
1. "George Carr." Photo: Rufus W. Holsinger, 1914. Holsinger Studio Collection, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, VA, Call No. 9862, Image ID. 33256, accessed September 10, 2023.

2. "A. J. Buckner." Photo: Rufus W. Holsinger, 1918. Holsinger Studio Collection, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, VA, Call No. 9862, Image ID. 33148, accessed September 10, 2023.

3. "Inge's Store, 331-333 Main Street, Charlottesville, Independent City, VA." Drawing: Johnson W Pitt, 1933. Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress, Image 8, accessed September 10, 2023. 

4. Photo of oil painting of George Pinkney Inge by unknown artist, found in Inge's Store, 331-333 West Main Street Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Virginia, compiled by Timothy L. Bishop, University of Virginia School of Architecture, 1979. Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia, Call No.: SVA: No. 49:1979, YX001 117 764. Used with permission from the Estate of George P. Inge.

5. Photo of the inside of Inge's Grocery, date unknown, reprint found in “Inge’s Store Has a Place in Main Street’s History and Future," by Ray McGrath, The Daily Progress, November 11, 1979, used with permission from the Estate of George P. Inge. 

6. Nannie Cox Jackson. Found in "Nannie Cox Jackson," CVillepedia. Accessed September 10, 2023.

7. "Viola Green" Photo: Rufus W. Holsinger, 1916. Holsinger Studio Collection, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, VA, Call No. 9862, Image ID. 34283, accessed September 10, 2023.

8. William E. Jackson, Jr. Courtesy Teresa Walker Jackson Price.

9. Jackson Post Advertising Sign. Courtesy Teresa Walker Jackson Price.
​
  • While I have diligently sought to establish and contact the copyright owners of these images, I believe their inclusion here is within the confines of fair use, and/or that they are in the public domain.
Selected Bibliography
​*"Buckner, Anthony T." Daughters of Zion Cemetery, accessed September 9, 2023. 

​"Buckner, Eileen Wood." Daughters of Zion Cemetery, accessed September 9, 2023. 

"Buckner, Geneva J. Tonsler." Daughters of Zion Cemetery, accessed September 9, 2023. 

​"Buckner, Louisa E." Daughters of Zion Cemetery, accessed September 9, 2023. 
​
Correcting the Narrative. "Why Name a School for Nannie Cox Jackson?" December 3, 2019, accessed September 10, 2023.

CVillepedia. "George P. Inge." Accessed September 10, 2023.  

CVillepedia. "Nannie Cox Jackson." Accessed September 10, 2023.

Daily Progress. "Progress Past." June 13, 2018, accessed September 10, 2023. 

George Minor Carr J. F. Bell Funeral Home Records Entry. Digitized by the  Virginia Center for Digital History, University of Virginia, accessed September 9, 2923.  

Getting Word. "Nancy Colbert Scott." Monitcello.org, accessed September 10, 2023.
​
Heritage Trail. "Nannie Cox Jackson (1864-1953), Teacher." Jefferson Heritage Center, accessed September 10, 2023. 

"Inge's Store: 331-333 West Main Street, Charlottesville, Virginia." Historic American Buildings Survey: HABS No. VA-1015. Digitized by the Library of Congress, accessed September 10, 2023.

Interview with Mrs. Teresa Jackson Walker Price. September 23, 2023.
​ 
​Mangione, Wilma T., Editor. “Recollections of Thomas Ferguson Inge, Sr.” From Porch Swings to Patios: An Oral History Project of Charlottesville Neighborhoods, 1914-1980. The City of Charlottesville, 1990, accessed September 8, 2023.

McGrath, Ray. "Inge's Store Has a Place in Main Street's History and Future." Daily Progress, November 11, 1979.

Munro, J.F. "Anthony T. Buckner." Holsinger Portrait Project, February 10, 2022, accessed September 9, 2023.

​Munro, Julia F. "George Carr." Holsinger Portrait Project. University of Virginia, February 10, 2022, accessed September 10, 2023.
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Mama's Chicken & Dumplings #NFPost No. 4

9/10/2023

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HURRICANE!

PictureLibrary of Congress
It happened in the middle of the night on September 2, 1935. It was Labor Day weekend, and little did the residents of the Florida Keys know that a category 5 hurricane was barreling toward them. But when the monstrous storm made landfall, everyone realized the danger. Waters rose. Biting rain pounded. Sustained winds battered at 185 mph!

On Metacumbe Key, a storm surge caused ocean waves to crest between 15-20-feet. Soon, every building, every tree, every living thing on the island was being ripped to shreds. On Lower Metacumbe Bay, 260 U.S. World War I veterans were surrounded by the storm. They'd been working on an overseas highway and hadn't been given ample warning or opportunity to evacuate. A train was sent to rescue them, but the storm surge pushed it off its tracks. Help was not on the way.

Tragically, all the men lost their lives.

By the time the storm subsided, the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane had claimed at least 485 victims.
Picture
Digitized by the Library of the University of Virginia
Allie, my main character in Mama's Chicken & Dumplings, overhears her mama talking about a hurricane brewing in the Atlantic, but that's the only mention I make of it in my work of historical fiction. If the storm had greatly impacted Charlottesville, Virginia, I would have included more. But by the time the storm moved inland it had weakened.

The local newspaper, the Daily Progress, however, did report on three days of heavy rains from the storm, which destroyed corn and apple crops. And it reported that the town of Scottsville, Virginia, located about 20 miles south of Charlottesville, had flooded when the the James River rose 23 feet above its normal level. No doubt, the overflowing waters of Mink Creek, which passed by the Methodist Church on Main Street, were also responsible for the town's streets being turned into waterways navigable only by rowboats. 
Picture
(c) Photo: Edward L. Dorrier
​I wondered if the residents of Vinegar Hill had a fundraiser for the African American family from Scottsville who lost everything when their two-story home was swept away by a flooded creek while the family was stuck inside. (Thankfully, the house floated and became lodged onto a bridge and the uninjured family was subsequently rescued.)

​Following the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, the Weather Bureau determined to improve hurricane warnings and evacuation orders. Nowadays, the National Weather Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use powerful tools like satellite imaging and supercomputers to sound hurricane warnings to give residents of coastal areas plenty of time to evacuate, thus minimizing loss of life.
Photo Credits
1. "Rescue Train Swept off the Tracks by the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane." Library of Congress, Control No. 2021670725, accessed September 8. 2023.

2. Front page of the Daily Progress. Charlottesville, VA,  No. 16, 104, September 5, 1935, accessed September 8, 2023. 

3. Dorrier, Edward L. Dorrier. "Sept. 6, 1935 Flood Photo of Main Street in Scottsville, VA." Irene and Edward L. Dorrier Collection, Scottsville Museum, Scottsville, VA, accessed September 8, 2023. Photo used with permission from Irene Dorrier and the Scottsville Museum.
Bibliography
Daily Progress, September 5, 1935, p. 1, digitized by the University of Virginia Library, accessed September 1, 2023.

Daily Progress, September 6, 1935, p. 1, digitized by the University of Virginia Library, accessed September 1, 2023.

HurricaneScience.org. "1935-Labor Day Hurricane." The University of Rhode Island, accessed September 1, 2023.
 
Library of Congress. "Rescue Train Swept off the Tracks by the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane." Item Description, accessed September 1, 2023.

McDonald, W. F. "The Hurricane of August 31 to September 6, 1935." Monthly Weather Review, 63, 269-271, accessed September 1, 2023.

National Weather Service. "NOAA Weather Radio in the Florida Keys." NOAA, accessed September 1, 2023. 
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Mama's Chicken & Dumplings #NFPost No. 3

9/9/2023

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 Doctors Serving the Vinegar Hill Community

Picture
Seated: Dr. George Franklin Johnson, Mrs. Peachie Carr Johnson, and Mr. Conley Greer
Standing: Mrs. Emma Carr Clorinda, Mrs. Mary Carr Greer, and Fannie Carr Washington
In 1935, when Mama's Chicken & Dumplings takes place, the medical needs of Vinegar Hill residents were cared for by five African American physicians and dentists whose home offices or joint practices were either within the neighborhood or located in nearby neighborhoods of Charlottesville, Virginia, like Starr Hill and Fifeville.

The 1934 Hill’s Charlottesville, Virginia, City Directory names them: George Johnson, Edward Stratton, Jr., Bernard Coles, John Jackson, and Edgar Long, Jr.

Dr. George Franklin Johnson (1876-1945) was born in Orange County. He was a 1911 Howard University medical school graduate who practiced at his home office at 123 4th St. NW in Charlotteville for 30 years. He married Peachie Suporah Carr (1889-1977), an Albemarle native, in 1914. 

​According to a participant at Family Photo Day held at the University of Virginia on March 9, 2019, the man in the photo below is that of Dr. Johnson. However, when I showed the image to Charlottesville native and longtime Jefferson School educator, Mrs. Teresa Walker Jackson Price, whose mind is as sharp as ever at 97 years, she said with certainty that it was not Dr. Johnson.

I also shared the photo with Peachie Carr's grandniece and her grandnephew's wife. Neither ladies recognized the man in the photo as Dr. Johnson. So I'm pretty sure the photo below has been misidentified, but wanted to include it here anyway. Above however, is the photo the Carr-Geer family shared with me, in which they identified Dr. Johnson as sitting next to his wife, Peachie.
Picture
Photo likely misidentified as George Franklin Johnson, M.D.
Peachie Carr Johnson (later Jackson) was a teacher in Orange County for two years then at Jefferson School in Charlottesville for decades. She graduated from Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute (now Virginia State College) with a teaching degree in 1912. In 1933, she obtained a bachelors of science degree from the same university. Later, Peachie did graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania.

"Dr. George F. Johnson in company with Mrs. Mary Greer motored to Virginia State College at Petersburg, to witness the Commencement exercises. Mrs. Peachie C. Johnson was a member of the graduating class." * 

Besides being a teacher, Peachie Carr Johnson was a civic minded individual who was quite involved in various literary and social clubs as well as benevolent societies organized by Charlottesville's African American women. From 1954-58, she was the president of the Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. I'm sure you'll find the primary research that's been done by the Ivy Creek Foundation about Peachie's family, the Carr and Greer Families, quite fascinating. I certainly did! (Find it HERE.)

According to Peachie's obituary, Dr. Johnson died suddenly in 1945. ​
Picture
Howard University Dentistry Class, circa 1900
Seen below is Dr. John Andrew Jackson (1888-1956). According to the 1934 Hill's Directory he was living at 125 4th Street NW, next door to Dr. Johnson, and practicing dentistry at 406 Commerce Street NW, right across from Jefferson School. Dr. Jackson received his D.D.S. degree from Howard University in 1913. 

Dr. Jackson's wife's name was Otelia Love (1889-1966). Otelia was actively involved in civic organizations serving the African American community of Charlottesville. The Jacksons had seven children--five sons and two daughters. Two of their sons Ellard "Punjab" Jackson and George Franklin Jackson became dentists like their father. The entire Jackson family was quite involved in volunteering with the National Association of Colored Dentists, now the National Dental Association, a professional organization founded in the 1900s by Dr. David Arthur Ferguson of Richmond, Virginia.
Picture
John Andrew Jackson, D.D.S.
In addition to their city property, the Jacksons owned 82 acres of farmland that was just outside the city. Dr. Jackson's father, Andrew W. Jackson, once had a working farm there. The land was located within a bustling, rural African American community called  Hydraulic Mills-Union Ridge. During the summer months, Dr. Jackson, who was scoutmaster of Charlottesville's African American Troop No. 15, allowed his land in the country to be used by the local African American Boy Scouts who camped, gardened, competed, and swam there.

​"Week before last, our city was host to the Old Dominion Dental Society. What an asset this convention was, to our city. If nothing else were enumerated, the inspiration allotted to our young people is really worthy of note. Without any attempt at exaggeration I have heard about ten young men and women express their desire to become dentists. Dr. J. A. Jackson and Dr. B.. A. Coles deserve great credit for their unselfishness in planning the public meeting. . ." **

Dr. Bernard A. Coles (1894-1971) a dentist, and Dr. Edgar A. Long, Jr., a physician, took care of the needs of their patients in an office located inside Vinegar Hill at 271½ West Main Street. Most likely, Dr. Long also visited infirm and ill patients in their homes. According to the 1934 Hill's Directory, Dr. Coles lived at 313 8th St. NW in Charlottesville with his wife Ruth, and Dr. Long, Jr. lived at 321 6th St. SW with his wife Marie. (The directory also lists another couple as living at the same home--Lloyd and Mary Tonsler.)  
​
Dr. Coles along with Dr. Jackson awarded graduating seniors of Jefferson School who had maintained the highest average in English with a five dollar gold piece, and awarded a five dollar prize for the best essay written by a student in any class! 
PictureEdward W. Stratton, Jr., M.D.
​Dr. Edward W. Stratton Jr. was listed in the directory as practicing at his home at 206 6th Street NW. His wife's name was Marguerite. As a volunteer in the 1930s, he served as the physician for Jefferson School's football team. On the left is an image of him cropped from a photo that was taken with the undefeated Jefferson School football team in 1935.

Just who was Dr. Edward W. Stratton, Jr.? More research needs to be done. But I wonder if he was the son of Edward W. Stratton who was the son of a Samuel Stratton, an African American clerk who built his family's home in Columbia, South Carolina in 1887.  I also wonder if he was the young man with the same name who was listed in Howard University's 1933 Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity roster.

I was truly delighted to discover from Mrs. Teresa Walker Jackson Price that I was correct in assuming that Dr. Edward W. Stratton, Jr. of Vinegar Hill was the same Dr. Edward W. Stratton, Jr. who was a prominent obstetrician in Los Angeles during the 1950s and 60s. And when I showed her a picture that I found of that Dr. Stratton (HERE), she quickly said, yes, it's him! And she should know. Dr. Stratton was her "godfather" who saw his patients in a basement office located in her family's basement, and who ate supper with her family every night!  
Picture
I really enjoyed finding out more about the physicians and dentists whose names were marked with a "C" in Hill's 1934 Directory (indicating their color). Learning even just a little about them, their wives, and families filled me with something akin to familial pride. And I felt it not just for them, but for all those back then who were professionals serving their communities--though they were born just a generation away from the Dark Days of Slavery.

As Charlottesville newspaper man T. J. Sellers, said: "They deported themselves with a decorum, born of culture and dignity."

It was my privilege to shine a small light on them by naming the doctor in Mama's Chicken & Dumplings Dr. Stratton. 
​Photo Credits
1. Carr-Greer Family Photo. Courtesy Helen Theodosia Lemons.

2. "Untitled" Photo: Ralph W. Holsinger. April 4, 1912. Holsinger Studio Collection, Albert and Shirley Small Collections Library, University of Virginia, Image ID 39856, neg. no. X00167A,  accessed August 29, 2023.

3. Howard University Dentistry Class. Photo: William Edward Burghardt, circa 1900. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Control NO. 2002695672, accessed August 29, 2023. 

4. John Andrew Jackson. Found in History of the American Negro & His Institutions: Virginia by A.B. Caldwell, January 1921: A.B. Caldwell Publishing, Atlanta, GA, p. 438, accessed August 29, 2023.

5. Edward W. Stratton Jr. Photo (cropped from 1935 Jefferson School Undefeated Football Team): Ralph W. Holsinger, 1935. Holsinger Studio Collection, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia, Image ID. 41491, neg. no. Y21177B2, accessed August 29, 2023.

6. Surgical Kit. Photo: Marjory Collins, February 1943. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Call No.LC-USW3- 017701-D, accessed August 30, 2023. 
​
  • I have diligently sought to establish and contact the copyright owners of the images used in my #NFPosts. Those on this page, I believe, are used within the confines of fair use, and/or are in the public domain.
Bibliography
"A Spirit of No Boundaries." Dental Economics, February 2014, p. 14, accessed August 28, 2023. 

African-American Genealogy Group. "About the J.F. Bell Funeral Home and Family." The Virginia Center for Digital History, accessed August 29, 2023. 
 
Central Virginia History Researchers. "The Hydraulic Mills / Union Ridge Community." Accessed August 29, 2023. 

CVillepedia. "B. A. Coles." Accessed August 29, 2023.
 
*"Dr. Geo. R. Ferguson." Journal of the National Medical Association. February 25, 1933, volume 1, pp. 36–37, accessed August 24, 2023.

Ezell, Ray. "Review of Black Boy Scouting in Central Virginia, 1915-1949." Central Virginia Boy Scouting Preservation Project, accessed August 29, 2023.  

Heritage Trails, No. 3. "Dr. John A. Jackson Home & Office: 125 Fourth Street NW." accessed August 29, 2023.

Howard University. The Bison, 1933, p. 107, accessed August 29, 2023.
​
​Obituary of Dr. George Franklin Jackson, D.D.S. Dignity Memorial, accessed August 29, 2023. 

 Jet, December 17, 1973, page 14, accessed August 29, 2023.

Kessler, Bryan S. "David Arthur Ferguson (1875–1935)." Dictionary of Virginia Biography, Library of Virginia, 2015, accessed August 29, 2023. 

Miller, Ed. "Excluded Elsewhere: UVA’s First Black Students Found Community of their Own​." The UVA Magazine, Summer 2021, p. 47, accessed August 29, 2023.

Monroe, Bruce, Orange County historian. Email Correspondence, September 21, 2023.

Munro, Julia F. "Dr. Johnson." Holsinger Portrait Project. University of Virginia, February 17, 2022, accessed August 23, 2023.

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. "Waverly Historic District." National Park Service, November 16, 1989, accessed August 29, 2023.

** Sellers, Thomas. "Old Dominion Dental Society." Reflector, April 21, 1934, issue no. 37, p. 4, col. 1, accessed August 29, 2023.

​Yager, Jordy. "Black Land, Black Schools & Eminent Domain." Mapping Albemarle/Mapping CVille, January 19, 2021, accessed August 29, 2023. 
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    About Me

    I am a spinner of children's yarns, a weaver of nonfiction, and a forever-learner enrolled in the Institute of Imaginative Thinking. My kidlit work has appeared on the pages of  Cricket, Spider, and Ladybug. As a work-for-hire author, I've written projects for Scholastic, Lerner, Capstone, Little, Brown and other educational publishers. My middle-grade, MAMA'S CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS, was published by Margaret Ferguson Books, August 2024. I've been an SCBWI member since 2005, and a Children's Book Guild of Washington D.C. member since 2022, and am represented by ​Kelly Dyksterhouse of The Tobias Literary Agency.

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