I am a Southern girl at heart. I love the Lord, my kids, soul music, fried fish on Fridays, and collard greens on Sundays. I struggle with my weight. I hate to lose anything. I lose the weight and then I go back and get it! My bad eyesight is attributed to reading in the dark as a child, after being told to go to bed. I took the traditional route and went to college, earning my master’s degree. One day my hubby and soul mate Ken told me that I should pursue my dream of writing. I heard him but did not take heed at the time for fear of failure. Who wants to fail at something truly desired?
For my thirty-third birthday Ken gave me and one of my dear friends a trip to New York to see the play, The Color Purple. The night before the play, I talked to my husband on the phone and told him what a great time I was having in Times Square. He called again later, as he always did, when I was away, to ensure we had made it safely back to our hotel. That Saturday , as I prepared to walk out of the hotel to see the play, I received the worse call of my life. My hubby of 14 years — the man I totally adored with every fiber of my being — was killed in a boating accident near our Florida home. It’s a pain that I will never get over but I know that I must get on with living the remainder of the life Jesus has given to me. I decided to face my fears and live out my dreams. Writing is my passion and God- given gift. It is something I do simply for pleasure and as an escape to another place. When I look back over my life I want to have many full, well-written, and abundantly lived chapters.
And one of those chapters is writing my debut novel, Airing Grandma’s Laundry and other hush hush family secrets.
Here are some answers to the questions I have received via email:
What made you write in a different time period?
I am a history and biography buff. I love the era of the 1940’s and 1950’s in black culture. I feel that there was more cohesiveness in the black community. The roles were more defined –women were women and men were men. My book is not urban fiction is it more old school fiction.
How did you come up with the title Airing Grandma’s Laundry?
Who knows and holds more family secrets than grandmothers?
Are the characters in my book real people?
This book is a work of fiction. I have taken characteristics from people that I know and combined them within into certain characters. I think this is something that all writers do to a certain degree.
Will you go on tour?
Yes, I plan to tour. Please check the website for locations. I look forward to meeting my fans.
What are your future writing goals?
I look forward to completing my next novel soon and completing work on two non-fiction projects.