Q&A with Kimberly A. Gordon Biddle

  

 

 

Kimberly A. Gordon Biddle is the author of the new children's picture book As You Are: A Hope for Black Sons. She is an emeritus professor of child and adolescent development at Sacramento State, and she lives in Sacramento, California.

 

Q: You’ve said your son inspired you to write As You Are--can you say more about that?

 

A: I want to love and protect my son for all of his life, all of my life. I think all mothers want this for their children. My son is mixed race (Black, White, and Japanese). However, he looks Black and is treated as if he is Black. He experienced differential treatment, because he looks Black, at a young age.

 

I am a Developmentalist by training, I know Developmental Science. So, I know this starts young, around age 3. He was lucky in some ways. The treatment at 3 wasn't really bad. However, by 1st or 2nd grade it was unbearable.

 

I tried to teach him what to do and say. He would repeat over and over, I am not Samoan (or whatever ethnic group was chosen) I am Black, White, and Japanese. No, you cannot touch my hair.

 

This may seem small, but my biggest fear was and still is that he will be killed, because he looks Black. The world does not like Black males when they get older.

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: The story of the title is very interesting. When I was first writing the manuscript the title was "Love and Protect You Always, my Child."  I was told that is too "on the nose." However, I kept it. I still think that is the main message. All parents want to love and protect their children forever.

 

My critique partners read my manuscript and would always get emotional while reading it. They would say something such as, "This is beautiful." Some people have tears while reading it. Others turn red in their face. With such responses, I knew this  book was special.

 

I took the book to the ABLA Big Sur Children's Lit Conference in California. My mentor there was an ABLA agent. She changed the title to "Prayer for Black Sons." She did not decide to represent me, though. Anyway, the title stuck with the manuscript on its journey to becoming a final draft  for publication.

 

The manuscript got me an agent, the fabulous Deborah Warren at East West Literary Agency. Deborah suggested a few changes and then put the book on submission. After some months, Magination Press/American Psychological Association gave me a contract for publication.

 

I worked with my editor, Kristin, who asked for some more changes, including the title. I suggested "As You Grow" and my original title "Love and Protect You Always, my Child."

 

Kristin and her boss, Kristine, changed it to the final title, "As You Are: A Hope for Black Sons." They wanted the title to be more inclusive, so prayer was changed to hope. As you grow was changed to as you are. This was Kristine's suggestion. To me, the title means accepting Black males as they are in all of their growth stages.

 

Q: What do you think David Wilkerson’s illustrations add to the book?

 

A: David's illustrations reflect the love, joy, and light of my words. His illustrations bring the book to life. He also expanded the marginalized groups. He includes a child in a wheelchair, a child with visual impairment, and a child with vitiligo. These children probably have similar experiences to Black males to some extent. However, Black males are still likely to be killed.

 

Q: What do you hope children (and adults) take away from As You Are?

 

A: My main message for children and adults is that all parents want to love and protect their children forever. However, this is not possible. The children go to places without their parents and the children grow up and become adults. For some children and parents, especially if the child is a black male, this is a concerning situation.

 

The backmatter gives the parents some clues about what is important in these situations, how to handle these situations, and actual words to give to the child to say in these situations. Most of all, it is important to have hope. Without the hope, you can become bitter and angry. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I just got informal word from Magination Press that they like another one of  my manuscripts. I hope it becomes a book. I am also in the draft and critique stage of a companion book to As You Are. I hope this also becomes a book. I love working with Magination Press.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Yes, As You Are: A Hope for Black Sons is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and at other Independent bookstores. Here is the url - 978-1433848872  . I appreciate purchases, reviews, and support.

 

I also write textbooks. I am working on my fourth textbook with two other authors. The tentative title of this textbook is God, the Developmental Scholar. I hope and pray it gets published. Thank you so much for having me on your blog. I really, really appreciate this opportunity.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Esmé Shapiro

  

 

 

 

Esmé Shapiro is the author and illustrator of the new children's picture book Ruthie. Her other books include Ooko. She lives in the Hudson Valley. 

 

Q: What inspired you to create Ruthie, and how did you create the title character?

 

A: We first catch a glimpse of Ruthie in my companion book, Ooko. There, he appears almost like a vision - a white puff of a dog with a lop of rounded, cloudlike hair and a mischievous smile. A smile that seems to denote a divine confidence! He has a small but mighty cameo.

 

If you look closely, you can find clues about him throughout the illustrations: his owner adorns her walls with images of him skydiving, gardening, and enjoying elaborate dinners. He’s clearly beloved and strangely cultured - and yet, he disappears for most of the story. 

 

I became fascinated by the mystery of Ruthie - who was this bewildering little creature? That curiosity is what inspired and created Ruthie!

 

Q: Did you work on the text first or the illustrations first--or both simultaneously?

 

A: For Ruthie, I worked on the text first. I was in a somewhat unusual position because I already knew the character and his world - it had already been established in Ooko. 

 

The process really became about discovering who Ruthie really was and what drove him. Once I realized that he believed himself to be a prince, everything clicked - and the rest of the story flowed from there! 

 

Q: How does this new book connect to your book Ooko?

 

A: Ruthie takes place at the same time as Ooko. While Ooko is trying to convince a “Debbie” that she is a dog, Ruthie is attempting to escape his “castle walls.”

 

There is even a moment in each book where you can spot both of the characters in the garden together! But like two ships in the night, they barely notice each other. 

 

Although they are driven by very different desires - Ooko is searching for connection, while Ruthie longs to explore beyond his comforts - they ultimately arrive at a similar truth: that there is nothing more meaningful than being loved and cherished for who you really are. 

 

Q: The Kirkus Review of the book says, “Both text and the stylized, mixed-media art, which often contradict each other to delightful effect, are packed with charmingly odd details; this is a celebration of authenticity and friendship not to be passed up.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I think that is an incredibly kind description! Every now and then, a review comes along where you feel like the reviewer really understood what you were trying to do - and this was one of those moments for me!

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I haven’t announced my next book just yet - but I will give you a hint…it involves…bread!!!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: At its heart, Ruthie is really a story about perception. Ruthie helps us understand that stepping outside of your comfort zone can shift the way you see the world - and, in turn, deepen your relationships and sense of meaning. 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

April 4

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
April 4, 1914: Marguerite Duras born.

Q&A with Corinne Sullivan

  

Photo by Ahdout and Sabrina Toto

 

 

Corinne Sullivan is the author of the new novel Yours Always. She also has written the novel Indecent. She is the senior news editor at Cosmopolitan, and she lives in Jersey City, New Jersey. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Yours Always?

 

A: I got the idea while watching a Netflix true-crime doc called Lover, Stalker, Killer about an online dating love triangle gone very, very wrong. I loved the idea of trying to capture the complexities of the twisty case in a novel…and perhaps even adding in an additional few twists along the way.

 

Q: The author Flora Collins said of the book, “Sullivan does an excellent job of wriggling her way into each character's head, making even the most despicable dating app user sympathetic to her readers.” What do you think of that description, and how did you create your cast of characters?

 

A: I’m all for unlikable characters, but I feel as though—if you’re trying to strive for moral ambiguity—those characters must at least be explicable in their actions, even if the reader doesn’t endorse them.

 

I like to create characters that are frustrating, stubborn, and even foolish at times, but still sympathetic in their own way despite their flaws.

 

Q: The novel is set in Austin--how important is setting to you in your writing?

 

A: Setting isn’t always of huge importance to me, but for this novel, the location really mattered.

 

Austin is rich with all these quirks and contradictions—the bats, the lake, the old money folks with their traditional Texas values amid the new money Silicon Valley exiles with their counter-culture spirit—plus, it’s hot, which always helps ramp up the tension.   

 

Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: I thought I knew how the story would end (I had it all mapped out before I began drafting)...but as I approached the conclusion, I ended up deciding that the ending needed one final twist.

 

I also originally did not include Amanda’s perspective as part of the story but decided that her voice was needed.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I have another novel in the works right now that’s once again inspired by a true story, following a new mother, a house fire, and a possible kidnapping plot. I’ve never written about the postpartum experience before (I’m a mother of two!), so it’s been grueling at times to revisit but also incredibly cathartic.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Yours Always is my debut thriller but my second novel. My first novel, Indecent, follows a recent college grad who takes a job at a boy’s boarding school, and while it’s not a thriller, it’s still plenty twisted. 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Laura Vogt

  

 

 

 

Laura Vogt is the author of the new novel In the Great Quiet. She lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

 

Q: How much was In the Great Quiet based on your own family stories, and what did you see as the right balance between fiction and history?

 

A: Minnie, the main character of In the Great Quiet, was inspired by my ancestor, my great-great-grandmother. She’s woven together from both family stories and historical research. I read hundreds of interviews and journals of homesteading women from the 1890s frontier.

 

The balance was very instinctual: I gathered information, and Minnie boldly came to life. Minnie, as a character, was insistent. I wanted to honor the legacy of my ancestor but was even more interested in chasing down a story I wanted to read, in building a character that would be inspiring, relatable, and historically accurate. 

 

I’m passionate about rewriting the history of the everyday woman. I’m fascinated by what life would have been like for an ordinary, everyday mom on the 1893 Oklahoma frontier. What life may have been like for an “ordinary” woman in 1593 Ireland. I’m deeply curious and committed to uncovering untold stories, overlooked women, those lost to time.

 

I remember the moment I first heard of my ancestor Minnie Hoopes. Over a decade ago my grandmother Verla and I were chatting in her sitting room, while she shared old family stories.

 

She told me of her grandmother, and I immediately saw Minnie: A vivid, emotionally fraught portrait of a woman on the frontier, leaning forward over her horse, red dust clouding, as she chased down adventure. I glimpsed a moment in a woman’s life, felt as if I glimpsed her pain and her yearning—and I desperately wanted to know more.

 

At that time I was writing another novel, and so Minnie waited patiently.

 

In 2019, I began my research of the Oklahoma frontier, which included interviewing my grandmother and compiling family stories. My historical research added color and nuance, but by then the character of Minnie had already been walking alongside me for some time.

 

My research hunted down an answer to the question: Why would a woman of the 1890s go on such a dangerous adventure? What was she running from? When she saddled up her horse on September 16, 1893, readying for the race, was she terrified or excited?

 

Autumn of 1893 was a desperate time: an economic depression and a drought. So was she hot and sweaty? What did the crowd and the prairie sound like?

 

In the first-person accounts I read, pioneer women experienced the gamut of emotions: some were giddy and exhilarated while others were haunted. I want to tell stories about elemental desires: longing, hunger, hope. To consider questions women grappled with in 1893 that we still grapple with today—questions about ancestry and time, memory and belonging.

 

While writing, I didn’t often consider the balance between the “true” life of Minnie and what I imagined. The character of Minnie was so forceful and compelling.

 

If you read In the Great Quiet, you’ll see she’s bold and tenacious. She wasn’t one I could look away from or tell to quiet on down. It was only when I began to share my novel with readers that I considered that question.

 

Now, I often think about the tension between truth and inspiration. Many readers adore that In the Great Quiet is inspired by my ancestor. And it is. But to me, a possibility of how a woman lived—any ordinary woman—is just as fascinating as a factual, biographical account of my ancestor.

 

Q: Can you say more about how you researched the novel? What did you learn that especially surprised you?

 

A: In my research of homesteading women, I sought out first-person narratives of the frontier, such as journals and interviews. I read over a hundred history books, scoured photographs and newspapers, and took research trips to western Oklahoma, to visualize the topography and nature throughout the seasons.

 

My background as a historian is in the history of mentalities, a specific approach to cultural history that uncovers how those of the past looked upon their world. I love to dig into how people interpreted their environments. 

 

What surprised me the most was the dynamic quality of the women’s voices: their unbridled passion, their lush hope, their brutal terrors. Their emotions seemed right at the surface, easier to glimpse than I expected. There are many rich accounts of pioneer women full of gratitude and wonder, along with foreboding for life alone on the frontier.

 

These stories, ripe with emotion and wide-ranging adventure, all the iconic expansiveness and hazards of the Wild West, are where I situated this narrative of Minnie. I wanted to capture a compelling woman vibrating with life—someone you couldn’t help but root for, someone you must follow on their journey. 

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: I drafted In the Great Quiet in 2020. I had a newborn son, a 5-year-old daughter, and a 7-year-old daughter. My oldest was diagnosed with type one diabetes in January of 2020. And so, as you can imagine: There was no quiet that year. 

 

For some time before the pandemic, I had been researching and dreaming up Minnie’s story. I had hoped to explore the tension between isolation and community. It was something I often thought of as a mom.

 

When I typed out the phrase “in the great quiet,” Minnie alone in the vast frontier, the prairie silent, lonesome, but startlingly alive with the sounds of nature, there was almost a sigh in my soul.

 

In the Great Quiet. 

 

What is that? Where was it? Could I please, for five minutes, run through the woods and find it?

 

I like how “in the great quiet” is a bit hazy, a bit amorphous. How each reader might have a slightly different understanding and relationship to this indescribable “great quiet.” 

 

For me, it’s a deep sigh. A longing. 

 

Both a physical place—the broad meadows and lost forests of the Oklahoma frontier. But also, “great quiet” is some place deep within. A peace, a resting, a hope.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: Hope. 

 

Life can be so incredibly brutal and bleak. I write to sweep readers away so completely into a story that they come back transformed. As an artist, I seek the widest, most expansive dreams. I long for In the Great Quiet to jostle readers right in the heart. 

 

One early reviewer shared that “In the Great Quiet swept me away so completely that closing the book felt like coming back from another lifetime.” My goal is to create an immersive, transportive story, where readers are tugged alongside Minnie, where they grapple with questions and when they close the book, they are someone new.

 

Another reviewer shared that In the Great Quiet “captures the ache of struggle so beautifully that it almost feels like you’re living it right alongside the characters. And yet, through all the pain, there’s this persistent thread of hope that reminds you how resilient the human heart can be. Watching each person slowly find their way, stumble, and rise again felt so genuine and heartfelt. By the end, I found myself both teary and comforted, as if I’d walked through something sacred with them.” 

 

And that’s exactly what I want to do: Take my readers on a journey, that when they come up for air at the end it’s as if they walked through something sacred.

 

The reader closes her review with, “It’s one of those rare stories that stays with you long after you’ve closed the book, leaving you quieter, softer, and somehow more hopeful than before.” 

 

I cried reading that review. To leave a reader “more hopeful than before” is my grandest dream. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m drafting my next historical novel, which takes places in 19^th century Ireland. The story follows a resilient, curious botanist in a world that’s dangerous, moody, and romantic.

 

As with all of my work, I’m exploring what life was like for an everyday woman, long ago. The novel takes place both in the environment of first-generation female academics and the lush, undiscovered landscapes of Ireland. It’s loosely entangled with my ancestors, who were boat builders along the Irish coast.

 

There’s an evocative sense of place, a dash of wilderness survival, and a deep friendship between two women. And of course, plenty of romance.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I’m incredibly humbled and honored to be here, sharing my story with you. I’ve dreamed of writing novels for most of my life, and I’m thrilled to now be sharing In the Great Quiet with readers.

 

I have a book club guide on my Substack, with discussion questions, behind the book information, icebreaker games, a family recipe, and a bookish craft. I cannot wait to connect with readers and book clubs. You can most often find me on Instagram, sharing a sunset timelapse or book recommendations.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

Q&A with Tess Perko

  

Photo by Lara George Photography

 

 

Tess Perko is the author of the new novel Learning to Whistle. A former journalist and English professor, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Learning to Whistle, and how did you create your character Leonie?

 

A: I write stories about women who find empowerment. My character, Leonie, is named after a dear friend of mine, Leona, who was 50 years older than me. We became friends when I was in my 20s and she was in her 70s.

 

Leona lived in a tiny makeshift house built by her husband in a poor neighborhood of East Los Angeles. She lived humbly, but taught me how to live a rich life of friendship, humor, and kindness toward others. Some of the most fun and endearing moments of my life were shared with her.

 

Leonie, the character, is also inspired by my daughter, Rachael, who had the courage and spunk to live in Argentina for two years after she graduated from college. Leonie’s grief for her mother’s death is based on my own grief experiences. I know how devastating it feels to lose someone you cherish.

 

Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: I often discover a title early in the process of writing a story, which helps me focus on the story’s purpose.

 

Relating to this story, I’ve always wished to be able to whistle because whistlers appear to be happy people. I blended the idea of whistling (and being happy) with the journey of Leonie’s healing from her sorrow over her mother’s death. Leonie wants to learn how to whistle, but she also yearns to overcome her abject heartache. 

 

Q: The writer Suzanne Simonetti said of the book, “Rich with heart, sensory detail, and insight, this story is both tender and uplifting.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I’m thrilled with Suzanne Simonetti’s endorsement.

 

I am a deep empath and can feel the joy and pain of other people’s lives, and I use this ability in my writing. In this novel, I allowed my empathic skill to create scenes and characters that helped me to deepen the meaning of the story.

 

For example, at the Iguazú waterfalls, Leonie meets a strange woman wearing a cloak that imitates the wings of the butterflies flickering around her. This woman gives Leonie advice about how she must change in order to heal.

 

I think Suzanne Simonetti discovered my empathic nature and how it was infused into the story. She also noted how I enjoy writing sensory detail, particularly describing nature and the fine minutiae of character. 

 

Because the story explores such deep feelings, I wouldn’t have been courageous enough to write it 10 years ago. Before, I worried that readers would think my own life was a mess if I wrote about these things. Today, I derive personal strength from being able to write about sad, painful, and joyful events. With my writing, I’m participating in the human story.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: This is a story for women of all ages. I hope my readers take Leonie’s story as one example of how to get through a painful experience and how to live a full and rewarding life afterwards. One kind of empowerment.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Currently, I’m writing short stories about grieving. I also have an idea for a short story about a character who doesn’t learn about the power of kindness until the last months of her life.

 

In addition, I’m working on blog pieces that discuss various aspects of the writing life. One focuses on writing a strong first chapter. Another discusses how to build a female writing community.

 

My big project is my next novel, a story about a young woman who grows up with an authoritative father and leaves home so she can find out who she is and gain back her self-respect. The story is based in Alaska.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I get my writing talent from my dad. When I was 9, he was going to miss my birthday. He was in the Air Force and stationed in England while we still lived in California so he wrote me a birthday poem of more than 10 verses. Each stanza had four lines and every other line rhymed. I saved that birthday card for years, but I’ve now lost it.

 

When I was little, my mother sat me down to write letters to her sisters because she didn’t like writing. I didn’t know what to say, but, step by step, she stood by the sink in the kitchen doing chores and gave me ideas until I had a whole letter. I continued to write my aunts letters until this year when her last sister died.

 

I never get writer’s block anymore. My biggest problem is finding the time or the energy to write down all the ideas that come to my imagination. I love being a writer.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb 

April 3

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

April 3, 1783: Washington Irving born.