Tell us a little bit about you outside of being an author. I am a native Detroiter. I am a visual artist and freelance as an artist and writer.
Tell us a little bit about your work in progress and/or your upcoming release. I have several items in the works. I have a short story mystery that I am re-creating as screenplay and a book I wrote when I was fourteen that needs approximately 125 updated illustrations. I am constantly composing poetry and plan to publish a new collection in the near future. I am a contributing author in Cosmos 2010; an anthology. My latest release is my young adult novel, The Magic Pencil. It was published this past August and is an accomplishment of which I am extremely proud.
How many years of professional writing experience do you have? What have you written? I have been writing all of my life; beginning with telling stories through pictures. As I have done writing and editing for some time and am paid for such, I would guess I have been a professional writer since the early 80’s. I have written articles for newspapers, copy for advertising, ideas for comedy, and poetry, poetry. poetry!
Do you have an occupation in addition to being a writer? As stated earlier, I do freelance art and am attending school to get certified in digital and web design. Positions I have held in the past include teaching, project administrator and as a legal assistant.
What credentials establish you as an expert in your field or have contributed to your success as an author? I have two bachelor degrees in which my writing ability was a boon although neither degree is for English studies. I have been involved with youth in many capacities: as a teacher, re-creator, mentor and friend. I believe I possess great knowledge regarding how children think. I call myself a “big kid” because I am able to nurture and share my inner-child despite growing older. I have great empathy for children and the challenges they face.
About the Book
What was your motivation for writing this book? I began writing The Magic Pencil after noticing how important pencils are to children in school. They are considered as special as any other status symbol. This knowledge caused me to reflect upon my own experiences and I stated writing about them in the voice of an eleven-year-old boy. I wrote about ten pages in a small note book and didn’t pick it up for some time. It wasn’t until years later after I was accepted to a writing seminar that I found the note book. It was one of those times when one is guided to something forgotten based on what some may call divine intervention. I lengthened the writing to thirteen typewritten pages in preparation for my seminar. I felt the story had promise but I didn’t realize how much until the instructor, a well-renowned author, told me I would make a million dollars if I would turn those thirteen pages into about 120! I was so excited I managed to get the book to about 166, 8.5 x 11 pages.
Tell us some of the factors that make your book unique. I feel my novel is unique because it handles a plethora of challenges all youth face, while growing up in our world. Not only are these things presented; suggestions for how to navigate through them are supplied in an entertaining way. The characters are engaging and will cause the reader to want to know more about them and in order to do so s/he may be driven to a dictionary. I like to describe the book as “sneakily didactic” as many new things will be learned without being force fed. Also, Malcolm, the main character, uses black vernacular to tell the story but demonstrates he is fully conversant in standard American English. Another way The Magic Pencil is unique is that ages five and up will be able to enjoy it.
What is the single most important thing that readers of your book will be able to do after reading your book that they could not do before? I think the most important thing a reader will get from my novel is a new way of looking at the world and ways to meet its challenges.
Is there local or regional relevance for your book? I imagine the story as taking place in Detroit but I didn’t want to limit it to any one city. Its main setting is in a tough, urban neighborhood.
Are there any controversial elements in your book? Yes, many. Some of the topics dealt with are drug dependency, absent parents, sex education, truancy, blended families and methods of formal education.
In researching your book, did you come across any surprising facts, figures or statistics? Yes, I did. I had to do a lot of research regarding sports in which the average boy may be interested. However, I didn’t deal much with figures and statistics.
If your book were for sale in a major bookstore, in what section would it be found? I believe it would be found in the young adult section.
What did you learn while writing this book? How much I enjoyed getting up everyday to work on something I am passionate about. I enjoy the discipline that is required to write well and daily.
What one thing about writing do you wish other non-writers would understand? How much of ourselves we writers pour into our work.
What are three things you wish you’d known before you reached where you are now?
- How to have gone about publishing a book at fourteen years old.
- That I was born to be a writer; first and foremost.
- How thrilling it is to see the effort I put into my story come to fruition.
How and why does your book differ from books of a similar topic? Because it teaches serious lessons in a lighthearted way.
What would you like your readers to take away from your book? I would hope the readers will experience the enjoyment and wonder I did while writing the novel.
If you could change one thing you did during your road to publication, what would it be and what would you have done different? I would have had more faith in having someone else edit the book.
What advice would you give an aspiring author? To just let whatever you care about flow onto the page. You can always clean it up later!
Where can readers learn more about you and your books? Visit http://dabsandcompany.com.
Please identify five recent books (with title and ISBN) that compete most directly with yours.
- Letters From Black America Newkirk, Pamela ISBN: 0374101094
- This Full House Wolff, Virginia Euwer ISBN: 9780061583056
- Hustlin’ Divine, L. ISBN: 9780758231055
- If I Grow Up Strasser, Todd ISBN: 1416925236
- Dope Sick Myers, Walter Dean ISBN: 9780061214776
what about the kennedys 
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