Although there are other friendship books between a white girl and a black girl, no others take place in a southern city just before the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision to integrate the schools.
|Titled "Isolation." 1960's, Michigan|
Generational secrets (i.e., half-truths) that influence the present fascinate me.
How long have you been working on your WIP?
Ten years. (not counting a few years spent on a picture book and early chapter book that laid the ground work for Half-Truths. Yes, a picture book. Really.)
|Some of the books I've read while researching and writing.|
What do you think people will enjoy most about your WIP?
I'm hoping they'll enjoy the girls' friendship and what Kate and Lillian learn from one another. I also hope they'll become more aware of their own half-truths (We all have them!).
Describe your WIP in ten short phrases.
Segregation; Charlotte, NC; civil rights; passing; family secrets; rambunctious goat; debutantes; journalism; unexpected friendship; Korean War.
Provide a snippet (long or brief) of a favorite scene.
What is the hardest thing to write with this story? What is the easiest?
Hard: Getting the African American story right.
Easy: Writing off the page. (I write Kate's poems in long-hand first. These seem to come out easier.)
A line where the tension builds.
Explain the plot in one line.
In 1952, fourteen-year-old Kate Dinsmore's world is shaken when she discovers that the Negro teenager working in her grandmother's house is her second cousin.
Please visit Sarah, Ivie, Lisa, Julian, Jem, Faith, Lila and Evangeline to see their answers to these questions. You'll be impressed with these young writers enthusiastic dedication to story creation!
Stay tuned for Part II in a few weeks.