1. Which five words best describe The Adventures of “Carolina Moon” A Collection of Poems and Short Stories from Me to You?
Honesty
Curiosity
Confusion
Family
Self-awareness
2. Can you share one highlight from the book?
One highlight from the book is how I came up with the title. You’ll have to read the book to find out the answer.
3. What is the purpose of this book?
The purpose of this book was to give a written account of my experiences.
4. Are there themes that you find turn up again and again in you work? A common thread?
The themes would be Family and Survival. The common thread would be myself.
5. Which character or part of the book was the most fun to write? Which part was the hardest?
The part of the book that was most fun to write was about my early life growing up, where my biggest worries were about pecans, black berries and butterflies. The hardest part to write was about the death of my family. The concept of death can be very perplexing to a child, one day the person is with you, and the next day, they are not. My brain didn’t comprehend the permanence of death. I dreamt of them often, over the coming years, but it was always in a loving way.
6. Can you tell us something that even our most loyal fans may not know about you?
I think that my most loyal fans may not know that I think of myself as a vessel for telling these stories. Most of the stories seem to find me and use me as a vessel to tell their/our stories. I don’t necessarily choose them, they seem to choose me. Fans also might not know that I am a very private person.
7. Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
Yes, some readers have been asking me what happened to Crenshaw? The short answer is that I don’t know. I suspect that he suffered and later died from Diabetes, and that’s why he only had one leg. This was a fairly common occurrence within the African-American community.
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