Tell me about yourself as a writer. Who are you? That’s a rough first question. As a writer, I identify as a Black woman. Everything that happens for me is filtered through that lens. I am so in love with Black people. I think we are so dope, and so, everything I write is to serve our community. I write from a place of love. Even though we have flaws, I want to show those things, but not in a way that dishonors who we are as a people. I want to let that stand for a second. Your debut novel, Looking for Hope, took 14 years to publish. What prompted you to take the leap? Self-doubt and imposter syndrome had me locked up for a very long time. I felt like, who wants to read my work? Who’s gonna care? So, there were two mentors who believed in my work and told me I was a good writer, Tina McElroy Ansa and Suzette D. Harrison. They thought the story was good, my writing...
