I recently came across an enlightening article by Heather Murphy Capps, my favorite author of middle grade fiction. In it, she describes why she used magical realism to navigate the difficult issues of social justice, inherited trauma, and bullying in her recently published novel, “The Rule of Three.” In her introduction, she clarifies a common […]
The Christmas and New Year holidays fell in the time between the end of one farming cycle and the beginning of the next. While much of my commentary below applies to the plantation system in general, I am writing primarily about Virginia. In December, work on plantations there was at the lowest level of the […]
My post from March 23, 2021, looked at Mary Moore Easter’s excellent book of poetry, Free Papers. The poems in it reveal the trials and obstacles of a woman–Eliza Winston–determined to obtain her freedom in a society groomed to deprive her of it. The title refers to the manumission papers that would declare an end […]
On September 23, 2021, I posted a “Tip O’ The Hat!” to my daughter, Heather Murphy Capps, for signing her first publishing deal. Well, now the book is here! Indigo and Ida is a middle grade novel about eighth grader, Indigo, whose encounter with a book by Black journalist and activist, Ida B. Wells, leads […]
To Heather Murphy Capps on her awesome achievement! (Bragging rights: She’s my daughter.) I am so proud of her. This is well deserved. Indigo and Ida will be an outstanding addition to middle grade books that highlight diverse characters and themes about diversity. Kudos to her, to Shannon Hassan at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, and […]
The Plot Thickens 