collaborations

Shadra Strickland, my friend, mentor, and illustrator, has used her creative genius to design covers for my young adult novel, A Wish after Midnight, and my memoir, Stranger in the Family. Both books are self-published through www.lulu.com, and both are available for purchase on my website (where you can also read excerpts). Self-publishing is a big step for me; after years and years of waiting for that official stamp of approval from the publishing industry, I finally decided to introduce more of my work to the world. It’s thrilling but also a bit scary–I can’t blame an editor or agent or anyone but myself if these books don’t succeed. But what is success? For me, the fact that the books EXIST is enough–they’re no longer collecting dust on my hard drive, they’re available to anyone who wants to buy and read them. And I’m working on getting them added to public library systems in Canada and the US! Some would say these books are not “legit,” and that may be true if your investment in the publishing “system” is greater than mine. What I know is this: lots of quality literature never makes it into print–it never winds up in the library or in your favorite bookstore because of a handful of gatekeepers. I think readers should have as many choices as possible, and that’s why I chose to self-publish my four books. The fifth might be coming soon…