Out of all the books I’ve read, there are six particular books that will always be at the top of my “favorites”. My Soul To Keep, a science-fiction novel written by my favorite author, Tananarive Due, along with its sequels, is a beautifully-written, suspense-filled wonder! Khaled Houssenei has recently become a favorite author of mine. His book A Thousand Splendid Suns is one of the best novels I have read thusfar due to his gift, as shown in this book, for making the human struggle- specifically the lives of two Afghani woman- a struggle that encapsulates the whole of their culture. I read Stealing Freedom, by Elisa Carbone many years ago, and it has continued to be a favorite. Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons is a great book, as is Phillip Pullman’s The Golden Compass, (excluding the movie.) Lastly, as a guide for higher living, Shakti Gawain’s book Living in the Light is my bedside buddy, backpack pal, and staying-up-late-in-a-hotel companion that brings me back to my purpose here in this Universe.

In speaking of higher living, this type of literature is one of my favorite genres to read. Authors under this group whose books I have read and collected include Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Shakti Gawain, Eckhart Tolle, Dan Millman and his Peaceful Warrior, and U.S. Anderson’s Three Magic Words.

Other authors and books I have enjoyed include my 20th century mentor, Zora Neale Hurston, writer Anthony Browder who brings obscure pieces of African/African-American history to light, Greg Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea, Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies, Tananarive Due’s Black Rose, and Christina Lamb’s Sewing Circles of Herat and House of Stone. My favorite literary classics collection include Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, and Charles Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities.

Young adult author’s I enjoy are Nancy Farmer, Madeleine L’engle, Sharon G. Flake, and others. And did I forget J.K. Rowling and her outstanding ability to encourage children to read their first 870-page book with the Harry Potter Series? They are a must-read.

As you can see, reading is a favorite past-time of mine. I feel that it is one of the most important means of educating yourself.

I would like to share a quote from Shishu Bhavan, a children’s home in Calcutta, often attributed to a strong, favorite figure of mine, Mother Teresa. It reads “give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough…give the world the best you’ve got anyway”.

In my case, as I near the publication of my first book, and as I am caught in the middle of working on my next few projects, it’s interesting to compare how it was for me to write the first in relation to the others. For years, ever since I was a young child, I have immersed myself into the studies and experiences of slavery in America, and how it affected the lives of enslaved and free African Americans. Because this was something I was not only passionate about, but something I had studied for a long time, the topic was familiar, and writing my first novel about this history was much easier to put on paper than other projects about different cultures or concepts may be.

There are other things that made the first easier in relation to the others. For example, when I started my first book, my one and only goal was to take the inspiration that was in my heart, and to put it on paper. I remember, on occasion, a relative of mine telling me stories of my ancestor watching, at a very young age, her mother being sold away from her. I envisioned her, standing on the edge of the Mississippi River, staring at her mother’s handkerchief disappearing slowly over the horizon. It was this story, I decided, that I would seek to embody in a fictional piece of work, in one manner or another. I had no intention at the beginning, of writing an entire novel, let alone publishing it! Therefore, in writing the very first draft of my first book, there were no guidelines, no deadlines, no expectations, no concerns. I researched what I needed to for the book because it was my intention to make it historically accurate- a personal goal. There were no technicalities to rid my mind of when I sat down to write, no questions like: What is it that I want to do with this particular book? Who is it that I’m trying to appeal to? It was just me doing what I loved, and loving what I did.

Because of my experience with my first book, I am now familiar with the process, and therefore feel more comfortable with writing and working with my next projects. Sometimes, this makes the writing of these new projects easier. Many times, however, I find myself thinking about the technicalities, and dealing with bouts of “writer’s bloc” that arise from this. My new topics may be different, and they may not be so familiar as were those of the first book. What is more, I realize now that I have an identity- a voice- a responsibility. Sometimes, it’s more difficult to relieve myself of that identity, let my passion for writing override any fears that may exist, and focus on the goal at hand.

And yet with all of this said, I return to my original statement. Every book written is unique. There are some things that make the writing of my next works easier, and some things that make them harder than writing my first. Despite all of this, one fact still remains. If I have enough tools and research in front of me when inspiration hits, I am tossed back to that same creative space I was in when writing the first book, where ideas run freely, and the story flows through my fingers naturally. That space is remissive in that it rids my mind and creates an atmosphere with a level playing field because I’m doing what I love!

It is also essential to allow my characters to become apart of me. Recently in New York, I heard actress Anika Rose speak. In response to a question very similar to this one, she stated that an actress or actor spends the same amount of time and energy stepping out of their own skin and becoming the character as they do allowing the character to become them. A character is always a reflection of some small part of me, because the creation of that individual comes from me. When I put my time and energy into writing a story, every character, “steals a piece of my heart”. When initially creating my character, I get to decide which part of me I want that character to become. Will they represent something I observe? Something I do not agree with? Something I have questions about? As the story develops, I have conversations with my characters, not literally (or maybe sometimes!), but rather through reading, re-reading, and reading again the ways in which I have pieced together their personalities. They become a friend or an associate to me; they share something that I share, they represent an aspect of human nature I want to explore, and thus directly become apart of me. They have carte blanche to dip into my thoughts, steal my secrets, express my questions, and examine my heart.