FINDING CLEVELAND

Cleveland, Mississippi. My hometown.

The title of this movie recently changed and I love the new title: FAR EAST DEEP SOUTH.  

They're beginning to show it all over the country, including the Oxford Film Festival and of course, several places in California, where the producers live.

If you have a chance, do see it. I can't wait!

Also, this is the story behind MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG. So, if you're intrigued by the immigration story of southern Chinese, you may be interested in my book and this movie.

Here's the trailer. Quite beautiful and what a story!


Far East Deep South Trailer from Only Won on Vimeo.

Happy Third Birthday to MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG

This morning when I woke up, I realized it's my THIRD book's THIRD birthday.

Happy birthday to you!
 

I spent a lot of time with this book (Okay, true confessions, I spent a lot of time with the others, too. I'm a sloooowwww writer!). 

The history of Chinese immigration to the Deep South before the Civil Rights era surprised a lot of people. Even my Chinese American non-southern friends. 
But having grown up surrounded by the Chinese-owned grocery stores, to me, it was yet another piece of the complicated history of the Mississippi Delta where I was born and raised, a history so intriguing that I wanted to share it. 

And I wanted to tell the story of a girl who's not so brave and spunky and not totally happy to be helping a grandmother she hardly knows.
And yet, she did it. Better still, it all worked out for Azalea.

The tiny beginning of an idea for this book came from my high school friend Bobby Joe Moon. The librarian's perspective, amazingly remembered details and many deep conversations came from a newer friend, Frieda Quon. It was important to get every detail right. I asked a million questions. Frieda became my first reader. Bobby, my PR guy.
I loved that Scholastic let me include photographs shared by the two people who helped me most with getting the details right. 

I also used the remarkable resources and treasures of the Mississippi Delta Chinese Heritage Museum on the campus of Delta State University in my hometown. 

If you're interested, click on that link to the museum and enjoy the photographs. 

For those teachers who might be interested in including this book for your students this year, I have additional resources HERE, 
and a fun Pinterest page, HERE,
AND here.
(Oh, and I love Skyping with classes who've read my books. 

So bring on the cake and let's celebrate books that require a lot of sweat and even a few tears. Let's celebrate the friends who help us, the libraries we love, the editors and early readers.
Cheers!

 

 

Books and Opinions

My first book was published in early 2012. 
(December, 2011, GLORY BE was already being shipped! Happy book birthday, Glory!)
And I got a lot of excellent advice. 

One thing my already-published friends said: Don't read reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Don't even look!
My editor said something even more comforting. "Long after those reviews are forgotten, your books will still be in libraries being read by kids who will love them." (I paraphrase, but that's the gist and it was just the thing a new author needed to hear. Did I mention, my editor is brilliant?)

So I don't read reviews unless I stumble onto Amazon or Goodreads. 
Sometimes I'm glad to run into a review. Sometimes I want to avert my eyes!
Today, I happened upon a lovely review of MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG. 

And it made me think that I seem to be drawn to redeemable bullies. (Hello, Willis DeLoach!)

Recently I read something one of my favorite middle-grade authors, Leslie Connor, wrote in answer to a question from the National Book Award committee which had nominated a truly terrific novel of hers- THE TRUTH AS TOLD BY MASON BUTTLE:

(Apologies to Leslie if I don't have her exact quote. But I love the message and hope I have it right.)

"The NBA asked me what I learned by writing this story. Part of my answer was about my own misconception about bullies. I always thought they acted out of feelings of being unloved or fearful. But a social worker told me that bullies act out of an inflated sense of entitlement. Recent days have made me sure she is right."
 
Helpful advice, right?
Basically, all our characters are made up of many varied, often conflicting parts. But if you dig deep enough, there's a reason a character acts a certain way. The author's job is to understand and (hopefully) make that part of the character's personality and motivation.



Here's the review from Amazon, if you're interested-
SKW

5.0 out of 5 starsHere's A Book Young Folks Can Make Friends With

February 20, 2017

Format: Hardcover

I enjoyed this book on so many levels; the granddaughter learning to get to know, love and help her grandmother, adjusting to being away from all things familiar-family & friends, learning to find and make new friends-not only a boy but a Chinese boy, dealing with prejudice, learning to stand-up for what is right. discovering things and people aren't always what they seem and becoming aware of personal strengths. All this was neatly wrapped up in the historical prejudices suffered by the Chinese in 1950's Mississippi and Arkansas, accurately depicted through Ms. Scattergood's depth of research.

Augusta has penned a very enjoyable book guaranteed to capture young readers attentions without their realizing they will be learning and growing right along with Azalea, the main character.

The only disappointment in the book was the still unexplained story of Willis DeLoach. But then, maybe that was purposeful. Maybe we'll learn more about Willis in a future book.

Merry Christmas to all you readers and writers, reviewers and book supporters!

Thank you, Indiana School Librarians!

When my first book came out, I'm not sure I appreciated how important state recommended book lists can be to a book's future. But they are!
Just when you think your novel's time in front of the world is simmering down, somebody finds it and adds it to a list of recommendations and just like that, new readers.

It's truly a terrific experience.

I am in awe of the librarians and teachers, parents and kids, who put these lists together.

Today I'm thankful to the hard-working school librarians in Indiana for adding MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG to their list of Intermediate readers' recommendations.

Here's what they said about my middle-grade novel:

Azalea’s summer plans suddenly change when she is sent to Paris Junction, Arkansas to help a grandmother she doesn’t know. Shy and reluctant to talk to others, Azalea meets Billy Wong and finds an unexpected friend. 

 

HERE'S THE LINK to the list. 

I am proud and humbled to be included among some of my favorites and some I can't wait to read.

(If you're a writer interested in a list of various awards, check out CYNSATIONS, a blog filled with helpful information.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Making Friends With Billy Wong

(And the winner is...  Janice Raspen!  Congrats and let me know your mailing address.)


My book is TWO years old!
This week is the anniversary of MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG's publication.

To mark this book birthday, I'm giving away all three of my books, plus an assortment of bookmarks, etc.

(Hardback copies= perfect for your library!)

If you'd like to enter, please comment here on my blog or my social media accounts.  
This giveaway is for teachers and librarians only.  
(Mailing to US school or library address)

I'll draw a name in just two days, on Thursday, August 23, 8 PM.

Good luck. 
And for those of you who've read and shared MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG since August 2016, Billy, Azalea, Grandma Clark and I thank you.

 (Elvis popped over from the pages of GLORY BE to thank you, too.)

Another Big Book Week

I'm excited to be presenting at a gathering of teachers on the campus of Arkansas State University this week. I'll share MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG and the story and history behind my book. Set in Arkansas, my novel shares a bit of immigration and civil rights history that's not widely known.

Whenever I talk to teachers I like to share books-- not just mine.
So I've been doing a LOT of reading this week!



First up, A SKY FULL OF STARS.

Linda Williams Jackson and I grew up in neighboring Mississippi Delta towns, and we've both incorporated memories into our middle-grade novels. They are very different memories. Set against a backdrop of the Emmett Till murder, her story takes place in the mid 1950s, and young Rose Lee is discovering a world outside her small, insulated life. I frequently share MIDNIGHT WITHOUT A MOON with young readers when I talk about growing up in Mississippi during the civil rights movement, and now I have this. The characters are the same, but this is an even more powerful story, beautifully told.


(side note: I'll be moderating a panel at the MISSISSIPPI BOOK FESTIVAL in August and Linda is one of the featured panelists. Can't wait to hear more about this story.)





 I can't remember who told me to read SATURDAYS WITH HITCHCOCK. I've never read a book by Ellen Wittlinger, but I now look forward to reading more. This middle-grade novel kind of sneaked up on me. It seemed to be a sweet story of the love between a girl and her grandmother, and then it turned into so much more. Wittlinger masterfully handles several sensitive issues (dementia, emerging sexuality, friendship, adult siblings) in ways that are age-appropriate and caring.





My current  (can't-put-it-down but need to do a few other things!) read is an Advanced Readers Copy of a book coming in August. Two friends highly recommended NOWHERE BOY, or I might have missed it. I'll share this with the Arkansas teachers because of the connection to the author's inspiration. (Be sure to click on that link and go to Katherine Marsh's excellent website, with such good information.)
This middle-grade novel (but truly, it spans a lot of age groups) is set in Brussels and involves a young Syrian immigrant. So appropriate to our times.
Put this on your list. Don't miss it!

That's my Monday in books.

Oh! Almost forgot- I'm re-reading parts of MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG to pick out passages to read with my new friends in Arkansas.

I know so many of you- and your kids- are finally enjoying the wonderful leisure of summer reading. What's on your list?