 KLiC: What was your inspiration for PECOSITA? AKN: I've had a tough relationship with my freckles my entire life. My editor and publisher, Denene Millner, always admired them and eventually convinced me that there should be a children's book celebrating freckles--and celebrating your differences. I think I *just* fell in love with my freckles while writing the book! KLiC: Please tell us about your writing process. How long did it take you to write and sell this book? AKN: This one was very different. I usually write books for adults. My first children's book, Keep Your Head Up, was published a few years ago, and it was an amazing process; the words poured out. Pecosita was much harder. It took me a while to get into the mind of a young girl who was gutsy and spunky and loved her freckles. I put it down several times, frustrated. My husband Shane, also a writer, asked if he could take a crack at it, and he just understood Pecosita right away. We then worked on it together, and that was new too. I've never co-written anything before.  KLiC: What kind of research did you do for Pecosita? AKN : I just looked in the mirror! Also, Pecosita's images are based on my daughter, Mazy. And, we live in a world now where freckles are very trendy, so I kept an eye on the beauty world. There are freckle pens out there now! KLiC: What are your favorite illustrations in the book? AKN: The cover is my very favorite because it's based on a photo of my daughter. We sent lots of family photos to our illustrator, Eric Velasquez. But when I saw the book, I gasped when I saw myself in there--like a real image of me! SO amazing. KLiC: What's the one thing you want children to take away from your book? AKN: The things that make you different are the very things you can celebrate! It's okay to feel your feelings about anything. But look in that mirror and see YOURself not anyone's perception of you. Keep a journal. At the top, everyday, write: I love myself because __________. And fill it in. And if you have access to music, make a playlist that makes you happy and listen to it! KLiC: Do you have any tips for pre-published authors? AKN: Always be ready to tell an editor or a publisher what your book is about very briefly. For this book, it was simple. Imagine the famous book "Freckle Juice" but for little girls who already have freckles and love them. KLiC: What's next for you? AKN: My next book for adults: Model Behavior is out next summer from Amistad/HarperCollins. Shane's work can be seen on his YouTube channel (@shanepaulneil), and his next essay will appear in the book Darling Nikki, a collection of tributes to Nikki Giovanni.  Aliya King Neil is an award-winning journalist and the author and coauthor of books for teens and adults. Her work has appeared in Vibe, Giant, Uptown, Essence, King, Ms., Us Weekly, and Teen People, among others. Her picture books include Keep Your Head Up and Pecosita’s Freckly Freckle Face. Visit her at AliyaSKing.com. Photo Credit: Shane Paul Neil  Shane Paul Neil is a writer, journalist, and photographer. His words and images have appeared in several publications including Gothamist, NPR, NBC News, and Ebony. Pecosita’s Freckly Freckle Face is his first book. From the Bronx, Shane now resides in New Jersey with his wife, Aliya King Neil. Follow him at @ShanePaulNeil across all social media platforms.
Photo Credit: Shane Paul Neil  Photo by Briah Christia We are so excited to have DeAndra Davis on our blog today with an exclusive guest essay! Read more below: Should I Stay or Should I Go? College Pathways and Indecision in The Lovers, the Liars, and Me By: DeAndra Davis Deciding what to do once high school is over is one of the biggest decisions a young adult can make. There are many pathways but a common one is college but within that college decision lies a larger conversation and a huge question: do I stay close to home or spread my wings and leave? Now, there are clearly different reasons why anyone may make either decision and in The Lovers, the Liars, and Me, Jaliya struggles with this very decision. She begins the book feeling insecure and unsure that she’s ready to be out on her own. Her initial decision is to stay at a college close enough that if anything goes wrong, her father—her family—is right there to save her. I was similar coming out of high school. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to leave and felt unprepared—a lot of this was exacerbated by the fact that I had skipped a grade and was younger than others and only freshly 17 when I graduated and when college started. I also wasn’t technically beginning as a freshman due to the amount of credits I had amassed through dual enrollment and AP courses. The thing is, I was less brave than Jaliya. I didn’t just stay close to home at first, I stayed home totally—opting for community college, but later transferred and crossed the country to complete my undergraduate degree in North Dakota in my third year. So I’ve seen both sides, let’s talk about the pros and cons of each! Staying Close to Home - Pros Your Family is Close By For those who have familial support, one of the benefits of staying close to home in any capacity is that your family is close by. If you are very attached to where you live as well, this means you’ll never be homesick. Having family close by is great if you need help, if you want to live at home instead of on campus, and if you worry about a reliable support system. It Is Typically Cheaper Staying in-state is typically cheaper as well since many colleges charge non-resident tuition and fees. Staying close to home means you can stay home, if you’re close enough, or save money on extra fees at the least. Oftentimes the cost of college can be prohibitive to many people so staying close can make it more realistic and there’s no shame in that. Doing what I did, which is starting at a community college for general education courses, can save even more money since community colleges are even cheaper. So splitting the time and going to a larger college after can financially make college a reality where it may not have been before. You May Know More People At College There’s the possibility that other people are staying close as well, so if you stay home, you may have friends from high school and people you know in your courses. This can feel comfortable and familiar and make the ease of transition into college easier when everything isn’t brand new all at once. Keeping your friend group or some semblance of it can ease a lot of stress in an already wild transitional time of life. Staying Close to Home - Cons Your Options May Be Limited Staying close, especially depending how close you want to stay can limit your options. If you’re staying in-state but are willing to go a few hours away, then you may have more opportunities but within reasonable distance to where I was after college was one public four-year university and one community college. There was also a private university, but the cost was too high. Limiting school options also limits your fields of study if they don’t have your particular interests or strengths at the schools nearby. This can make things very restrictive. You May Not Gain As Much Independence Having family close by also means you won’t have to rely on yourself as much. Graduating high school and entering college is an interesting time where you get to practice adulthood while still having help. If you’re still living at home or aren’t too far away, you may lack getting that experience of having to live with new people, figure out some things for yourself, and not turn to your support system for every answer. You May Miss Out On Unique Experiences Larger colleges can also have experiences you can’t get at community colleges or maybe even at a home college. Living far away or in a new state is also a unique experience and a chance to maybe reside in a state you’ve never visited before. If you’re home, you’re exploring the same areas you’ve always known and having experiences you’ve always had, so it may lack the novelty that leaving home can bring and the growth that novelty adds to your life. Leaving Home - Pros Amazing Experiences With new places come new experiences. Experiences like having a dormmate or roommate. Sororities and fraternities. Student associations and groups. The exploration of new places. There is a lot that can be gained from leaving home—many of it tied to simply being around people you’ve never met in a place you don’t know well. Homecoming games and week with traditions specific to that school. A whole culture tied to the university that you get to learn and take part in. Start building those neural pathways with all the fun things you can’t do at home. Increased Independence and Freedom The best thing about doing all those new things? Not as much oversight as if you’re at home. This is good and bad because there’s no one to wake you up on time, no one to ask if you did your homework, no one checking to see what time you came in last night. You have to manage yourself and your responsibilities but that’s as much a con as it is a pro because if you’re practicing for adulthood, that’s all it is. You’re getting a crash course and building those skills for after graduation. Getting everything done the right way is on you but it gives you necessary life skills that you’ll need. And who wants to stumble in after a hangout and come face-to-face with their guardian? Am I right? Everyone’s dad isn’t seeing them off to parties like Jaliya’s in my book. And if you come from a very restrictive family where you haven’t gotten to be your full and complete self. Well, there’s your chance. More Options Clearly, leaving home means you have more options. A whole country of colleges to explore and consider. A plethora of universities at your disposal and cities to go to. Not being location-restricted gives you a lot of leeway in where you go and what you do and that’s a huge boon. Even if you don’t want to spend the rest of your life there, pick that school in Washington and take a day trip to Forks because you love Twilight. Choose that school in Arizona to experience desert weather and the beauty of Lake Havasu. Pick the school in New York City and experience the vibrancy of the city and the fast-paced living. Leaving Home - Cons It Can (Potentially) Be Expensive Leaving home in any capacity is expensive. There’s the cost of tuition, cost of living, the moving itself. It can be a lot. Now, there are some schools that don’t have exorbitant out-of-state fees and of course scholarships and financial aid exists for those who can get them, but cost is, again, a major factor of what keeps many away from higher education already so it goes without saying that cost matters and for many. It Can Be Scary And of course leaving home is terrifying. You’re on your own and even if you can get help and have a good sup[port system, nobody is around the corner to save you or pick you up when you fall. You may be scared you aren't ready or that you’re not good enough to do well on your own. That’s frightening but also can be invigorating and a chance to build a new support system of people wherever you go. Open your network. Spread those wings. Create a found family—like Jaliya in The Lovers, the Liars, and Me. Verdict So is there a right answer? No. There’s only the right answer for you. Maybe you’re like Jaliya and wanting to get into that specific school—the one that feels worth it to leave home for. Maybe you’re like me, worried you’ll fall on your face and needing just an extra year or two to get ready before striking out. No matter what, your life is changing. And even if you don’t believe it, you’re ready to meet those changes head on. You’re ready to tackle the way the world looks for you now in whatever way you’re most comfortable. You’re ready to take things on, even when you don’t feel it. And the best part? No matter what you choose. You get to change your mind. Leave and come back. Stay and then go. But don’t let fear of falling hold you down. Because after a fall, all you can do is rise. -- A born New Yorker and a first-generation Jamaican-American, DeAndra Davis, an award-winning, autistic, and neurodivergent author of young adult, middle grade, and adult novels, was raised in South Florida. DeAndra is a graduate of Florida International University where she earned a Master of Fine Arts in Fiction. A reader since the age of 3, DeAndra’s finest memories are inside book stores and libraries with her mother where she devoured books well above her age range very early on. From Junie B. Jones to Eragon, DeAndra’s tastes varied wildly and she never stopped reading. Then, inspired by the characters she loved, she also never stopped writing. Now, a neurodivergent wife and mother of neurodivergent children, an advocate and survivor of mental health struggles, and a passionate creative writing professor, DeAndra writes the worlds that she lives, that she dreams of, and that she wants to tear down. Though Brooklyn runs in her veins, Florida and Jamaica have her heart. You can find her rapping Glorilla as quickly as you’ll find her singing Beres Hammond. She loves raging about everything from Game of Thrones to Attack on Titan with her husband, children, their goldendoodle named Luna, and English Mastiff named Zeke.  |
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