Many of us at some point have looked back on some of our early work and cringed (or simply uttered something along the lines of, “I’ve come a long way!”) Author of several novels including the starred-reviewed Tyler Johnson Was Here and critically acclaimed anthologies (Black Enough and Hungry Hearts), Jay Coles, explained why he thinks his first few books are bad. Instead of being authentic in … Read the rest
Interview With “Something to Say” Author Lisa Moore Ramée!
Voice is a common thread in So Booking Cool’s conversation with bestselling, critically acclaimed children’s book author, Lisa Moore Ramée. There’s the beloved ‘Shay’, Ramée’s debut protagonist from A Good Kind of Trouble (which has garnered renewed interest and now an Indie bestseller in paperback), whose voice has been praised and prompted whether it is important for Ramée to create resonant voices within her characters; there’s Ramée sharing the time … Read the rest
Interview With “A Butterfly Universe” Author Vanessa Chen!
14-year-old Vanessa Chen, author of A Butterfly Universe (Star Moonstone Books/Story Monsters LLC, 2020), doesn’t know if she has written enough to have established her own writing style, however, she does know the techniques she appreciates in other writers. “I really admire whenever an author sort of goes on [the] entire scene,” Chen tells So Booking Cool. “They’re very descriptive about it, but not extremely ‘blah, blah, blah’ … Read the rest
Interview With “Stand Up, Yumi Chung!” Author Jessica Kim!
The adage: ‘if you love something let it go and if it comes back to you, it’s yours’ fits Stand Up, Yumi Chung! (March 17, 2020, Kokila) novelist, Jessica Kim. Before becoming a debut critically acclaimed published author, Kim had quit writing at one point. When she was a youth, in addition to comedy, she enjoyed writing, but didn’t foresee it as a profession, at least not as a … Read the rest
Interview With “The Ravine” Author and Filmmaker Robert Pascuzzi!
Author, entrepreneur, executive, speaker, and film producer, Robert Pascuzzi, has always been a student of personal development, and that has not changed in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic. “We’re gonna move out of this and the question is, what have you learned from this whole thing?” The Ravine novelist and filmmaker tells So Booking Cool. “Because hopefully this has been a time for everybody to do some … Read the rest
Interview With Fine Artist & Illustrator Charly Palmer!
Fine artist of 35 years, Charly Palmer, does not believe he has yet created a masterpiece, and that is what drives him. His work has been both privately and publicly commissioned by many including the 1996 Olympics; McDonald’s Corporation; Coca Cola Company; the Green Bay Packers; Maya Angelou’s estate before being auctioned by Swann Gallery; and universities (i.e., Howard, Fisk, and Vanderbilt). In 2018, he was awarded with the … Read the rest
Interview With “My Rainy Day Rocket Ship” Author Markette Sheppard!
Children’s books will always be relevant. They provide various benefits for kids including literacy, opportunities to bond with family, friends, teachers, etc., knowledge, entertainment, imagination, and creativity, to name a few. A few years ago, Emmy award-winning television host, bestselling children’s book author, marketing executive, and entrepreneur, Markette Sheppard, wrote My Rainy Day Rocket Ship (May 5, 2020; Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers), which … Read the rest
Author Piece: The Future of Black Speculative Fiction by Nandi Taylor
There has never been a more exciting time to be a science fiction and fantasy writer, and a Black writer in particular. In recent years speculative fiction centering Black characters has been getting more and more of the spotlight, and I absolutely love to see it. I’ve always been a huge SF geek, and growing up I was known to read a book in a day, the majority of them … Read the rest
Interview With “Wicked, Wild, Wonderful” Author Matthew Dawkins!
Matthew Dawkins, Watty award-winning author of Wicked, Wild, Wonderful, vividly remembers the moment he knew he wanted to be a writer. He was in the seventh grade. Instead of completing classwork, he was in book heaven with Clockwork Angel by New York Times bestselling author Cassandra Clare, one of his inspirations. Dawkins was the kid who asked for a book any chance he got.
“When I was younger … Read the rest
Interview With “The Siren of Good Intentions” Author J.E. Mooney!
The Siren of Good Intentions author J.E. Mooney reinvents himself every 5 to 8 years. Sometimes by design, sometimes circumstance. He’s had a wide range of careers to show for it including engineering and teaching; he also was a Peace Corps country director and senior director for a technology nonprofit. While his experience is impressive, Mooney says it uniquely qualifies him for absolutely nothing. He likens his point to Malcolm … Read the rest