In 2003, I received an email from Kathryn Wildfong, Acquiring Editor for WSU Press explaining that the manuscript wasn’t right for them in its form but expressing an interest in the book as a middle grade novel. She extended an invitation to me to submit a revised manuscript should I be interested in developing the book for older readers. I was, and I did. The result is the book that you now hold—or hopefully soon will hold—in your hands.

What is your favorite chapter in Who’s Jim Hines?
The whole book is emotionally dear to me. However, if pressed—my favorite chapter would include chapter nine which focuses on the drum and bugle corps. Why? Because I was able to weave in some history of the World War I era. That is one of my favorite periods in history—the early 1900s—from an historical, literary, as well as artistic standpoint.

What was your goal in writing the “Joe Joe in the City” children’s book series?
My goal in creating the character of Joe Joe and his supporting characters of family, friends, and neighbors was to reach the core of humanity within us all through an African American family. Who has not been falsely accused of something? Who has not been ridiculed for a seemingly impossible dream? Who has not been tempted to do something we know is wrong? When I make presentations before older children and adults, I draw an analogy between the incident in Just Call Me Joe Joe and Arab American parents who must somehow teach their children that they may be considered terrorists just because of how they look, or the sound of their last name, or their religion. Children must be able to see that there are certain common concerns, joys, and experiences that run through all individuals, all families. I created the Joe Joe series as just such a vehicle.

How do you create “believable” plots?
I try to achieve authenticity in the plots and characterizations. Hopefully, these books—both the “Joe Joe in the City” series and Who’s Jim Hines—will seem just as relevant ten or twenty years from now. Certain core issues in life can not be escaped. The packaging may change, but the life of a young boy growing up carries with it certain joys, struggles, challenges, and successes that can be presented in many ways while maintaining believability.

How important is it that your books have “positive endings?”
I want readers to understand that it is realistic to have hope that all types of situations can work out for the good. That doesn't mean that everything will always work out in the way we would want. For instance, children at my readings often ask if Tyrone (Joe Joe’s best friend) will ever do the right thing. That is an excellent question and one that I am pleased they are asking. Things work out for Joe Joe. What would have to change for things to work out, perhaps in a different way, for Tyrone? These are the kinds of questions I hope readers will wrestle with, at age appropriate levels of course, as they read my books.

Why do you weave complex life lessons as well as a heavy dose of history in your books?
I like to challenge my readers. Many books for young people, I'm afraid, do not. Yet, video games offer multiple plots and action sequences. Movies do the same, and children are not only engrossed but understand the plots all too well. So I try to give my readers a more complex reading experience, perhaps without their even knowing what is happening.