LiveWorld Transcripts

	NYPL presents
	Sharon Flake Author Sharon Flake
	July 18, 2002

New York Public Library Welcomes author Sharon Flake

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NYPL: Perhaps you've read about Maleeka Madison or Raspberry Hill? Maleeka is so desperate to be accepted at school that she will do anything to be part of the "in" crowd. Raspberry is starved for money so she and her mom won't ever have to live on the streets again. Both Maleeka and Raspberry are heroines in books by today's guest author, Sharon Flake. In just a few moments you will be able to ask Ms. Flake about her books, "The Skin I'm In" and "Money Hungry" and find out from her the stories behind her books. Welcome Sharon!

Sharon Flake: Welcome! Thanks for inviting me. Hope everybody's doing well!

ISHA: What inspired you to write this book?

Sharon Flake: I have a beautiful dark-skinned daughter, and when she was little I started telling her stories about incredible dark-skinned girls who did wonderful things. And, as a black woman I know that if you're dark in our communities, people don't always say nice things about you, so I wanted to deal with that issue. So no, it's not about my daughter, who was 7 when I wrote this book. That's why I wrote it, just to help people learn to like themselves, no matter what other people say.

Sass: Sharon, is this the first book you have written?

Sharon Flake: "The Skin I'm In" is my very first book, yes. And so far it's sold 100,000 copies.

Waiting: Did you have to do lots of research for this book?

Sharon Flake: I didn't do any research for the book. So far I haven't had to do research for the most part. I really try to write from my gut, and feel what other people (my characters) might be feeling. In "Money Hungry" I write about a biracial girl who has an Asian father, and I did ask a Korean girl to read the story and let me know how she felt I had handled especially the Korean father. Also, they have a food truck, so there were some Korean foods mentioned, and she let me know if I had spelled the words right, and things like that. In my next book, "Begging for Change," which is coming out in the spring of 2003, and is a follow-up to "Money Hungry," someone gets involved in Juvenile Court, and I spoke with someone who works in Juvenile Court. So far I haven't had to go to the library and dig through a lot of papers, but I may have to do that at some time.

Maggie: How long did it take you to write "The Skin I'm In"?

Sharon Flake: Oh man! I used to really remember. I think two years. I was working, I was raising a daughter, and when you're not published, you could take 20 years to finish a book; there's no rush. Now I write a little faster.

GBS: Do you or did you know any teenagers like the ones in your books?

Sharon Flake: Not particularly. I'm not the kind of writer. Like, my daughter's 14 1/2, and when I'm around her friends I'm not thinking they'd be good characters. I'm too busy talking! I'm too busy doing something else. I just write to see where my characters take me, and hope that people think they're realistic. I will say the mother in "Money Hungry" is something like me, although it's not something I discovered until partway into the book. I'm the kind of person who stops people on the street to say "Stop smoking!" I just say things to people; I'm kind of like their mother. I'm kind of like the teacher in "The Skin I'm In" who thinks she knows everything - very opinionated. When you're writing you're not thinking about other people or yourself, but little glimmers of people do show up. When I was in college I had a friend who, like Ja'nae, would spray perfume on cotton balls, but she was not as funny about it as Ja'nae. When Ja'nae started with the cotton balls, I wasn't thinking about my friend - that happened later that I remembered her. You never know which is encouraging you which way, you know?

Jemma Time: Maleeka's journal is very important to her. Do you keep a diary? Do you write every day?

Sharon Flake: Ha ha ha! I do not keep a journal, because I lose things. If I write down a note about a character, I usually can't find it, and so I don't do that very often. I sit down at the computer and do my thing, and when I'm away from the computer I don't write on pieces of paper 9 1/2 times out of 10. I go through stages. If I'm under deadline I might write every day but I can go a month or so and not write, and it's okay. But then, like the other day.I'm under deadline now and I was writing a whole bunch and it becomes almost an addiction. I was very tired, but I could almost taste it in my mouth that I wanted to keep on writing, but I made myself go to sleep.

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