Growing up, if I had a really good book, I always felt as if my imagination would bring the characters to life and those characters would carry me far-far away. The only problem was finding a book to catch my attention long enough to keep me interested. If nothing sparked my imagination, I would simply write my own stories. Being the creator of my stories allowed me to set my own rules. I could be daring with the character by giving them super powers or writing something simple as falling in love for the first time. Either way, it encouraged me to choose what I wanted to read and then create based upon inspiration.

In 2012, I became a mother and as my child continues to grow, reading has become a very important tool in our lives.  In the era of technology, it’s easy to become sidetracked with video games, social media, and or being able to easily download movies. I try my absolute hardest with building our very own library within our home.  From our favorite books to the books we would like to read one day, the goal is to build and have so many books over a period of time.  One day, during a trip to the book store, my son picked up a colorful book with brown skinned little boy on the front.  “Mom, he looks like me!” My son was so excited that he didn’t care what the book was about; he wanted to buy it and read it.  As we headed towards the register to check out, he told me, “I want to buy more books like this. I want to buy more books that look like us.” From that day forward, I brainstormed on the aspect of writing a children’s book series. The more I created the character, the more I started to branch off into her family. I wrote stories on field trips, the family moving into a new home, science projects, the battle of overcoming fear and so much more. 

I fully agree and support my son’s statement. Within the black community, there is so little when it comes to authors, creators, storylines and or series that display the many talents within our community.  There are positive messages that have the power to influence, inspire and uplift our children—we simply have to
create the opportunities for them.  Instead of throwing technology towards them as something to keep them busy, we should encourage them to pick up a book and read. Trust me, I have been guilty of it as well!  But we can work towards changing that perspective. Pick up a book and make the decision to be whatever you want to be. The world wishes to encourage the complete opposite and feed an illusion to our black children that they can only go so far. When the truth is, they can grow and go beyond what the world thinks they are limited to. 

As a writer, a creative and a builder, this online book store is not a hobby.  Writing my children’s series was not something to do out of boredom.  This is a platform that will network other black creatives, shine a light on their work and encourage them to dream big!  Make no mistake, this online store will do more than sell books.

~ Marianń