Happy Monday, Everyone! Today I’m thrilled to have debut author here to share about her MG historical Mama’s Chicken and Dumplings. I love the storyline and am curious to learn about the Vinegar Hill neighborhood in Charlottesville, VA, in 1935. I just reserved the book at my library.
Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:
Growing up in segregated 1930’s Charlottesville, ten-year-old
Allie is determined to find a man for her mama to marry— but not just any man
will do! Allie’s life with Mama
isn’t bad, but she knows it could be better if Mama would find someone to
marry. Allie’s worst enemy, her NOT-friend Gwen, has a daddy, and Allie wants
someone like that—someone to fix things when they break, someone who likes to
sing, and has a kind-smile. So Allie makes a plan—her super-secret
Man-For-Mama plan. She has a list of candidates with a clear top choice, Mr.
Johnson, who owns the antique store. Best of all, Mr. Johnson went to school
with Mama, and he wants to get reacquainted! The battle’s half won, and Allie
is sure that when he tries Mama’s yummy chicken and dumplings, he’ll be head
over heels. But someone else is interested in Mama—Mr. Coles, Allie’s band
teacher who’s also Gwen’s uncle! Mama can’t marry him—no way is Allie going to
be related to Gwen. On top of it all, Allie’s best friend is moving to Chicago;
Allie keeps getting in trouble; and everyone seems to think she’s jealous of
Gwen, for some reason. Nothing is going how she planned, but Allie is
determined to get things back on track toward the life she knows she and Mama
both deserve. . . even if Mama doesn’t agree yet.
Hi, Dionna! Thanks so much for joining us.
1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.
Thanks for inviting me! I was born in Chicago, and grew up in
the suburbs. I have lived in central Virginia with my husband surrounded by the
gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains for more than three decades. When our three
(most-talented) children were little, I really enjoyed volunteering in their
classrooms. I began working as a substitute teacher then as a full-time
employee. I was a high school secretary and a teacher assistant working with
special education students. I clocked in nearly 25 years with the school
system, but decided not to return after COVID pandemic restrictions were lifted.
My favorite part about working and volunteering within the schools was being
able to lead creative writing workshops. I had the kids writing skits, book
reviews, poetry, and speeches. When my daughter was in fifth grade, I led a
workshop where the kids wrote and illustrated their own picture book, which I
submitted to a kid-writing contest sponsored by Scholastic.
Seeing those kids experience the joy of discovering that they
could all be writers or poets reminded me of my own discovery when I was in
school. Many of my teachers, from elementary school through high school, encouraged
creative writing. When I was in eighth grade, for example, my history teacher asked
us to write a story as though we had lived through the events surrounding the
attack on Pearl Harbor. I decided to write a story from the point of view of a Japanese-American
girl who was being relocated from her home to an internment camp. When my
teacher returned my assignment, with tears in his eyes he pleaded with me to
never stop writing. School experiences like that one made me believe I could be
a writer someday.
2. Where did you get the idea for Mama’s Chicken and
Dumplings?
Mama’s Chicken and Dumplings began as a writing assignment I
gave myself in 2011. The Moseley Writers’ Group of Charlottesville was hosting
a first-pages event to be held during the Virginia Festival of the Book.
Attendees could submit 100 words to be judged by a panel of authors. I chose to
write a 100-word scene based on a story my mother (who grew up on the South
Side of Chicago) told me about her landlord. After collecting the rent, he
would throw pennies onto the street just to laugh at the Black children who’d scurry
after them. My mother recalled being angry over it, and was proud to report
that she never ran after the pennies. After “Pennies” was read, all the
panelists (including David Baldacci!) said they’d keep reading! I decided that
I should give the little girl of the scene a name, a voice, and a problem to
overcome.
Your Writing Process: Researching for a Historical Novel
3. That’s cool your mom’s story inspired this book. Your book
is 208 pages. How did you tell this whole story in a relatively short book? Did
you have to cut out parts of it after you wrote your first draft or did it come
together as you envisioned it?
This is such a funny question for me! When I completed my
first draft, I had no vision for my story. And so when Pennies was
complete it was only 14,000 words. (The target for a MG novel is between 25,000
to 50,000 words.) As the rejections from agents came rolling in, I realized I needed
to beef up my story. I had given my main character a voice but not a character
arc. I didn’t have a narrative arc with its muddy middle and satisfying ending.
Pennies was not a story. It took me at least five complete rewrites,
remodels if you will, and a gazillion revisions. I wrote version after version that
included entire plot changes, additions and deletions of characters, new
endings, restructure of scenes, changes to motivation, new dialogue, and
setting changes. Each time, the word count grew.
4. Yes, I wasn’t expecting your answer. On your website, you provide extensive information on the history of the Vinegar Hill neighborhood in the 1930s and have a link to download your extensive bibliography. Your research is amazing! Since the neighborhood was razed in the 1960s, you had to rely on historical information and pictures from the 1930s to get the history of your story right. How did you tackle finding all the articles and other resources listed in your bibliography, and how did you know when you’d done enough research?
Thank you for noticing my bibliography. I am very proud of
it! I have access to the University of Virginia’s Albert and Shirley Small
Special Collections Library, the Albemarle-Charlottesville Historical Society,
and the Jefferson Madison Regional Library system. These institutions take
great care in preserving and digitizing local African American history. I found
hundreds of archival photographs and oral histories, several documentaries,
historical maps, a Jefferson school yearbook, local African American newspapers,
personal histories, and more in their collections.
When it comes to “doing enough” research—is that even possible?
I don’t think so. To give you an example: after discovering that the 1934
Hill’s Directory of the City of Charlottesville, Virginia, had a “C” beside those
businesses owned and operated by persons of color, I compiled a list. Thirty-four
of those businesses were located along West Main Street, which is where Allie
sets out to find her mama a perfect fix-it man. Compiling the list and
recreating a map really helped me describe my main character’s world accurately.
But I really wanted to know more about each one of those 34 businesses. How
long had each one been in operation? When did the business close? What was the
owner’s story? What became of their children? Though I desired to jump down
that research rabbit hole, I stopped myself. I didn’t need that much information
to complete my story. That said, I did get lost while researching the general
store opened in 1890 by George Pinkney Inge at 333 West Main Street. After all,
that’s where my main character visits to buy penny candy, and it still stands
today. I even uncovered a primary resource treasure when I got to visit with
Mr. Inge’s great-grandson and his wife.
5. From readers’ reviews, it sounds like Allie, Jewel, and
the other characters are all unique, well-rounded characters. Talk about how
you developed them as characters and how the historical times played into their
character development.
Honestly, I didn’t start out with character sketches like
many writers do. Mainly, I relied on my imagination, and real-life relationships
I had while growing up. For example, Allie’s relationship with her same-age
cousin Caesar is mirrored after my friendship with my same-age cousin, David.
Like Caesar is for Allie, when I was a kid, David was my voice of reason when my
emotions became hard to handle.
To get the historical details of the neighborhood right, I
read and listened to oral histories of those who loved in Vinegar Hill. I read
every 1936 issue of the Jeffersonian, the student newspaper of those who
attended Charlottesville’s Jefferson [Colored] School, as well as every 1933
issue of The Reflector, a local African-American-run newspaper. I made
up personalities for those dressed up for their Holsinger Studio portraits. I also
had my editor and copy editor ask me great questions about time and place,
which ensured I got the details right.
Your Journey to Publication
6. Wow! You’re so dedicated to getting the historical aspects
of your story right. Kelly Dyksterhouse and Jacqui Lipton are your agents. How
did they become your agents and what was your road to publication like?
In 2019, I queried Jacqui about Mama’s Chicken and
Dumplings while she was an agent at Storm Literary. She liked the first
pages, and requested to read the full manuscript. Ultimately, she did not offer
representation because the story needed a ton of work. But she sent me a lovely
personal rejection letter with editorial comments and offered me a chance to
resubmit after I had revised. Later, while I was the content editor of the
newsletter serving the Mid-Atlantic region of SCBWI, I ended up corresponding
with her about an article she was writing for us about getting permissions to
use photographs. We really enjoyed ourselves as we worked on the content. Fast
forward to well into the pandemic, and I noticed Jacqui was starting her own
agency called Raven Quill. (She is now at The Tobias Literary Agency.) I hadn’t
revised Mama’s yet, but I decided to query her with a super-silly and
fun picture book manuscript. At the very least, I figured it would make her
smile during those uncertain times. She immediately reached out to me, and set
up a Zoom visit with herself, Kelly, and me. We had a lot of fun chatting, and
they offered me representation! We didn’t sell that fun picture book
manuscript, but we had fun trying.
To answer your question, how did Mama’s Chicken and
Dumplings find its way to publication: Kelly, who is a very editorial
agent, read it, and offered quite a few suggestions to help me get it ready to submit
to editors. Her comments were similar to Jacqui’s. But in fact I had given up
on the manuscript, and was focusing on doing research for a nonfiction picture
book project instead.
I had forgotten that while I was unagented I had sent Mama’s
to Margaret Ferguson right after she moved to Holiday House in 2017. Unbeknownst
to me, my manuscript had been plucked from the Holiday House’s slush pile and was
sitting on Margaret’s desk throughout the pandemic. When Margaret returned to
her office after COVID-19 restrictions lifted, she began reading my manuscript
and saw promise. She reached out to me via email, asking if it had already been
acquired. When I said it hadn’t, she said she was interested in reading it
through. I let her know I now had agents, and a few months later, she said she
wanted to acquire the manuscript, though I had to agree to work on that thing
called plot. Of course, I became willing to revise—again—and Mama’s Chicken
and Dumplings found its home with an extraordinaire editor and her fantabulous
publishing house!
7. You’ve also had about 16 books-for-hire published. Tell us
how you got into writing work-for-hire books and how the experience helped you after
you got your publishing contract for Mama’s Chicken and Dumplings.
My first work-for-hire project was a nonfiction book about
orcas published with Scholastic in 2019. I got that assignment because an SCBWI
friend of the pen referred me to the acquiring editor. Also in 2019, I attended
an SCBWI webinar with Carol Hinz at Lerner. Afterward, I sent her writing
samples. She passed my information on, and I ended up writing four NF titles
for them. My projects with Capstone and Little, Brown came through my agents. A
local educational publisher reached out after she got my name from one of her
writers, another one of my SCBWI friends of the pen. I’ve written three
biographies for them. Yet another acquiring WFH editor reached out through my
website after she read my nonfiction piece about a whale-snot-collecting drone
in Spider.
Did my WFH projects help me after Mama’s was acquired?
I’d have to say yes! With WFH, you have to outline the narrative and character
arcs in your fictional stories before you start writing. Working with my
editors at this outline stage helped me understand much about what makes a
story work for the reader.
Promoting Your Book
8. Mama’s Chicken and Dumplings was released on August 6,
2024. How have you been promoting it? What future plans do you have for
marketing your book?
To create buzz, I sent in my good news to my region of SCBWI
and to the Children’s Book Guild of DC. I also sent out an email preorder
campaign using Constant Contact. To advertise my book launch, I sent out 250
postcards and put up flyers at Starbucks, schools, and local libraries. (Sadly,
many of my postcards were not delivered.) Upcoming, I have two other author
events planned for two different cities—Richmond and Reston. Next up will be
figuring out how to have a successful school visit.
9. What advice do you have for other writers on developing a
marketing plan and a social media platform?
Haha! You’re asking the wrong person about that. I’m not on
social media. But I will say I highly recommend using Canva to design and print
your marketing materials, which look great on your website or blog. The
platform is super easy to use, and produces very professional looking stuff.
10. Thanks for the Canva tip. What are you working on now?
Catching my breath! No seriously, catching my breath.
Thanks for sharing all your advice, Dionna.
You’re more than welcome! It’s an honor to be here!
You can find Dionna at https://www.dionnalmann.com/, and blogging all things kidlit at https://www.dionnalmann.com/interviews-blog-parties--more.
Giveaway Details
Dionna’s publisher is generously offering a hardback
of Mama’s
Chicken and Dumplings for
a giveaway. To enter,
all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget,
email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by October
5th. If your email is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the
comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.
If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or
your blog and/or follow me on Twitter or Dionna on her social media sites, mention this in the comments and I'll
give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter.
This book giveaway is U.S.
Marvelous
Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating
blogs on his blog.
Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts,
and Blog Hops
Wednesday, September 25th
I have an agent spotlight interview with Amy
Thrall Flynn and a query critique giveaway
Tuesday, October 1st I’m
participating in the Scaredy Cat Giveaway Hop
Wednesday, October 2nd I have a guest post by author Tracy Bilen and a giveaway of her YA thriller Thirty Seconds at a Time and my IWSG post
Saturday, October 5th
I’m participating in the Howl-O-Ween
Giveaway Hop
Monday, October 7th I have an agent
spotlight interview with Leslie Zampetti and a query critique giveaway
Monday, October 14th I
have an interview with debut author Adrian So and a giveaway of his MG chapter
book The
Groundworld Heroes. He’s only 14 years old and a debut author so please stop
by and leave him a comment to support him in accomplishing such a big goal at
such a young age.
Wednesday, October 16th
I have an agent spotlight interview with Samantha
Wekstein and a query critique giveaway
Wednesday, October 16th I’m
participating in the Silly Pumpkin Giveaway Hop
Monday, October 28th I
have a guest post by author Abbi Lee and a giveaway of her MG Ghost Town
Treasure Hunt
I hope to see you on Wednesday!
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