I’ve had a lot of good Zoom talks with other writers and illustrators, and a lot of interviews with the far flung reaches of the Book-Devouring Social Media Hordes. TD: Thanks to the support of the PR group with Harper-Collins, it was a lot better than I expected. What was it like releasing a book during Covid times? Last time we spoke, we were exciting to share you latest book, Partly Cloudy. Eventually I’d like to learn a song on my tenor recorder and record my effort. I am trying to simply live through the idea of begin as you mean to go on, while putting less pressure on myself to produce something big, and more follow-through on doing… something to lighten my soul. It doesn’t seem like much on the surface, but the biggest issue during the sourdough-growing-garden-starting-artsy-being first lockdown was so many Great Works began which were never completed.

As isolation life continues, I have made a tiny resolution to start one thing and finish it per month, and I’ve already gotten January’s done – I embroidered a succulent in a pot on one (1) dish towel. This Omicron sitch wasn’t what was wanted for the new year, but it’s a bit what was expected since viruses gonna virus, unfortunately. If they take away our stories, then what next?Ĭonnect with Tanita on Twitter are you, Tanita? Have you made any new year’s resolutions or plans to get through this next phase of Covid? Life’s not particularly easy for any of us these days, is it? I do think however, that it’s worth knowing more about some of the stresses particular to BIPOC authors, particularly the struggle for the continued existence of their stories. So, here she is with a book that released in 2021, a most challenging to release and market a new book now writing her next book and then, having an older book listed in Texas for possible removal from a library. In 2007, she and her husband spent time living in Scotland. Tanita holds a Master of Fine Arts from Mills College.

She was born in California and now lives in Arizona. Tanita’s earlier book, Mare’s War, was a Coretta Scott King Award Winner. This is one of the books challenged in Texas.

The “secret” is that their father is transgender and this is the story of the family moving forward. Over the course of spring break, Ysabel and Justin will be forced to come to terms with their dad’s new life, but can they overcome their fears to piece together their happy family again? But their father has a secret – one that threatens to destroy the twins’ happy family and life as they know it. Ysabel’s jewelry designs have already caught the eyes of the art world and Justin’s intelligence and drive are sure to gain him entrance into the most prestigious of colleges. Teenage twins Ysabel and Justin Nicholas are lucky.

Happy Families by Tanita S. Davis