Brenda Woods Q&A

Get to know Coretta Scott King Honor winning novelist Brenda Woods, June's Author of the Month. She explains the inspiration behind her lastest novel The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond, what got her started in writing and her love of Chicago.

Where did you get your idea for this book?

The idea for The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond came primarily from the adopted daughter of a friend. Many years ago, my friends, who happened to be white, took in a foster child as a newborn.  It just so happened that the child was bi-racial.  Later, they adopted the lovely girl but the idea of this child growing up in a white family without access to her African American heritage was something that stayed with me through the years. The second push for the story came when one of the tiny diamonds fell out of my ring and it occurred to me that sometimes there are important things missing from our lives…like the missing pieces of a puzzle. So, the concept of this human desire to be whole and also to know where you come from united together to create idea for The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond.

What was your favorite book when you were growing up?

My favorite book growing up was The Cat in the Hat. I read that book to my younger siblings and also to my sons and grandchildren. It never loses its charm.  BUT…there were so many other books I loved.  Animal Farm, Dairy of a Young Girl, Catcher in the Rye, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Old Man and the Sea, Native Son, The Martian Chronicles, The Little Prince, Stranger in a Strange Land, Nancy Drew Mysteries, The Time Machine, Lord of the Flies, Things Fall Apart, Their Eyes Were Watching God.  The list goes on.

How old were you when you started writing?

In my freshman year of high school, the English teacher told us to keep a journal over the summer.  I didn’t write every day but I remember thinking this is cool. I remember liking the sound of words and the ways they flowed together, almost like a song. I love music and the written word can have a melody.  In college, a professor frequently singled me out to read what I had written. I can be rather shy…so it was embarrassing.

What is your favorite word?

My favorite word is serendipity. Life can be like that…full of pleasant surprises. I suppose I feel that despite the odds, overall, I’ve been very lucky.

What is your favorite book about Chicago?

My favorite book about Chicago and one of my favorite books of all time is The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.  What a writer!  It’s pure poetry.

Find out even more about Brenda Woods and The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond.