When I began writing for children, I searched for others who were writing for children in Mississippi. Early on, I found Deborah Wiles‘ books, but I couldn’t find her.

On the internet I found out that she lived in Maryland. When she came to Lemuria bookstore in Jackson to sign, I made sure I went. I had to work up the courage to admit that I was trying to be a writer for children, too. She was kind and encouraging. Most folks in this business are, but there was something about her “you can do it,” that I believed. Deborah  (who now lives in Atlanta) came back to Lemuria this week to sign Countdown, her genre-busting new book. It is a documentary novel, chock full of black and white photographs, advertisements and other visuals from 1962.

Deborah read from the book’s opening and then a tiny snippet from much further in. I could have listened much longer. I think she should record the audio book version. I feel so lucky to live in a town with a fabulous independent bookstore that has a very cool performance space for readings. Here is a picture of Emily Grossenbacher, the manager of Lemuria’s children’s store. You can read her post about Countdown here.

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