My journey from poor kid in Akron, Ohio, to published author.
My Story,
I am dating myself, but my journey to fiction started when I was about five years old in Akron, Ohio. President Lyndon Johnson started a program as part of his “War on Poverty.” That program was called RIF, Reading Is Fundamental. Johnson, who had grown up poor in rural Texas, had an idea that if children read at a young age, they could lift themselves out of poverty. I am living proof that he was right.
Mobile Libraries, like the one you see in the picture, would come around to the poor neighborhoods once a week and park at the corner. One day, I spotted one of these vans at the corner of 8th and Kelly Avenues in Akron. Curious, I walked up to the van.
The librarian told me that if you could write your name and address, you could take out a book for free. I was amazed and in the back of my mind thought that at some point she would ask for money.
I was small for my age, and I could see that she was skeptical. “How could this little black boy read and write at his age?” I grabbed the pen and wrote my name and address. My writing wasn’t neat (still isn’t), but it was legible.
“Okay,” She said, looking impressed. “What book do you want?”
I was stumped. I had never checked out a book before. I had no idea what kind of book I would like. Now, I felt foolish. I just wanted to show off the fact that I could read and write. I looked around and spotted Grimm Brothers Fairy Tales. I picked it up. I read every one. I firmly believe that this steered me toward science fiction and Horror.
The Brothers Grimm did not write cute little stories with talking animals and a simple moral. Their stories featured supernatural beings, and the consequence of poor decision-making was often a violent death.
This began a lifelong passion for reading and telling stories, which persists to this day. Because I grew up poor, my knowledge of the greater world came through books, and I was lucky enough to parlay that into a successful career and a nice home for my family. Reading is indeed fundamental.