Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jan 30, 2012, 11:42 am
The last few weeks I have finally found a measure of peace in organizing my office: new file cabinets, new storage, new label maker, and at last I have a clutter-free desk!   Part of the clean up involved going through old journals and letters.  I used to be an avid letter writer, and ...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jan 20, 2012, 3:20 pm
Etta James died.  I adored Etta James.  It is a sad day indeed.   I fell in love with her music kind of late.  I knew of her, but it was her albums of jazz standards that made me fall in love with her voice.  I could play her version of Someone to Watch Over Me all day long.  It is my a...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jan 15, 2012, 5:30 pm
I am happy to report that this report comes from the Riviera Maya in Mexico.  It was raining when we arrived in the late afternoon yesterday.  I'm talking biblical kind of rain.  And it was so chilly that I wore my New York City winter coat to dinner. It was impossible to enjoy the sc...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Dec 28, 2011, 8:04 am
Last Spring, I was traveling home from Portland, and noticed a woman knitting a gorgeous looking winter cap on the flight.  It looked just like my beloved cap that I lost last winter in a cab.  I was bummed out for several days about losing that cap--not just because it was blue and green (the per...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Dec 21, 2011, 8:19 am
Whew! I just finished the last of my deadlines for 2011 -- a short story commissioned by WNYC's Selected Shorts program.  I hope they like it.  And now, it is time to breathe again.   I feel almost giddy knowing that all I have to think about in the coming months is the new book!  Wh...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Dec 1, 2011, 10:12 am
I'm working on a short story that was commissioned by a popular NPR program.  I'm freaking out as the deadline looms next week.  And then I saw this wonderful manifesto that's helping me focus! There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion. Accept that ev...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Nov 23, 2011, 11:34 am
Remember back in August when I did the CNN Dialogues panel hosted by Wolf Blitzer? Well, that same trip I got to sit for a CNN Red Chair interview (watch the video it really is a red chair) -- CNN Red Chair feature is a newsmaker series that has featured the likes of the current crop of Republican ...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Nov 16, 2011, 8:15 am
I will confess: I let it all go while I was on the road for the last few weeks--heck, I let it all go for the last couple of years as I toured. I can say that I didn't meet a plate of french fries, or a plate of pasta I didn't like since 2009.  And then the workouts: well, let's just sa...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Nov 15, 2011, 11:19 am
It is a sad day indeed.  I just learned that Etta James has released her final album.  It doesn't really come as a surprise.  She's not been in good health for years and the last year has taken a toll on her I understand from various press releases.  I regret that I never sent her a copy of my n...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Sep 30, 2011, 8:42 am
This ran on NBC Nightly News yesterday about the new Census figures.  Check it out! Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Sep 15, 2011, 9:41 am
I was so tickled when I saw the cover of the latest printing of the paperback. I'm not sure that other folks will notice, but I sure do. Instead of the words "National Bestseller", the cover of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky now says "New York Times Bestseller"--Whoo hoo!
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Sep 12, 2011, 11:37 am
A huge thanks to everyone who came to my reading at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History last week. I will tell you, I was pretty nervous about this appearance. Who would come? And would my talk be of interest? Well, I must say that the audience was one of the warmest and most welcoming e...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Sep 7, 2011, 12:06 pm
What a cool night! Writer Barbara DeMarco-Barrett hosts a monthly literary salon in Corona del Mar, CA and I was glad to be a part of it. I shared the stage with Danzy Senna (You Are Free) as we talked about the writing process, permission and fear. Thanks for a wonderful evening, everyone!
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Sep 5, 2011, 3:31 pm
I can't stop buzzing about the wonderful experience I had last week as a participant on CNN Dialogue's inaugural discussion in Atlanta. I was more than little nervous that I would flub the whole thing up. The panel, which was moderated by CNN's Wolf Blitzer, included fellow panelists Kris Marsh, Y...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Aug 26, 2011, 7:46 pm
It was a great pleasure to help wrap up the first-ever Summer Blend Book Club created by Michel Martin of NPR's Tell Me More.  If you haven't read these books, you must.  You will love them.  You will often laugh.  Check out the interview here.
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Aug 4, 2011, 3:06 pm
The new project of the Huffington Post, Black Voices, launched today.  I'll be included as one of the regular bloggers.  This is my first piece on Why Fiction Matters in a Digital Age.
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Aug 2, 2011, 10:21 am
I'm excited to be a part of this new series CNN Dialogues on Race moderated with Wolf Blitzer on August 31 at 7PM in Atlanta. Other panelists include actor Edward James Olmos, Survivor winner Yul Kwon, and Professors Kris Marsh, and Dana White. For ticket information visit the university website.
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Aug 1, 2011, 11:54 am
Okay, yes, I'm a little bit behind.  I know summer officially started in June but I haven't felt it.  I've spent the last few weeks tying up loose ends from the book tour and the Festival, clearing off my desk, dealing with some difficult stuff, and trying to figure out my next steps as I work on ...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jul 27, 2011, 2:52 pm
It's official! I am beyond thrilled and honored that Portland has picked The Girl Who Fell From the Sky for its city-wide read, Everybody Reads for 2012! Details to come about events and appearances! Whoo hoo!
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jul 26, 2011, 12:17 pm
Algonquin is giving away 20 copies of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky in honor of the upcoming Algonquin Book Club event on 8/18 at 7pm. The awesome, best-selling writer, Terry McMillan will interview at Book Passage in Corte Madera. Can't make it? Well, it's going to be webcast LIVE! Just add a ...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jul 21, 2011, 5:15 pm
Stories seem so well constructed that it's natural for teachers to assume they were thought up in advance, but Gregor Samsa could have mated with another cockroach, and Humpty Dumpty could have been unscrambled by feeding him to a chicken. --Keith Johnston, "Jou...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jul 20, 2011, 11:35 am
"Maybe stories are research with a soul."  - Brene Brown I have stacks of papers, and note cards, and photos and books.  It is the research for the new book I'm working on.  I have been looking at all of this information trying to tease out the important details to shape a story, but ...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jul 15, 2011, 9:28 am
"There is a crack in everything.  That's how the light gets in." -- Leonard Cohen (lyrics of "Anthem")
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jul 14, 2011, 7:35 am
While I was writing my first book, I often wrote out of the angst of the moment.  When I was most unsettled by life, I found a real well-spring of creative energy.  It felt like a fever sometimes.  I would write long-hand whole passages that ulitmately appeared in the published book almost unchan...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jul 13, 2011, 11:01 am
"Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so that they will be happier.  The way it actually works is the reverse.  You must first be who you really are, then do what you really need to do, in order to ha...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jul 7, 2011, 6:37 pm
This talk really touched me. It made me think about what all artists (and we all are artists with our lives too) need to remember as we dive into the work.
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jul 5, 2011, 4:58 pm
We've hit the big time! This story will appear on the front page of the New York Times tomorrow July 6, 2011. The reporter did an amazing job reporting on the Festival and this important moment in the arts!  Please check it out--share with your friends and leave comments. We're so excited!
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jun 30, 2011, 4:01 pm
I wrote this piece in 2007 for an issue of a literary journal that was going to be dedicated to the work of writer David Bradley.  This was before I won the Bellwether Prize, and had already racked up some three dozen publisher rejections.  The literary journal issue didn't come together as planne...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jun 20, 2011, 7:56 pm
I'm excited to share this excerpt from my interview with the very wonderful D.G. Martin on UNCTV's Book Watch program which ran last weekend. What do you think?
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jun 20, 2011, 6:31 pm
Yes, I am jazzed!  Today, my interview with Rachel Hurn appeared in the New Yorker Magazine's Book Bench!  Check it out!
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jun 15, 2011, 12:14 pm
  I hope you'll check out this interview I did yesterday for NPR's Tell Me More.  I give a little Festival recap (more on that soon) and help launch the show's Summer Blended Books Series focused on books of the Mixed experience.  And please click "Recommend" at the top of the page if you could!
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jun 7, 2011, 8:11 am
I'm in the throes of working on the new book in earnest.  And frankly I will tell you I'm scared.  What if the words don't come?  What if it's not as good?  And yes, what if I'm suffering the dreaded sophomore slump? I feel good about the fact that I started this project before The G...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - Jun 6, 2011, 7:41 am
Loving Day is this weekend!  How are you celebrating? If you've been following this blog, you know that I will be up to my eyeballs with work helping to make sure that the 4th Annual Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival which I co-founded with Fanshen Cox goes off without a hitch.  (Th...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - May 31, 2011, 4:13 am
I was excited to hear that a snippet of my Storycorps interview with my friend Fanshen ran on KPCC.  I'm the interviewer this time!  Check it out here.
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - May 30, 2011, 8:00 am
Dude!  This year's Mixed Experience History Month just about took me out!  I had the most difficult time finding the information about some of my subject's backgrounds.  But there were some real winners and very new to me including the awesome Japanese American Black Panther Richard Aoki. &#...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - May 27, 2011, 8:00 am
Ed Thigpen was an American jazz drummer born in 1930. At 18, Thigpen became a professional musician.  In 1950, he joined Cootie Williams' band at the Savoy Ballroom in New York City.  He was drafted in 1952 and served in the US Army in Korea and Japan.  After his military service, he ...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - May 26, 2011, 8:00 am
James Beckwourth was born around 1800, the son of a white Virginia aristocrat and a mixed-race enslaved woman. Beckwourth served as an apprentice blacksmith as a young man.  In 1822, his father manumitted him so that he could travel west and work in the fur trade. According ...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - May 25, 2011, 8:00 am
Garrett Augustus Morgan was born in either 1875 or 1877 in Paris, Kentucky.  He was the son of formerly enslaved parents.  His mother was African-American and Native American.  His father was also mixed-race. At 14, Morgan, who had a fascination with mechanical things, left home and w...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - May 24, 2011, 8:35 am
Born in 1762 in Jamaica, Robert Wedderburn was the son of a Scottish sugar plantation owner and an enslaved black woman.  Wedderburn's father sold his mother to another slave holder while she was pregnant with the stipulation that upon his birth Robert would be free. Wedderburn left the...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - May 23, 2011, 9:32 am
A few links on the Mixed experience for a Monday morning: Who is a Black Actor? Vin Diesel?  The Rock?  Rashida Jones?  And does it matter? Danzy Senna's new book, You Are Free, gets a great review in the New York Times. A Mixed Name for a Mixed Kid?  An essay on c...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - May 23, 2011, 8:00 am
Francis James Grimke was born in 1850, the son of a white man and an enslaved black woman.  When Grimke's father died, Grimke ran away because his white half-brother claimed his "ownership rights" over him.  Grimke became an officer's valet in the Confederate Army.  When the war ended...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - May 20, 2011, 8:00 am
Jean Toomer, born in 1894 in Washington D.C., became an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance best known for his book, Cane. The son of two mixed-race parents, Toomer had a peripatetic upbringing and continued to move around to different universities as a young man studying agricult...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - May 19, 2011, 8:00 am
Sacagawea was a Shoshone born in 1788.  At 12-years-old, she was kidnapped by members of the Hidatsa tribe. As a young teen, she was married to French trapper, Toussaint Charbonneau.  She was already pregnant when Lewis & Clark engaged her and Charbonneau as interpreters and guides for...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - May 18, 2011, 8:00 am
Born in 1830, Patrick Francis Healy was the first person of African ancestry to earn a Ph.D. and became the first person of African ancestry to head a major American university.  Healy was the son of a white plantation owner and a biracial enslaved woman who later became the plantation ...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - May 17, 2011, 8:00 am
This year's Mixed Experience History Month is admittedly a little heavy on Afro-Vikings, but here's just one more. Casper Holstein who was born in 1876 in the Danish West Indies on St. Croix would grow up to become one of Harlem's most notorious gangsters involved in the numbers racket. ...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - May 16, 2011, 2:00 am
You're thinking: "No way is Camille Pissarro, one of the leading figures of the French Impressionists, in the Mixed experience?"  But it's true. Camille Pissarro was born in 1830 in the Danish West Indies.  His father was of Jewish and Portuguese descent and his mother was Creole.  Be...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - May 13, 2011, 7:00 am
Born in 1579 in Peru, Martin de Porres was the son of a Spanish nobleman and a former enslaved black mother. Unable to financially support her children, de Porres' mother sent him to live with a barber/surgeon to learn the medical arts.  He began spending long hours at prayer as well--s...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - May 11, 2011, 7:20 am
Richard Aoki was a third-generation Japanese American citizen born in 1938 in California. In 1941, Aoki's family along with 20,000 other Japanese Americans and Japanese people living in the United States were forcibly relocated to concentration camps because of the war.  After the war, ...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - May 11, 2011, 7:00 am
Born in San Francisco in 1940, Bruce Lee was the son of a Chinese opera star and a mother who was of Chinese and German ancestry.  His family moved to Hong Kong when he was three months old. When Lee was a teenager, his parents decided he needed to train in martial arts after becoming i...
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Heidi D. posted an article on Light-skinned-ed Girl - May 10, 2011, 8:28 am
My dear friend Rayme Cornell and I had the great opportunity to visit a Santa Monica middle-grade school where we got to talk to kids about the upcoming Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival, June 11-12, 2011 in Los Angeles. www.mxroots.org. People often ask me whether I think things are chan...
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