I teach high school English. It’s amazing how much that I don’t know. Don’t get me wrong, I am
more than adequate to teach my subject. As a matter of fact, I’ve
been told that I excel. But when it comes to some other areas, not
so much. You see, there’s a lot of important information kept from
people, and if you don’t have the curiosity or the wherewithal the
establishment has a way of keeping you in the dark. Thank God for
MSNBC.My thirst for knowledge started early on. I’ll never forget the day I cried in elementary school. My History teacher told the class that Abraham Lincoln didn’t free the slaves because he cared about black people. He did it because he felt the country couldn’t survive without him making that decision. Once I got upset the teacher looked worried. My childhood classmate tried too comfort me. She whispered, ‘Don’t pay any attention to her. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.’ I’m sure partly from fear because I’d cried, she called my mother that night and told her about the incident. After my mother hung up the phone she had a talk with me and confirmed it. It turned out that the teacher was right. Now I’m grateful because the teacher did me a favor. You see, her point of view wasn’t written in the history book and if it wasn’t for her….
When it comes to the history of our country I’m constantly amazed by some of the things left out. While I was in my segregated school in Danbury Connecticut getting the best education money could by, my peers in Florida were still going to segregated high schools. That was
also something left out of the history books because whenever
segregation was lightly touched on, it was made to seem like a thing
of the past. Once I graduated from college and moved to Florida, I
found out the real time frame that Brown vs. Board of Education was
instilled throughout the county. I guess that’s why I’m always trying to tell people stuff. I don’t want to come off preachy or some know it all because believe me, I’m anything but. This has seeped out in my writing. I’m the author of three published novels. My first novel Never Say Never is an interracial. My purpose of writing that novel is not to tell black women to leave the brothers alone. It’s just that maybe you should grab happiness where you can. I also have a subplot of sexual harassment in the novel because with so many women in the workplace, well, you know….
My second novel Moments of Clarity… is based the love between a nurse, Sasha Diamond who is the sister of the heroine in Never say Never. She meets and falls in love with NBA basketball player Sexton Johnson. I’m trying to address stereotypes in this novel. I also deal with the foster care system. The quiet murmur of many in our country is not to adopt teenagers because they have so much baggage. I don’t think that it’s ever too late to turn someone around if you are a good role model.
My third novel When Lightning Strikes! released August 4, 2009 is very personal to me. The setting is Lake City South Carolina. Lake City is the birthplace of my parents. It’s a sleepy town that has housed some very important citizens of our country. Ronald McNair the astronaut that died on the Challenger was born and raised there. James Graham who was spotlighted in the movie Proud starring Ossie Davis, was also from there. It is also a former home of Reverend DeLaine, one of the first petitioners that challenged separate but equal. Reverend DeLaine lived there until separate but equal was ruled unconstitutional. He had to leave town in the middle of the night because the Klan was so upset. This petition led to the
final
conclusion that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. Even
though When Lightning Strikes! is a contemporary I cited references
to American history because I truly believe our past influences our
present behavior.I write contemporary romance and I love it. Boy gets girl. Girl gets Boy. And then they get children. But because of all the outside influences and the wear and tear of daily life happiness is not always just around the corner. I just hope that once a reader finishes my book, they have renewed faith that their soul mate is out there, all their problems with be solved and they also have learned something they didn’t know.
Michele Cameron
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Copyright © 2007 Romance Slam Jam Organization. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2007 Romance Slam Jam Organization. All Rights Reserved.