“What’s Your Story?” is a guest post feature on BCBA’s blog. Indie/Self-Published authors are invited to write about their books, writing journey, creative process, inspiration, rewards and challenges of publishing, etc. They can go in whatever direction they choose. We are excited and grateful for their willingness to share, and we hope you enjoy De-Ann Smith’s story. Go here for more WYS? posts.
I’ve been writing since my teenage years, but I mostly kept it to myself. I didn’t reveal to my family that I wanted to pursue writing until I applied to do my master’s in creative writing. Did I need it? No. You don’t need a degree to write a book, but I thought it would help validate this hidden talent and help me to hone my skill. I loved writing, but up until I was in the first semester of my master’s program, my main goal was to play professional volleyball. It was the reason I chose Northumbria University in Newcastle, England. The volleyball team there had a history of players who played professionally before or after studying there. The university was known for its connections, and I strategically placed myself there. It was an easy choice. I played volleyball for the Barbados national team (Yes, I’m from the beautiful island of Barbados.), I gained a volleyball scholarship to the U.S. for my first degree (Shout out to Sheridan College and my HBCU Winston-Salem State University!), and volleyball was everything for me. That changed when I started my master’s. I dropped volleyball to focus on my creative writing program, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sounds crazy, right? The opportunity to live out my sporting dream was right in front of me, and I gave it up to write? It was my first time in life not being a student-athlete. I was surprisingly happy. That season of life was over, and a new season was about to begin. There is something about following your purpose and saying yes to what is laid on your heart that leads you to fulfillment. That was the beginning of how I got here.
I recently published my first book on October 26, 2021—a children’s book. Not exactly what I had planned, but again, purpose called. Although my desire was to write adult fiction, I felt led to write my book What’s Your FRO-blem? first. It’s a book about embracing your hair and who you are naturally. It’s a book about self-love and pride in the way you are made. I wanted to write it for little Black girls all over the world who felt like they needed to alter their hair to be beautiful. I wanted to combat the struggle my generation and those before me had with loving our hair and still today battling with it being accepted professionally. Before I could turn in my final manuscript, I decided to switch it up and include boys. Boys have hair too! I have nephews, and they also need to see themselves represented. We are often so focused on uplifting girls that boys are usually neglected. Even living in the Caribbean with a majority Black population, our boys are only allowed to have low haircuts for school. If for any type of religious reason, you have hair (for example, locs), then their hair is usually covered. Social media (as well as my time living in the U.S. and England to study) has really exposed that Black people worldwide have been having the same experiences oceans apart. It breaks my heart when I see videos online of Black children crying and thinking they’re ugly because this world didn’t teach them to love their hair. My heart smiles every time someone tells me that their child needed my book. It makes me feel like it was all worth it. I have adults buying this book for themselves and loving it. It’s like their inner child needed it and finally got it! The Black community needs to continue to sow these seeds in our youth, and I’m happy to have contributed to our needs.
Find your purpose. You can usually start to look with that burning desire inside that makes your heart feel fuzzy. What’s that one thing that you wish you could do, if nothing else, and make a living? Start somewhere. If I can do it, trust me, you can. I’m from an island that’s only 166 square miles and has approximately 300,000 people. I mean, think about it, Rihanna is from this same small island. There will never be another her, but there will never be another you either. You can do it!
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