Mama’s Writing is Raising Mothers’ monthly interview series, curated by Starr Davis. What recent writing accomplishment(s) are you most proud of? Was this accomplishment shared and supported by your children? There are several key writing accomplishments I secured [last] year for which I am very grateful. First one: I became a writer for Race The Bronx which is a running company that creates races in Bronx parks. I wrote articles and interviews I conducted with runners in our community. Second one: I studied with Mitchell Jackson at the Kenyon Review Workshop in Ohio [last] summer. I engaged with new writers–BOOM, BOOM, BAPS–and returned to my writing practice after a bit of a hiatus. Third one: I launched a Substack account in November after running my second marathon of the season. All of these accomplishments were supported by my college-aged daughters. Whenever I shared the updates they simply replied: Mom, this is so you! Tell about a time mom-guilt emerged (or emerges) in the midst of your writing process. Mom guilt emerged when I was in my …

What recent writing accomplishment(s) are you most proud of? Was this accomplishment shared and supported by your children? My 2-year-old was born on the day that my collection of poems Plantains and Our Becoming was sent off to auction by my agents. Looking back on that moment now feels so cosmic. This book of poetry feels directly intertwined with my story of motherhood. When I think of myself as a writer, I always also think of myself as a mother and it is so grounding to view my work from that lens. I always want my accomplishments to be a part of who I also am as a mother. I want my children to see me as an individual and to know that I lived a full life and did not allow the one-dimensionalizing of the patriarchy’s gaze upon women to flatten me not for one second. If I can accomplish that through daily action, that is what I will be most proud of. Plantains & Our Becoming has yet to win an award but …

Mama’s Writing is Raising Mothers’ monthly interview series, curated by Starr Davis. What recent writing accomplishment(s) are you most proud of? Was this accomplishment shared and supported by your children? After toiling to publish my first novel for many years (from first sentence to publication, it was a fifteen year journey), I sold my second novel, The Grand Paloma Resort, as a proposal this past summer! It’s truly incredible and wonderful as I didn’t even know it was possible to sell a book before it was finished. When I told my children I sold my second book, their first suggestion was that I get on TIKTOK. I think that means they’re proud! Tell about a time mom-guilt emerged (or emerges) in the midst of your writing process. I don’t have much mom-guilt when it comes to my writing. I worked a full time job the entire time I was writing my first novel and that largely meant waking up at four and five AM just to get some pages down before my family woke up and …

Mama’s Writing is Raising Mothers’ monthly interview series, curated by Starr Davis. What recent writing accomplishment(s) are you most proud of? I am proud of the pieces I’ve written about neurodiversity. I debated whether to share this aspect of my parenting journey, as it directly relates to my daughter. I felt it was important to share the joys and challenges of raising a neurologically diverse Black girl. Mental health is an issue that is gaining more attention. We’ve been slow to openly discuss personal issues worried about being labeled or being further discriminated against in education and at work. The more we share about mental health, the more we can support our neurodiverse children. Was this accomplishment shared and supported by your children? My daughter is young and doesn’t know the content of my work. She knows that I like to help others and think she’d be okay with what I write about. Tell about a time mom-guilt emerged (or emerges) in the midst of your writing process.  I am hyper aware of putting their business …

Mama’s Writing is Raising Mothers’ monthly interview series, curated by Starr Davis. What recent writing accomplishment(s) are you most proud of? Was this accomplishment shared and supported by your children? I’m grateful when any of my work gets published whether it’s a novel, short story, essay, or a poem and my children are always my best cheerleaders which is fantastic. My novel, Choosing Grace, was a long process from birth to being out in the world and I’m proud of my determination to stick with it, but I’m also proud when I find homes for my poetry too. Tell about a time mom-guilt emerged (or emerges) in the midst of your writing process. I’m not sure if I have ever experienced “mom guilt”. When my kids were younger I wrote the first draft of my novel at night while they slept, but I got it done because my goal was simple – write one page a day. That mindset helped me a lot. It relieved the pressure in terms of production – one page is definitely …