1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:04,639 Hello, Hello, Ebe. How are you doing today. I'm good, 2 00:00:04,759 --> 00:00:07,120 Arrow, Thank you so much for having me. I love your name. 3 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:09,640 There has to be a story here, Ebe, because I mean, this 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:13,400 is not a normal, every day on the street name. So what's the 5 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:19,679 journey here. I did change my name, just like my character in Nigeria 6 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:24,120 Jones. My mama did not name thebe as a boy. It started out 7 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:28,079 as a pen name, and because of so much confusion around pen names, 8 00:00:28,519 --> 00:00:32,960 I decided to change it legally. I'm so glad that you brought that up, 9 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:35,640 because Arrow's not my real name. And when I write, I don't 10 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:38,479 sign it arrow or I don't sign it as CT. I sign it as 11 00:00:38,759 --> 00:00:45,000 m apostrophe e, which means may the sunrise above your tears. Oh that's 12 00:00:45,039 --> 00:00:50,880 fascinating. I love the creativity that goes into naming yourself. That's autonomy. 13 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,320 The book Nigeria Jones. You know this is going to be a summer read 14 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:58,280 this right here is a window into the world of who so many people are, 15 00:00:58,359 --> 00:01:03,920 and they're going to be speaking your lange, which absolutely I hope so 16 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:07,640 yes to get it into the hands of the readers. I mean, okay, 17 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,879 we go to the bookstore or we read about it online, but in 18 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:12,879 order to have them open the book and become a part of that story. 19 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:17,680 My wife is an avid reader. I love it when I see people reading. 20 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:23,280 I love when people read as well or else, I don't have a 21 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:26,879 career. You know, this is a page turner, but it's it's a 22 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:30,799 page turner in that it makes you think and it makes you wonder about the 23 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:36,719 people who are raised very differently than us, especially in this country. If 24 00:01:36,719 --> 00:01:40,480 we watch movies or TV shows, we think everybody's the same, but we 25 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:45,239 are not. The way that you have disciplined Nigeria is the fact that she's 26 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:49,560 a well disciplined person, from the homeschool to being seventeen years old to being 27 00:01:49,599 --> 00:01:53,680 a leader discovering more about herself. This right here is it's such a perfect 28 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:57,840 example of people who want to be that but don't know how to be that. 29 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:02,000 But Nigeria is going to help open that door for him. Right she's 30 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:07,400 raised, she's homeschooled, and she's raised as a vegan because of a very 31 00:02:07,799 --> 00:02:13,719 strict and militant father who is the leap of a community that is into social 32 00:02:13,759 --> 00:02:19,240 activism. But after learning some things about her mother, she decides to forge 33 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:22,800 her own path and starts a school, starts a new school for the first 34 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,520 time, has new experiences, and makes new friends. And even though this 35 00:02:25,759 --> 00:02:31,719 her community and her family seem enticing to people, as an average teenager, 36 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:37,599 she's questioning whether or not that was that's the right choice for her. So 37 00:02:37,719 --> 00:02:40,919 as sixteenth year old do she forges her own path and finds her way. 38 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:46,000 But you know, but conflict and different different paths changing and stuff like that, 39 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:50,400 because when when her mother disappears, all of a sudden, her eyes 40 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:57,719 open and her heart becomes stronger. Absolutely. You know, a lot of 41 00:02:57,759 --> 00:03:01,360 young people are raised with parents who are either divorced or a parent is not 42 00:03:01,479 --> 00:03:07,039 in the home, and that sort of break in the family forces you to 43 00:03:07,159 --> 00:03:10,719 question which path you want to choose. And sometimes young people have to decide 44 00:03:10,719 --> 00:03:14,680 whether they stay with mom or the whether they stay with dad. But in 45 00:03:14,719 --> 00:03:20,199 this particular book, it's about ideas. Whose idea is She's she going to 46 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:24,879 gravitate towards. Is it her father's militant ideas or our mother's open, inclusive 47 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:30,960 ideas. And she's questioned everything and she has no answers. By the end 48 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:32,639 of the book, I won't tell you what the what happens in the end? 49 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,639 Yeah, this is a coming of a story where you initiate the process 50 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:43,319 of becoming your own self. Speaking of paths, the way that you make 51 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:46,159 paths with your words, I mean, do you are you writing to yourself 52 00:03:46,199 --> 00:03:49,840 when you're putting these books together? Or do you are you like a radio 53 00:03:49,879 --> 00:03:55,360 person we envision a listener being there. Every character in every book that I 54 00:03:55,400 --> 00:04:00,599 write is a part of myself. While I was not raised like Nigeria Jones, 55 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,840 I am an immigrant. I was born in Haiti, and there's a 56 00:04:04,879 --> 00:04:11,120 lot to say about the immigrant experience in terms of having different culture at home 57 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:15,399 and grappling with your school life. And you feel very different when you meet 58 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:19,079 other kids who are regular teens. But when you come home, you have 59 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:24,839 to do what your mama says. And this is what Nigeria has to do. 60 00:04:25,759 --> 00:04:29,680 All of my books are young people who are coming to terms with different 61 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,560 parts of themselves and have to forge their own path in the world. Why 62 00:04:33,639 --> 00:04:38,319 A readers are the most faithful readers. They will support all the way through 63 00:04:38,399 --> 00:04:41,439 and I love the fact that you give them an opportunity to seek out the 64 00:04:41,439 --> 00:04:44,639 truth. But I always wonder, though, when what we think is the 65 00:04:44,639 --> 00:04:47,279 truth. When we find out the real truth, it changes us personally, 66 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:54,800 yes, and that truth changes depending on our worldview and our perspectives as well. 67 00:04:55,959 --> 00:05:00,040 You know, it's a process that starts in the on adult, on 68 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:02,680 the adulthood, and it doesn't end in adulthood as well. I think you 69 00:05:03,079 --> 00:05:09,480 and I both are still finding ourselves, right. It's an endless journey. 70 00:05:09,519 --> 00:05:14,959 But what I love about Teethhood and Ya is that this is where it starts, 71 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:18,879 It initiates, and it's an initiation process. I love how Nigeria's father 72 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:23,279 describes her as a warrior princess. I love that because we you know, 73 00:05:23,399 --> 00:05:27,079 we've been taught through history that warriors were guys, and it's like, no, 74 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:33,040 Nigeria Jones is a warrior princess. Oh yes. Her father really has 75 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:39,560 some strong beliefs about how he should raise his daughter, and he wants her 76 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:45,639 to be strong and self reliant and really really believes in his constitutional rights. 77 00:05:45,759 --> 00:05:50,120 So he's kind of raising her as the son he never had. And that's 78 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:55,800 a bone of contention for my character. When did you realize that you had 79 00:05:55,879 --> 00:05:59,040 a writer's voice? Because I mean, so many different authors will talk about, 80 00:05:59,079 --> 00:06:00,160 well, this is my seven book, this is my you know, 81 00:06:00,319 --> 00:06:03,759 such and such number of attempts, because I mean, a writer has got 82 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:09,399 to have a story telling capability. Oh my god, you've got it. 83 00:06:11,319 --> 00:06:15,360 Oh yes, I believe, I really know that it begins with the imagination. 84 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:23,000 I was just an imaginative child who's just ideas and visions just ran the 85 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:27,879 gamut. And you know those young people in your life who are constantly draped, 86 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:32,319 they dreaming and don't seem to be paying attention. Superstars even if they're 87 00:06:32,399 --> 00:06:36,160 chatty, you know. And I'm I'm sure many interviewers or you know, 88 00:06:36,319 --> 00:06:43,360 or our TV or radio personalities were chatty children. So everything about ourselves when 89 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:46,839 we were children ends up being to our benefit. I truly believe that Native 90 00:06:46,879 --> 00:06:50,120 American medicine men, they would walk through the streets and they would look for 91 00:06:50,519 --> 00:06:54,560 the silent one, the chatty one, the creative one, because they knew 92 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:59,519 they were going to be the future medicine man. Oh wow, that's fascinating. 93 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:02,199 Yeah. I wish we would have medicine men now in our culture. 94 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:05,040 Put them in the in the school and have them point out, you know, 95 00:07:05,199 --> 00:07:09,920 who the who these special people are. Absolutely, you've got to come 96 00:07:09,959 --> 00:07:12,560 back to this show, anytime in the future. I love talking to you. 97 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,399 You've got a beautiful heart. Thank you so much for recognizing that, 98 00:07:16,519 --> 00:07:20,480 and thank you for those great questions. Will you be brilliant today? Okay, 99 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:21,519 thank you so much.