Favorite Author

Day 13 – Your favorite author and why?



This man right here. *sigh* Can we just take a moment of silence for my favorite literary mind of all time? A moment to acknowledge the level of talent it takes to write over 20 books that are all beautifully well developed stories that are just perfect. I love everything about him. How he chose to follow his heart and transition into a career that was his true calling. Such bravery. I read my first Eric Jerome Dickey in junior high school (no, I didn't understand it all...yes, I was a little advanced for my age). I was an anti-social child who's brain was constantly submerged in character analysis and plots from books written by authors pre-approved from a mainstream curriculum that wasn't engineered for the a brown skin girl in the throes of self discovery. My apologies if that was a mouthful....lol. The first time I read an Eric Jerome Dickey book was the first time I saw myself in a book. Well, my future self.....lol.  Black people. Black relationships. Romantic love. Higher education. Sex that held a deep connection yet could still be kinky. Sex that didn't have to end in marriage or a broken heart or a baby (although there was plenty of that as well...lol). Characters with natural hair. Villains with flaws everyone could comprehend. Characters that you couldn't just place in a box. His narration from a women's point of view is so authentic. It blew my mind. It may sound simple however I didn't grow up with such values. Although his work is fiction, he made those ideas real. College was a concept that I had difficulty understanding (future salary vs present cost of tuition). The men that surrounded me......us (a house full of women). Under-educated and financially insecure men of poor moral standing. They shaped my perception of men in this century in general. I would read about Malcolm X, Frederick Douglass, Jean Domonique (to name a few), look up from my book and wonder what happened to the real men. It was my first glimpse of life outside of the "hood". Men outside of the "hood". Reading about female characters who redefine their sexuality and men who didn't sleep with just any female that was willing to give it away were small nuggets of ideas in my brain that had yet to be confirmed by the world I live in. He not only validated those views, he made them cool. Whenever the date of his next book gets released, I wait for it in fervid anticipation like a child does Christmas. Whenever I go a while without reading a particular book, I get giddy because my forgetful mind re-reads and re-enjoys it like it has just been released. I could continue however I'm sure you get the idea. Despite how much I adore him, his novels are intricately woven and fun to read. What more could you ask for? Eric Jerome Dickey, I love you.  


******Update******

I can scratch meeting my literary hero off of my bucket list. May 17, 2014 is the date that my dream came true. My babysitter wasn't available and everyone else had a prior engagement so it was just little old me. The trio and I were on the road bright and early heading to the book festival where he would be in attendance. The heavens shined down on me as a parking spot opened up just for me. I had Baby B in the ergo carrier on my back, Baby A was seated comfortably in my left arm and the baby bag was in the crook of my right elbow. LP was was orbiting around me like a lone star. My body protested but my enthusiasm fought back ferociously. This is Eric Jerome Dickey we're talking about! And he is actually awesome. Respectful and considerate. I thought that I would come off as the crazy old lady in the shoe however he was nothing but amiable. Pleasant and gentle in all references to the trio. And I was nothing but elated. He's everything I believed that he would be. I left that book signing in a state of total elevation. I'm still on cloud nine as you're reading this right now. So grateful.