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The extraordinary memoir of Michaela DePrince, a young dancer who escaped war-torn Sierra Leone for the rarefied heights of American ballet.

In this conversation, we talked to Draper about the inspiration behind Stella by Starlight and the basic goodness in humanity.

Stella by Starlight, by esteemed storyteller Sharon M. Draper, is a poignant novel that beautifully captures the depth and complexities within individuals, a community, and society in 1932, an era when segregation and poverty is at the forefront.

 At first, I was going to do Laurie Halse Anderson's 15 minutes a day writing challenge for July. That sounded like a minor miracle to someone who's been away from writing for what seems like forever. Nobody tells you that when your book comes out, you become an *author/press agent* and you don't get to write anymore. Bummer.

But then my friends in the African American Children's Book Writers & Illustrators threw down the gauntlet--write two pages a day for two months. I took the challenge, and selected to resurrect my dormant middle grade novel. While I'm not writing every single day, it all evens out. Some days I'm doing research, some days I'm at the library, and some days I have a pencil in my hand writing for my life. But most importantly, I'm thinking about it every day and looking forward to my next writing session. 

We just finished Week 5. My count so far: 67 pages.

And the process has been rewarding already. I'm looking forward to revising it when I'm finished because I already know where it doesn't make sense, doesn't have enough meat, and needs the story arc fixed. This book may get finished yet!

It's always fun when you're invited to something, and in the past week I've been invited to two different, but totally cool things.

First, fellow African American author Kyra Hicks invited me to be interviewed on her blog. Kyra has a great blog so I was really honored. You can take a peek at www.BlackThreadsinKidsLit.blogspot.com.

Then, I was invited to participate in the Illinois Reading Council's Author Luncheon at their March 2008 conference. They have an author sit at each table and the guests at your table each receive a copy of your book. Plus good old Anderson's Bookshop will be there selling books. Wow!

The other totally cool thing that happened in the past week was that my friend Jacky, who is an art teacher, gave me a very cool idea for my school visits. Prior to this, what I was going to do was pretty routine stuff, but this has totally energized me. I'll say more about that when I see if I can actually pull this off.

I have to mention the other really wonderful thing that happened to me--I got to go to Millennium Park in downtown Chicago. Now I just live in Chicago's suburbs, so you might think, "Hey, what's the big deal? She's had three years to get down there." But you can't get to Millennium Park without walking and lately walking is not something I've been doing very well. My lupus has caused some peripheral nerve damage in my left foot so if I try to walk very far or very long, I really feel it. The most walking I've been doing is shuffling around a grocery store or resale shop behind a shopping cart or navigating the book store or library on a good day.

But I was super motivated to go to the park last Thursday. My favorite quiz show, NPR's "Wait, wait. . . don't tell me!" was having a free taping of the show in the Pritzker Pavilion. And the special guest was the rock stars of prosecutors, Patrick Fitzgerald. My teenager really wanted to go also so I was motivated to try. I studied the map of the park and figured out where the best place to park was and went for broke. It was a beautiful evening, the program was a riot, the park is beautiful, and I got to do something with my 16-year-old. How cool is that?!

So the message to myself is to keep trying to do those hard things (like finishing that middle grade novel). The feeling is unbelievable when you accomplish it.

Yep, we're back in the Nutmeg State after a wonderful, yet exhausting trip to Disney. My wallet is thinner, my waistline is...not. Oh, and I think I might have re-fractured the seisamoid in my left foot from all the walking, but I'll update you after I see the podiatrist on Wednesday.

Let's see...what can I tell you about the rest of our time at Disney? I've got a few philosophical observations not to mention some comments about some great books I read while I was there. But I'll save that for tomorrow. Today I'll treat you (and me, because I've been so crazy busy today it seems like a distant mouse dream) to a few more pictures AND some videos.

First up - this rather adorable one of daughter splaying a ukelele. Note all the pins on the lanyard she's wearing around her neck. They will be a subject of tomorrow's rant, I mean, philosophical observations.



Son went nuts with Dale.



By the last day, I was really exhausted and I think sharing a hotel room for a week was taking its toll on the kids because they kept fighting. I was forced to resort to some good old-fashioned discipline:



The last night we went to the Luau at our hotel. I'm under strict orders NOT to post the video of my daughter hula-ing, but I will post a picture of my date:



Unfortunately, after I drank the triple rum drink out of his head, he dumped me for my daughter, the slimeball:




My son recorded this rather delightful video of himself while I was getting breakfast before we went to the airport the following morning:




When my son was 4 and my daughter 1, we took the kids to EuroDisney. Mary Poppins came with.Some the kids were too little to go on many rides, we must have gone on "It's a Small World" close to 40 times. Needless to say,for years afterwards, all it took were a few notes of the song to set our teeth on edge. I texted Mary Poppins when we went on it last week to say that we missed her. She wrote back: "Now I'm not so jealous :>)"

Daughter and I had to do a special rendition just for Mary P.



And that's all folks! Oops, wrong theme park. Uh..."See you real soon"...

tomorrow's the day!

"The day for What?" you might ask. Well, about three years ago, when the Never Ending Divorce was in the early stages but the kids were already getting sick of me saying "I can't afford it", I promised them that when it was all over, we would go to Disney World.

Well, actually, originally I told them I'd take them when I'd earned enough royalties from sales of "Confession", but that was before I realized that they'd probably be in college before that happened.

At various points over the last three years, both children expressed skepticism that this trip would ever happen, because they were convinced the Never Ending Divorce would Never End.

But it did. And the trip was booked. And my daughter has been counting down the days with her handy-dandy refrigerator chart:



When I asked her to photograph the chart earlier this evening, she decided that you need to see a few other things too. For example, the Magical Express luggage tag on her new pink suitcase:



and her Disney Autograph book, which despite the purchase of her new pink suitcase, has somehow ended up packed in my older, smaller, red suitcase:



and last but not least - a self-portrait of her beaming little face as she tells you how many days till we leave:



More news from the House of Mouse, assuming the Nor'Easter the weatherman has promised for tomorrow doesn't trap us at JFK.