I’m Donnetta Booker and I welcome you to first grandchild! You may be wondering, “Who is first grandchild?” Being “first” is something that I share with my mother and grandmother because we are all first-born children. My mother and I share something very special in that we are also first-born grandchildren.
Why I Write
I’ve always loved to read. As a young child, I discovered that you can go anywhere, meet anyone, and do almost anything you want just by opening a book. But even as a child I noticed that there were very few children’s books with African-American characters as the focus of the story; so, I began writing my own stories and poems. Writing became the perfect outlet for me to employ my active imagination and liberate my (slight) tendency to be a real drama queen.
I quickly developed a love for storytelling. When I was in fourth grade, my grandfather was hospitalized for an extended time, so I wrote him a mini comic book. He liked it very much, and whenever he read it, he laughed as if he was reading it for the first time. His reaction fueled my desire to continue writing material that people would enjoy reading. Check out a few pages from my comic book below.
My Journey
From adolescence, I had a propensity for the theatre and thought I would become a professional actor and a playwright. However, those close to me encouraged me to pursue a skill that would afford me a “real” job and security after graduation, so I chose to study business administration. As an adult, I experienced success in “real” jobs at different companies for many years. By this time, I had stopped writing altogether because (I believed) I simply didn’t have time.
More years would pass before I began to write again.
After I got married and became a mother, my husband and I agreed that I would be a stay-at-home mom. My plan was to start working outside of the home again once our son was in school full time. I knew I wanted a change from the kind of work I used to do, but I wasn’t sure what it would be. Then, one day, I had an epiphany: I love to write. Why not do that for a living? I had finally (re)discovered my calling, and had the support of my family to give it my all.
A Thankful Mission
I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to pursue my dream of being an author. I feel that it’s important to have dreams and to have faith that they can be achieved. My philosophy is that you must believe that you can do great things, because if you don’t believe it, no one else will either. Your only limitation is your imagination.
Nundi is going to be a ballerina!
Saturday, May 28th at 6:00 pm at:
Tinseltown Performing Arts Studios
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