In five weeks, Florence will be published!!! It's hard to believe the time is nearly here. I wanted to share her thoughts upon seeing the orphanage for the first time. It was a grand and impressive building, and surely must have taken a girl from a one-room tenement apartment by surprise. The Colored Orphan Asylum in New York consisted of classrooms, a seamstress room, and a shoe room where a tailor made the black brogans the students wore. The first floor accommodated a dini

Colored Orphan Asylum, New York. Girls on playground circa 1860s. (public domain) Various sources cite the above as a photograph taken on Good Friday. This is one of my favorite photographs of the orphanage. The girls all look neat and presentable while holding hula hoops. The smaller girls sit on the steps in the background where two women stand. Trees are bare, indicating it’s winter or maybe the end of winter. The girls don’t wear hats or mittens, so it must have been bear

LLA schedule - 1st up! Last week, I had the honor of presenting at the Louisiana Library Association conference with fellow author Pamela Courtney in Lake Charles, LA. We spent months working on our presentation and reading some wonderful books about our great state. But even with all our preparations, there was a small fear: Will our presentation be any good, and what if no one attends? Thankfully, we had no reason to worry. Kirstie Myvett and Pamela Courtney at LLA Our sess

Sarah Parker Remond was an abolitionist, physician, and anti-slavery lecturer. She also appears in my upcoming middle-grade book, The Four Seasons of Florence Wallace.

Hailey Alcaraz and I celebrated our cover reveals on the KidLit in Color social media last week. Both covers are absolutely adorable, and I pray readers will love our characters and all of the thought, love, and care we put into these books. Five Days At The Hotel Adams and The Four Seasons of Florence Wallace were both illustrated by the talented Alisha Monnin . Her artwork is captivating and so very lovely. Our editor and publisher, Laura Helweg and Tommy Nelson Books , ha

President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863! It feels like a long time ago yet not that long at all. I mean, just 163 years ago, Black people were still enslaved in this country! newspaper article about the emancipation proclamation Back to 1863. It’s going into year three of the Civil War. This is an important event in my upcoming middle-grade book, The Four Seasons of Florence Wallace. In a few months, the mandatory draft would be implemented.

Destruction of the COA By Monday, July 14, 1863, the rioters were in a frenzy. They set upon the city, attacking Black people, homes of...

On Saturday, July 11, 1863, the first lottery draft for the Civil War took place in New York. Over 1,000 names were called to fill New...

My author friends in KidLit in Color raved about Kindling Words East and assured me it was worth a visit all the way to Rhode Island. I...

Publisher's Weekly deal. B&W photograph of girls on the playground, exterior of orphanage circa 1860-1861. Photograph in the public...

While visiting a friend in Colorado last month, I decided it would be the perfect time to have a silent retreat. It's been a while,...

I was invited to read PRALINE LADY at the John Scott Center earlier this month. Years ago, I did a special donor project which featured...

When I saw Dr. Antoinette Harrell's name on the panel for GenFest, I knew I'd be attending. So on March 9th, I headed to GenFest hosted...

Below are some goals I’d like to focus on this year regarding my writing. I always keep it very simple and allow myself to deviate or go...

I've been obsessed with children's biographies lately as I finalize the revisions on a bio I've been working on for two years! I love...

My family and I recently returned from a trip to D.C. and Maryland. We had a wonderful time touring the museums and monuments. If you've...

Spanish moss at City Park in New Orleans, Louisiana

Publisher’s Weekly announcement It’s a great feeling to FINALLY be able to announce what my next picture book is about. My Instagram post...

When I was a little girl my Mom and Grandma went garage sale-ing all the time. They’d wake up early Saturday morning with their circled...

I had a delightful time reading PRALINE LADY at the children’s museum today. My teen was the photographer, hubs videographer (see insta),...