Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors, illustrators and translators.

Congratulations to Jacqueline Leigh on the release of The Heritage Keeper

How did you come up with the idea for your book?

For decades now, along with living in Michigan I have lived in Sierra Leone, and wherever I am I treasure time alone to wonder. One day a family history question came up in our house about Sierra Leone which sent me foraging online. In the process, I came across a digitized archive of correspondence relating to the mid-19th century colonial period. I spent many hours reading and became familiar with the characters, events and policies in these letters.

It was exciting but hard. Not the best way for our young ones to learn about our family. They would need a different way to access the information, so I started working on a middle grade nonfiction book.

Then one day as if she had leaped out to hug me, a girl named Fima took shape from a notice I was reading. It provided not only her name but the name colonizers assigned her (it’s rare to have that link), as well as her guy and his vocation! Why him? When did they cross paths? The facts were few, so I began drafting a fiction book to see what more we could learn about Fima.

What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book?

Diversity is interesting. Neither Sierra Leone nor the Transatlantic Slave Trade is just one story. What we learn about them here may be new to them, but it also is true. I would be happy to correspond with students or classes who have questions or comments after reading the book.

They, too, can write historical fiction, using the elderly as part of their resources. I hope some would increasingly appreciate the fun and value of research. As one who has taught writing to English language learners for many years, I like to see kids experiment with new genres. There will always be more examples to pursue in their school libraries by authors like Linda Sue Park, Elvira Woodruff and Patricia Reilly Giff.

What inspires you to write?

Some stages of writing are inspiration-based. Meeting Fima was like that. I also often jot down comparisons that suddenly occur to me and later work them into poems.

Once I’m into a book, though, writing is a routine. Sometimes I have to force myself to keep to it, but I enjoy resolving ideas into just the right words. Maybe it’s that sense of accomplishment that inspires me to keep writing.

What are your marketing plans for the book and where can we find it?

Please look for The Heritage Keeper, ISBN 979-8-9903397-1-2 on Amazon and Ingram in both paperback and e-book!

I find marketing a self-published book very challenging but SCBWI provides excellent support in its publications, especially The Self-Publishing Guide.

I have sent reading copies of The Heritage Keeper to many libraries and indie bookstores in Michigan, and am advertising it on X and Instagram. I have asked people to review it. It will also be on display at three large conferences or book fairs this year.

I like talking to groups of children who have read the book; maybe offering to do that is a way of marketing? They always want to know more about the history and how I felt while writing the book. I encourage students to tell me how they would have written certain parts if they had been the author.

What's next for you?

I am a good way through that MG nonfiction book I mentioned, Landing for Good, about the same area and people, covering this period. It could serve as a student or teaching resource where The Heritage Keeper is used in school.

I am also half-way through a second MG historical novel, set in the 1850s in Sierra Leone, also based on the true experience of a teenaged girl.

More about the book . . .

It is the 1830s and Fima has her eyes on the future. While she helps her mother run a wholesale rice shop in the Sherbro Island estuary of West Africa, her mind is on the shape her own business will take one day. Her boyfriend Kai, however, has different ideas for her. One evening, an urgent message comes from their farm upcounty, and her mother must leave. Alone in the estuary for the first time, Fima finds herself not only in charge of their rice but also of a treasured family heirloom. No question: she wants this responsibility and is ready to take it on.

Publisher: Self

ISBN 979-8-9903397-1-2

More about the author . . .

Jackie and her family have divided their time between Sierra Leone and her hometown, Midland, MI, since 1970. She is an ESL teacher and author, and trains facilitators for afterschool process writing clubs. She also serves on an editing team for children’s book development projects with Sierra Leonean authors and illustrators.

https://linktr.ee/leighjj

Instagram: @jacquelinejleigh

X: @Alienflower