some history... make that 'her-story'
about amy
the idea of ‘writing a book’
seemed like a ridiculous notion...
My name is Amy Sharp and I started writing about this character and her life in May of 2019. Until then, I hadn’t written anything more than emails. I knew I had a story and a message I wanted to share. I kept telling myself that I could write down a story and worry about what it became later.
By May of 2020, I had a 93,000 word manuscript put into 52 chapters. I printed it out a few times for editing. It felt amazing to see the stack of pages that were full of my words. I walked around the house with each chapter on a clipboard, reading it out loud with a red pen.
at this point, I had told no one about it
Knowing that there are millions of people that say they are going to write a book but don’t, I kept my baby close to my chest. At some point later, the woman in the story earned the name of Alexine.
On Fiverr, I found an English teacher in the Midwest and paid her to give her red pen a turn at it. I was adamant that I wanted the tone and flavor of the story to remain as I intended.
why this, why me, why now?
I chewed on what this baby of mine would become and how to get it in front of people in a sea of manuscripts from unpublished authors vying for attention away from the multitudes of books published every year by people that had done it before and actually knew what they were doing. I wanted a gimmick to set my baby apart from the rest.
I knew I needed to add something to Alexine to give her legs, so to speak. I enjoyed Nancy Drew illustrated chapter books as a kid and thought that format would be fun for adults. I asked Brad Collins, an accomplished BC artist, to bring Alexine and her shenanigans to life. Peppered with F-bombs and a few juicy sex scenes, my baby is intended for adult readers.
the story draws on my own life experiences
and of those around me. My intention is to help readers feel good about their lives, their world and their future through levity and the strength of everyday people. Women, especially those over 35, do not have many heroes in books or film, yet many are heroes. I hope this group and the people who care about working class women over 35 find Alexine Cleans worthy.
Yep, I would love to be the Issa Rae of working class women over 40
If you haven’t watched the original webseries of Awkward Black Girl, you need to. I felt like I found a hidden treasure when I stumbled upon it on YouTube. Issa Rae is a strong voice for her archetype and I would love for Alexine to be that for working class women. I’m sure you’ve heard of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Parks and Recreation, Working Moms and 30 Rock. All created by women and all fab.
Here’s some other AMAZING work created by
women that you may not have heard of:
- Cristela It’s on Netflix; watch it now. Ms. Alonzo is incredible.
- 40 Year Old Version On Netflix. Radha Blank, you are awesome!
- Serious Black Jumper by Jayde Adams on Amazon Prime, pure gold.
- Awkward Black Girl YouTube series by Issa Rae.
- Flo and Joan: Alive on Stage on Amazon Prime; brilliant.
Do you have a favorite that you would like to share with me?
Please let me know in the comments!
it's all about me my face my eyebrows...
if you're really brave...
look at that face, eh?
his, not mine
chasing attractiveness
I quit coloring my hair to keep it the auburn I was born with in the summer of 2020. The death of a young and dear family member, experiencing the George Floyd tragedy from afar, the political turmoil in the States and oh, that pesky pandemic, all built up in my head and exploded through my hair follicles. Once I let my silver shine through, I felt more authentic and grounded. It renewed my clarity and purpose.
There I am brandishing a screwdriver, in early 2019, proud of the fact that I installed both ends of the dryer exhaust myself.
Did I look much younger with my hair colored? Who knows, who cares…
Shaving one’s head in order to relieve oneself of the accumulation of chemically adjusted hair can make you feel like a real bad ass.
The really ‘fun’ part of the evolution is when you’re having a less-than-dyn-o-mite day and that bad-assery turns into fat-assery.
How does that work? When you don’t have (much) hair, your head can look out of ratio with your body size, especially when you have an ass the size that I do. True story.
Another facet of this experience is when you find yourself wondering if you’re ‘cock-blocking’ yourself with your very short hair; even more so now that we are in the age of wearing masks most of the time. Specifically, do I look like a lesbian? Let me be clear, there is nothing wrong with looking like a lesbian or being a lesbian.
In fact, I’d probably be a lesbian except I enjoy the company of men so much… and that handy appendage of theirs!
brother of another mother
The good-looking kid with lots of hair is my truly amazing son, Aubrey. Pippin was our incredibly good natured, pot bellied miniature Schnauzer. He and Aubrey were six months apart in age. True love.
In 2017, I took our portly Pippin, in matching pink outfits, to a pet show. We were a big hit, but didn’t score any treats, dang. He almost made it to 17 years.
Both Aubrey and Pippin were strong influences in the characters of this story. No surprise there.
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