Natural hair in fantasy lit, interview with author Wendy Raven McNair
Where are you from?
WRM: I’m originally from Houston, Texas but I currently reside in Atlanta, Georgia.
What is your book, Asleep, about?
WRM: ASLEEP tells the story of Adisa, an African American teen natural haired girl, who doesn’t know her boyfriend, Micah, can fly. His special ability is revealed when he flies to her rescue and saves her life. After this shocking encounter, Micah reveals he is part of a secret society of “super beings” who possess extraordinary and unusual powers. ASLEEP is Adisa’s introduction to this super world. (Click HERE for an excerpt from the book.)
What inspired you to write this book?
WRM: I was inspired to write ASLEEP by my teen daughter. She loves fantasy stories like Harry Potter and Twilight but I could not find fantasy stories with main characters who reflect her, an African American natural teen girl. ASLEEP is actually the first book in a trilogy. Book 2, AWAKE, is scheduled for release at the end of 2009 and book 3, ASCEND, will follow in 2010. Each book is written to stand alone so don’t worry, you won’t be left hanging at the end of each story.
You said you wanted to create a natural-haired character. Why isn’t it enough to have a black female character?
WRM: The short answer to “why specifically a natural-haired character” is because my daughter is a natural haired girl and I wanted a positive character she could identify with. The long answer is, I wanted to create a character who is on a journey to discover her roots symbolically as well as literally. Adisa transitions to natural hair out of a desire for a closer connection to her mother. I’m also concerned by the absence of natural haired black female characters in novels, particularly for young girls. Due to their absence, I needed to go beyond just having a black female character. I had to create a character who grows to love herself in her natural state and I also wanted to show that her natural hair was desirable by the male lead.
Our young girls love to read and they are inundated with main characters with “long flowing silky blowing in the wind” hair and after awhile these images can lead to a negative self image for many girls who don’t have that. They need characters portraying natural kinky, nappy, crinkly, coily, lustrous crowns that are equally beautiful and desirable.
Have you always been natural?
WRM: I have not been natural haired my entire life. When I was young my mother straightened my hair with a hot comb then I eventually started perms when I was in college.
I considered going natural over the years and even discussed it with my younger sister who was also interested. But we both procrastinated for years, thinking of the public’s reaction. In the interim, I had my beautiful baby girl and adored her natural hair and told her how wonderful it was every time I went near her head. When she was about 7 yrs old, she said to me, “Mommy, I want flat hair like you,” and it broke my heart. I realized in that instant, it wasn’t the media or the “world” sending her the message that straight hair was preferable over kinky, it was me… I gradually cut out my perm over time until all that was left was my own healthy naturally kinky hair.
What kind of reception has your book received?
WRM: The reception of ASLEEP has been very positive. Hearing the positive feedback from black teen girls has been particularly rewarding because it means I’ve succeeded in putting out images of them which promote self acceptance and self love.
ASLEEP is available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com and at book stores on request. Check Wendy’s website HERE for more information.
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i love sci-fi! i will def check this book out.
This is WONDERFUL. I will definitely recommend this to people I know with daughters.
P.S. HOUSTON! WOOOOOO!
I’m early 20s but I believe I will be reading this book AND encouraging my younger cousin to do the same
This is cool to hear. The fact that the character is not only natural, but actually transitioning to her roots is a nice form of symbolism, because it’s often not “just about hair” with being natural.
I love both pictures of Wendy both then and now. I will check out the book, I like to read good ya literature especially with us as the main characters.
Thank you for this post. As an Illustrator, as well as a soon-to-be natural, I also believe that there need to be more positive representations of black characters and black naturals in literature. Reading this post from an author has made me more determined to play my role in achieving that goal.