My original plan was to post an interview of myself as originally printed in the New York Times. They never called, so here's an interview I gave myself.

How did you get into the field of children's publishing?
As a child, I was inspired by my aunt Eleanora E. Tate who writes novels for young adults. I was proud to boast of her as my "famous" aunt who writes children's books. As an adult I found myself working as a designer at an educational publishing company in Des Moines. Eleanora was asked by this publisher to write a series of African myths to be published as an anthology. She agreed to do the project, and knowing my desire to illustrate a book, she agreed to take on the project with the condition that I be the illustrator. We collaborated on the chapter-book Retold African Myths, and we traveled to various reading conferences, signing and promoting the book for the Perfection Learning Corporation. I met and mingled with folks like Virginia Hamilton, Jerry Pinkney and Brian Pinkney. This was my introduction into the field.

How long have you been illustrating?
I've been drawing since childhood. I was always the art kid in school. I was good and even at a young age I knew that one day I would become a commercial artist, just like JJ on the tv show GOOD TIMES. In a final episode of the series, JJ became a commercial artist. So yes, I was actually influenced by "Kid Dynomite." Family, friends, and school instructors told me that commercial art was not a door open to blacks. I was encouraged to go into computer sciences or to become an architect. Something with a future. I never accepted these admonishments because I believed that companies would be more concerned about the color of my canvas, not the color of my skin.
I wasn't confident with my other skills and my drawing talents always came to my rescue when I failed in those other areas. For example, since becoming a picture book illustrator I have been asked many times to speak and make presentations. I have always been crippled with shyness, so speaking at first was practically out of the question. After making a few presentations I learned to let my artwork do the speaking by keeping my presentations very visual. Again, my drawing talents saved me.

As a child, what were your favorite books? Who were your favorite authors and illustrators?
Whenever I'm asked that question, my prepared answer is Maurice Sendak's WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. I say "prepared" because I feel that as a children's book illustrator I should have had some favorites. But actually, as a child I wasn't much of a reader. I don't remember many books around our house, and I had a difficult time comprehending what I read. I do remember having a set of children's encyclopedias that I did truly enjoy reading. We also had one of those 5-inch thick illustrated medical encyclopedias. You know the ones that list all the terrible diseases one could get. It came complete with cool pictures of stomach ulcers and skin lesions. I loved that book! It's a wonder I didn't become a medical illustrator. I have done some research lately and have discovered that I was probably dyslexic. I still am, although over the years I have retrained myself on how to read, and comprehend what I read. Reading is now one of my favorite pastimes and I always have a book I'm working my way through.

Who are your favorites as an adult?
Andrea Pinkney is probably my favorite children's book author. So it really was a special treat to work with her on SAY HEY! Jerry Pinkney, Brian Pinkney, James Ransome, Floyd Cooper are some illustrators who I most admire. Mark Buehner, David Kirk, Daniel Kirk and Mark Teagues are illustrators whose work I like best.

Do you write books too?
Yes, but I don't have anything published yet. My focus has been on illustrating, but I have discovered that I also enjoy writing. I guess I'll have to move quicker at getting my writing published though. My first story was about the life of Ella Fitzgerald. I'm embarrassed to say that I approached Andrea Pinkney with my story idea. Her answer, "you're too late." The Pinkneys' newest book, Ella Fitzgerald, recently published and it is a great piece of work. I'm so glad I didn't embarrass myself further by actually sending her my manuscript.

As a child, what were your favorite things to draw?
With me it wasn't so much about drawing only. I went through many phases of art exploration. I drew and made things from junk I found in and around the house. I made puppets, and macrame wall hangings. In my teens, I bought a copper ceramic kiln and made all sorts of jewelry out of melted glass. I could do just about anything with my hands. As far as drawing, I drew just about anything. During my teens I went through a phase that really raised some eyebrows. My dad kept his adult magazines laying all over the house. Discovering them wasn't difficult. Instead of drooling all over these images, I drew them. I'd draw these women in all kinds of crazy costumes. In fact, I created a whole portfolio of shapely women in wild costumes. Victoria's Secret had nothing on me. One of my teachers discovered my portfolio and had a talk with my parents. To this day I don't know what ever happened to that body of work. No pun intended.
In a twisted sort of way, that phase turned out to be a valuable lesson for me in figurative drawing.

Do you use models for your books?
Yes, I always use models to draw from and I take lots of pictures. My oldest daughter has modeled for many of the characters in my books. She thought it was pretty cool when she was 5, but now shes 20 and gets quite the attitude when I ask her to pose. I also use a computer program called Poser which creates realistic people that I can use to paint from. I can pose a person, adjust lighting and so on. Facial expressions in the program are kind of static, so I always get a human model to capture real expression.

How did you get a book published?
I sent out many portfolios only to receive rejection letters. I had a couple art agents I was working with who specialized in educational publishing, but they kept telling me that my work was not marketable for trade books. They thought my style too exaggerated and angular, thus too scary for young children. Everyone kept telling me of this great need for talented African-American illustrators, but that I needed to develop a more realistic, portraiture style. That frustrated me because I spent many hours in book stores studying the many styles of illustration and I observed a variety of illustration styles were being used for books with Caucasian characters or books with animals. Portraiture wasn't my thing. I had all but given up on my dreams when I decided to contact Brian Pinkney and Floyd Cooper. I sent them my portfolio and asked them for feedback. They both advised me to stick to my illustration style and that someday the right editor and manuscript would meet my artwork and a book would follow. To make a very long story short, two years later my first book published with Hyperion.

You raised some questions about race. How has race affected your career?
I don't know. I've thought about it many times and wondered myself. I've focused my career on children's publishing. I must say that the majority of the projects that I've illustrated were commissioned by publishers in need of an African-American illustrator. So race has sort of created a niche for me that keeps work coming my way. Products marketed to or that use African-Americans make up a small slice of the publishing pie. So I do have to wonder if I am excluded from that other larger piece of the pie. I don't know. Most times I'm just glad to get offers to do books, regardless of the race question. Getting published is difficult because the field is so competitive. Race and talent was my way to get in, so I can't complain.

Most of your books are of African-American themes. Do you only illustrate black people?
I enjoy illustrating people; all races of people.

You have been described as a self-taught painter. Did you have any formal training? Where did you receive your education?
I described myself as a self-taught painter on the book jacket of my first picture book and the description has stuck. I did not receive any formal art training other than a few drawing classes as a child at the Des Moines Art Center. I did attend a 2-year community college in Ankeny, Iowa where I studied commercial and advertising art.

Do you always use oil paint in your work?
When I first started out I experimented with just about every medium. I enjoy just about every one that I've experimented with, however for picture books I settled on oils and acrylics. For newspaper and magazine work I also use the computer to generate my art.

What is your style of illustration?
A newspaper critic once described my work as neo-cubist. I don't know what that means but I probably wouldn't categorize my style. I like to experiment with different styles and techniques. I'd get bored if I approached every book with a trademark style. Each of my books have a very different look. I hope that won't work against me in the future. I want to surprise my readers and the reviewers.

How many books have you illustrated?
I always stumble over that question because my answer depends on who is asking. I have illustrated dozens of books if educational books and teaching guides are included. But folks involved in the trade aren't really concerned about anything that is not trade. As far as trade publishing goes, I've illustrated four books and am working on my fifth.

So, what's the difference between educational and trade?
Books for educational publishers are primarily sold through the publisher's catalogs. You probably won't find them in school libraries or book stores. Trade books are books sold primarily through book stores, but also available to school libraries. Money and creative freedoms are another difference. Educational publishers tend to pay less than trade publishers. Not always, but most times. Educational publishers typically prefer a work-for-hire agreement. Most will require the artist giving up their copyrights. Educational publishing opportunities are more abundant though, and it's much easier for a new illustrator to get his/her foot into the door. Trade book publishers typically will pay you an advance against royalties. In other words, they will pay you an amount of money up front, then depending on how well the product sells, they'll pay a royalty in the future. Images created for educational publishers tend to be tied heavily to the text. You draw exactly what the art director tells you to, while trade allows a bit more creative license. I like working both ways. Sometime I like the freedom to create, sometimes, just tell me what you need.

THE LEGEND OF THE VALENTINE is published by a Christian publishing house. Have you worked much with Christian publishers? Are there huge differences between Christian publisher and a more mainstream publisher?
I'm sure there are some differences. But my working relationships with art directors and editors are pretty much the same.
Someone early on in my career warned me that I might want to avoid religious publishers. That religious publishers wouldn't pay well and that once aligned with the Christian publishing houses it would be hard for me to make a transition to mainstream houses. I can't even remember who told me that now, but I have found that advice to be far from the truth. Actually, based on my own personal experience, the opposite is true. I've worked for various religious publishers and its been my experience that they have paid the most and marketed the best. It's my understanding that THE LEGEND OF THE VALENTINE, published by Zondervan Publishing House, a Christian publishing house, has sold more than 20,000 in its first few months on the market. I can't say that about any of the other projects I have illustrated, and their marketing efforts have been impressive. I don't think the religious publishers get the same attention and respect from some of the mainstream contests, awards and review journals.

Are there any particular kinds of stories you like or don't like to illustrate? How do you choose which manuscripts you will accept?
Again, I like variety. There's not really one particular kind of story I like to illustrate, but I do especially like stories that involve some research. I like stories where I get an opportunity to learn something new. That was true with SAY HEY and SUMMER SUN RISIN'. With SAY HEY I researched all about old time Negro League Baseball, and baseball history. With Summer Sun, I learned much about the Texas farm landscape. I visited a farm museum in Austin where I discovered an old farm house that an African American couple actually lived in during the 1950s. This museum also featured a tiny 2-room cabin that at one time served as a home for a tenant farm family of thirteen. Thirteen people squeezed into a house the size of my clothes closet. Experiences like this remind me of how blessed I am.
I'd prefer not to illustrate stories about slavery. This may limit my opportunities, but I'm glad that so far those manuscripts have not come my way. There's nothing wrong with these stories, and in fact there are some great ones out there. James Ransome, one of my favorite illustrators, has illustrated some beautiful stories dealing with the subject of slavery. It just seems to me that there is a disproportionate number of these stories out there. I may be wrong because I don't have any numbers to back up my statement. It has been well over a century since slavery existed in this country. That means we have over a hundred years of new stories to tell. I'd like to tell some of the other stories. That's not to say I'd never illustrate one. But it would have to be one that felt really good to me.

You also work full-time as a graphics news reporter for the Austin American Statesman. Isn't that a huge transition from children's publishing?
Yes and no. Children's books, particularly those dealing with historical subjects are somewhat similar to the infographics that I create at the newspaper. Both use drawings to tell stories. Both have to be researched to present information accurately. Both are published and highly visible to the public. The biggest differences are the time that goes into each, the feel of the final product, and the audience. A book might take six months to a year and an infographic might need to be started today, and in the paper tomorrow.

Have you won any awards for your children's books?
No. Not yet anyway. Somewhere in my future is a Corretta Scott King award or at least an honor that has my name on it. I'd like a Caldecott with my name on it too, but let's take one mountain at a time.

Are you willing to visit schools?
Yes, and I have visited quite a few. I've presented to children as young as pre-K and up through college level. I prefer kindergarten through about 4th grade. That's about the age range for most of my books and their interest level is very high. I recently presented at the Corpus Christi children's book festival. During the morning session, I presented to over 1000 children. I told stories, shared my artwork and drew cartoons of the kids. It was a blast, and I got paid too! I'd like to do more of this in the future. It's great meeting the kids who read my books.

Do you have any stories or anecdotes to share?
Yes, I call this story, The Fish that got Away. After winning the contract to illustrate SAY HEY!, I was approached by another editor to illustrate another book. She asked me if I would look over a manuscript and consider illustrating it. At that time in my career I would have illustrated any book regardless of the story. But I played along. "I'll look over the manuscript, give it some consideration and call you back in a few days," I told her. I called back the next day. She was pleased and told me that my contract would soon be in the mail. She also warned me that getting a contract through the system would take awhile, so not to worry if I didn't get it in a month or so. I didn't worry because I was knee-deep in illustrating SAY HEY. But when a month passed and I had not received a contract, I called her. She didn't call back. Over the next month, I called continuously. She never called back. I called another editor that I was working with at the publisher, and that editor told me that the aforementioned editor no longer worked there and that the book I was inquiring about was already assigned out and that I was not the illustrator. I was dumbfounded, of course. Ever get that feeling like your face is froze? Anyway, later that year I'm on the internet. It was the day that the Coretta Scott King awards would be announced, and I was hoping for recognition as a new talent winner. I was not the new talent winner, but the winner of the big award was a book called A FREEDOM RIVER, written by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by Bryan Collier. I immediately recognized this book as my fish that got away.