The writing was always marginal in terms of time when the children were small. But it was major in terms of my head. I always thought that women could do a lot of things. All the women I knew did nine or ten things at one time. I always understood that women worked, they went to church, they managed their houses, they managed somebody else's houses, they raised their children, they raised somebody else's children, they taught.
All important things are hard.
A.J. Verdelle won four national prizes for her first novel, The Good Negress. Essence Communications, Inc. in association with The Gale Group and LookSmart.